WINNERS emerged on Tuesday in a maiden hadith competition sponsored by the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Oulema held at the Conference Hall of the National Mosque, Abuja.
The winner of the first category (memorisation of 40 Hadiths, the transmission chain and the texts), Adam Hassan Mohamed from Borno State with 19.35 points, went away with N200,000 cash prize.
Ibrahim Umar Abubakar from Kano State scored 19.6 points and won the N300,000 prize for emerging first in the second category (memorisation of 20 texts of Hadiths with rulings).
Yakub Bello Mohammad emerged the winner of the third category (memorisation of 20 texts, rulings, benefits, jurisprudential positions and applications). He scored 19.70 points and also got N300,000 for his effort.
The winners were also presented with plaques and certificates.
According to the convener of the programme in Nigeria, Professor Ibrahim Makari Ahmad, who is one of the imams of the National Mosque, Abuja, the winners will fly Nigeria’s flag at the grand finale scheduled to hold in Rabat, Morocco, later in the year.
Professor Makari Ahmad commended the participants, describing each of them as a winner. He said the competition was aimed at promoting the Sunnah (way of life) of the Prophet as the second primary source of Islamic legislation.
“This competition is the initiative of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Africa Oulema which has its headquarters in Rabat, Morocco and it is headed by His Royal Majesty, King Mohammed VI. He is the organiser.
“The winners here will represent Nigeria at the international competition to be announced by the board later. A total number of 173 participants were selected from across the 36 states. The essence of the competition is to promote the study, memorisation and application of Hadiths.
“It is also to encourage young African youths to pay attention and to give importance to the story of Hadith of Prophet Mohammad (peace of Allah be upon him) and for them to be able to imbibe his characteristics.
“This is the maiden edition of the competition in Nigeria. The competition was held in 48 branches worldwide and each branch is expected to conduct this between June 22nd and July 31st, 2024,” the convener stated.
The special guest of honour at the event, the Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Shehu Hadi Ahmad, who was represented by the Acting Director, Department of Engineering, Design and Evaluation, Zulqarnain AbdulRahim, commended the organizers.
Hadi Ahmad underscored the need for the Muslim community to take its rightful place in the area of education in Nigeria.
He charged Muslim leaders to use the knowledge of the Qur’an and Hadith to transform the world by bringing peace and tranquility to humanity.
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