King Salman Award for Holy Quran Memorization

King Salman Award for Holy Quran Memorization, also known as the Local Competition of King Salman, is an annual competition organized by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah, and Guidance. It is held across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for memorizing, reciting, and interpreting the Holy Quran, for both male and female participants. Its total prizes exceed SAR7 million. It was launched for the first time in the capital Riyadh in 1999, with the participation of eighty-five male and female competitors.

King Salman Award for Holy Quran Memorization is divided into several branches, including a branch for memorizing the entire Quran with proper performance and tajweed according to the seven recurrent readings from the transmissions of al-Shatibiyyah and al-Taysir (in both narration and knowledge), a branch for memorizing the entire Quran with proper performance and tajweed and interpreting all of its vocabulary, a branch for memorizing the entire Quran with proper performance and tajweed, a branch for memorizing twenty consecutive juz’ (part) with proper performance and tajweed, a branch for memorizing ten consecutive juz’ with proper performance and tajweed, and a branch for memorizing five consecutive juz’ with proper performance and tajweed.

The value of King Salman Award for Holy Quran Memorization for the first branch is SAR400,000 to the first winner, SAR375,000 to the second, and SAR350,000 to the third; Branch Two grants SAR250,000 to the first place, SAR225,000 to the second, and SAR200,000 to the third; Branch Three grants SAR180,000 to the first place, SAR170,000 to the second, SAR160,000 to the third, SAR150,000 to the fourth, and SAR140,000 to the fifth; Branch Four grants SAR120,000 to the first place, SAR110,000 to the second, SAR100,000 to the third, SAR90,000 to the fourth, and SAR80,000 to the fifth; Branch Five grants SAR60,000 to the first place, SAR55,000 to the second, SAR50,000 to the third, SAR45,000 to the fourth, and SAR40,000 to the fifth; and Branch Six grants SAR35,000 to the first place, SAR32,500 to the second, SAR30,000 to the third, SAR27,500 to the fourth, and SAR25,000 to the fifth.

Registration for the competition involves selecting the desired branch, then heading to the Holy Quran memorization circles affiliated with charitable associations, consulting student activities in public schools and universities, and preparing to participate in the initial qualifying rounds at the level of provinces and governorates.

Participation in the King Salman Award for Holy Quran Memorization requires that male and female contestants be Saudi citizens, that the male contestant’s age at the time of the competition not exceed twenty-four years, and the female contestant’s age not exceed thirty-five years, that the contestant not be participating in the King Abdulaziz International Competition for Holy Quran Memorization, and that both male and female contestants must have won at the level of their respective provinces. Additionally, neither contestant may participate in a branch they have previously taken part in, or in a lower branch, except for the first and second branches, where a single repeat participation is allowed if they did not win. The winners, whether male or female, are also committed to participating in any Holy Quran memorization competition deemed suitable for nomination by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah, and Guidance.