Awards Ceremony for the 3rd Hadith Nabawi Acharif Competition of the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Ulema

Rabat – The 3rd edition of the Hadith Nabawi Acharif competition, organized by the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Ulema, concluded Sunday in Rabat with the awarding of prizes to the winners in the competition’s three categories.

This edition, which began last Friday via videoconference, saw the participation of 123 candidates, men and women, from 48 African countries, who competed in the categories of memorization, comprehension, and mastery of Hadith.

Thus, Bintirago Chima Amin Lawrence, from the Republic of Burundi, won first prize in the category “Memorizing Forty Hadiths Related to the Signs of Prophethood,” followed by Isaac Samson Abd from the Republic of Malawi, and Akram Mohamed Nour Saleh from the Republic of Sudan, in second and third place respectively, while the honorable mention went to Safia Carmen from South Africa.

In the category “Memorizing Thirty Hadiths Dedicated to the Qualities and Traits of the Prophet, Accompanied by the Explanation of Difficult Terms,” ​​first prize was awarded to Assim Ahmed from the Comoros, followed by Mohamed Adam from Chad, and Chaimae Abdellah Saleh from Sudan, while the honorable mention went to Moudathir Manira Gaba from Rwanda.

In the category of “Memorizing thirty hadiths related to prophetic specificities and mastering certain rules of hadith terminology,” the first prize was won by Zaid Ahmed Nour from Chad, followed by Abderrahim Kassiri from Uganda, and Karmo Mustapha Sani from The Gambia, while the honorable mention was awarded to Alaa Saleh Mohamed Hassan from Sudan.

Speaking at the event, Mohamed Rifki, Secretary General of the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Ulema, emphasized that the results of this continental final testify to the efforts made by African ulema in service of the noble prophetic tradition, and commended the role played by the Institution of the Faithful in preserving Islam within African societies.

The Commander of the Faithful, as the protective framework for other shared religious constants, is a major factor in consolidating unity, security, and peace in Africa, as well as promoting the values ​​of tolerance, coexistence, and dialogue, he continued, welcoming the strong participation of young people in the competition, across all age groups and levels.

For his part, the Secretary General of the Islamic Council of South Sudan and a member of the jury, Abdallah Burj Rual, indicated that this competition is the result of the High Directives of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful, in service of the Hadith and the Prophet’s biography (Sira Nabawiya).

Recalling that this third edition highlighted the profound values ​​of the Prophet’s biography (Sira Nabawiya), he noted that the competition went beyond simply memorizing Hadith texts, transforming the Sunnah into a continuous educational journey aimed at instilling in young people the values ​​of faith, virtue, and the principles of justice and peace.

For his part, the competition’s general coordinator, Abdelhamid Alami, stated during the presentation of the general report for this edition that the competition aims to promote the Prophet’s biography (Sira Nabawiya) and encourage young people to take an interest in Hadith.

He specified that the evaluation criteria adopted by the jury were based on two complementary systems, the first of which, normative, is based on a 20-point scoring grid, while the second is an appreciative system, taking into consideration the accuracy of memorization, the quality of recitation, fluency, hesitations, pronunciation errors, as well as omissions during the reproduction of texts.