Official government website of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 
His Royal Highness Prince Dr. Faisal bin Mishal bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Al-Qassim region, affirmed that the Holy Quran receives great care in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as it provides significant support to Quran memorization societies, Islamic centers, and Quran memorization circles, whether in the Two Holy Mosques or in other mosques throughout the Kingdom's regions. This, he noted, is a source of pride, honor, and reassurance. He pointed out that no country in the world allows inmates to be pardoned from their sentences if they memorize parts of the Holy Quran, as is the case in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
His Highness expressed, during his patronage of the closing ceremony of the «Faisal bin Mishaal Award for Memorizing the Holy Quran,» organized by the university, represented by the Deanship of Student Affairs, today, Wednesday corresponding to 11/6/1441 AH, at the main hall of the university city, his pride and honor in contributing to graduating memorizers of the Book of Allah. His Highness emphasized that naming this award after him is a great honor, especially since it is a competition for the Book of Allah Almighty.
His Highness the Prince of Al-Qassim said: “We are the ones honored to attend graduation ceremonies for memorizers of the Holy Quran, not the other way around. We are honored to attend any matter related to the Holy Quran, praise be to God for making us among those who support and encourage memorization of the Holy Quran. How could we not, when we follow this Book and it governs our judiciary and our methodology? This Book is the constitution and methodology of this country, and by the grace of God and His success, it is preserved in hearts through the establishment of Quran memorization circles and societies, and in writing too, through what the King Fahd Complex for Printing the Noble Quran has been providing for years in Medina, and holding Quran memorization competitions is an honor for this country. We ask God Almighty to make it our methodology until the Day of Judgment.”.
His Highness expressed his thanks and appreciation to His Excellency Professor Dr. Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Dawood, the President of the university, the vice presidents and staff of the university, and to Dr. Othman Taha, who wrote the Holy Quran by hand more than 10 times and attended the final ceremony of the competition, praying to God that fire would not touch his hand. He also thanked everyone who participated in this competition, praying to God that this approach would be adopted in all universities in the Kingdom. He pointed out that the university's establishment of a prize for memorizing the Quran is a great principle and great encouragement for memorizers of God's book, saying: ”Sharia knowledge and Quranic sciences are the hilt of the sword. When we learn the Quran, its sciences, its recitation, and its interpretation, and we dedicate it and deepen it in the hearts of our sons and daughters, we grasp all knowledge with the hilt of the sword, which is Sharia knowledge.".
For his part, His Excellency Professor Dr. Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Dawood, President of the University and Chairman of the Award's Supervisory Committee, thanked His Highness the Prince of the region for agreeing to have his name bestowed upon this award. More than 3,500 participants took part in this award, and he prayed to God Almighty to place it in the balance of good deeds that His Highness undertakes, which are difficult to enumerate. He also thanked him for his patronage of the university's educational, research activities, and community service programs, noting that this continuous support and encouragement is not surprising. He expressed his hope that he and his colleagues, who work tirelessly and collaboratively as a unified team, would live up to expectations.
Al-Dawood pointed out that the university, by the grace of God, has achieved a number of awards and advanced rankings in all fields. It presents this competition as an example of the care provided by this country, may God protect it, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Highness the Crown Prince – may God protect them both – for the Book of God, in recitation, memorization, and contemplation.
The esteemed President of the University said: We thank God for making this country, since its inception and establishment by His Majesty King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman – may God have mercy on him – and his successors, the kings, up to our prosperous era, the era of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, pay great attention to the Book of God and the Sunnah of His Prophet, peace be upon him. Congratulations to us in this nation, and to this leadership, and congratulations to us on His Highness the Prince of Qassim, who pays all attention and care to preserving the Book of God, and encouraging those who work on it and those who have memorized it.
“Al-Dawoud” also thanked all the colleagues overseeing the competition, which spanned months and required them to work diligently and with dedication to reach its current stage, with such a large number of participants across all branches of the competition. He also thanked the Deanship of Student Affairs for its organization, represented by its Dean, Dr. Ali Al-Aqla. He extended his thanks and congratulations to everyone who participated, both male and female, in this competition, congratulating them on their memorization of the Book of Allah. He then thanked them for their participation and interaction with this competition, asking Allah Almighty to protect this country and its leadership, to perpetuate security and safety, and to grant success to all who strive to encourage and support the memorization of the Book of Allah, may He be Exalted.
The total prize money for the competition exceeded half a million riyals, distributed among 43 male and female winners out of 3,400 male and female contestants from 45 different nationalities who participated in all stages of the competition. Sixteen male and female judges oversaw the competition, stemming from the commitment to care for and honor the Holy Quran and its memorizers, encouraging them to continue and persist in learning and memorizing the Quran.
His Highness the Prince of Qassim inaugurated, at the beginning of his patronage of the Holy Quran exhibition and ceremony organized by the university under the title “Indeed, it is a noble Quran” in the main atrium, in the presence of the calligrapher of the Holy Quran, Dr. Othman Taha. The exhibition presented the Kingdom's efforts in caring for the Holy Quran and contained photographs, manuscripts, and old Qurans, in addition to displaying all historical stages of the Holy Quran from the time the Holy Quran was revealed in detail to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and the stages of collecting the Holy Quran during the era of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq and during the era of Uthman bin Affan, may Allah be pleased with them, and during the Umayyad Caliphate.
Following that, a documentary film was shown detailing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's care for the Holy Quran from its inception until the era of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – may God protect him – and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – may God preserve him. This care has been immense, both in terms of preserving, reciting, and implementing it as a constitution and methodology, as well as printing and translating it into all languages of the world through the King Fahd Complex for Printing the Holy Quran, and also in caring for its memorizers and reciters from all corners of the Earth.
His Royal Highness Prince Dr. Faisal bin Meshal then launched the Holy Quran application project for the University Mushaf. This is a free electronic application offered by the university on the Apple Store and Android platforms. The application contains everything a reader needs, including high-resolution images of the Holy Quran surahs, interpretation, recitation, and other features that help the user read easily and conveniently.
At the conclusion of the competition, His Highness the Emir of Al-Qassim honored the judges, participants, and winning students at the regional level across all academic grades. This was through four certified memorization branches in the competition: the first branch is memorizing the entire Quran, the second branch is memorizing twenty parts, the third branch is memorizing ten parts, and the fourth branch is memorizing five parts.
