3 Bruneians gird for Saudi Quran prize

MOHD Fakhrin Dato Hj Zainal, Muhd Hidayatullah Sunazul Fikar Suip and Yusairi Asbol will represent Brunei at the Al-Malik Abd Aziz International Quran Recital and Interpretation Competition in Mekah, Saudi Arabia on October 13-19.

The Brunei Times had the opportunity to interview the three-member delegation before they left yesterday for Mekah on their aspirations to gain international recognition as Bruneian hafiz (Muslims who have completely memorised Al-Quran).

Fifteen-year-old Mohd Fakhrin Dato Hj Zainal will be competing in the 10 juzuk category of the competition.

The Form Five student of Tahfiz Al-Quran Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Institute said that his preparation for the competition involved intensive study of Al-Quran with his teacher and friends.

He said he made a habit of revising in preparation for the competition.

Being his first time joining an international Al-Quran competition, Mohd Fakhrin found that the support from his parents and family, together with teachings from his Al-Quran teacher, Ustaz Tarmizi Hj Mahmood, gave him confidence.

He expressed his hope that he will be able to make the country proud.

He also hoped that more opportunities will be opened to him to represent the country in similar competitions.

Mohd Fakhrin's father, Dato Paduka Hj Zainal Hj Momin, said that he is proud of his son's achievement in being able to represent the country. He lauded the government's efforts in uplifting the level of Bruneian hafiz in the country.

He expressed his hope that his son will be successful in the competition.

"It is not an easy feat" to compete in international Al-Quran competitions, he said.

He added that such efforts were in line with the country's ambition in becoming a zikir nation.

According to Dato Paduka Hj Zainal, his son had always been inclined towards Al-Quran reading even as a child.

He hopes his son will be able to realise his potential based on the experience in the competition.

Dato Paduka Hj Zainal and his wife will also be accompanying the delegation to Mekah.

Another student of the institute, Muhd Hidayatullah Sunazul Fikar Suip, said that preparations for the competition involved a lot of revising. He will be competing in the 20 juzuk category.

He said that the revision was necessary to avoid confusion with regards to the verses. Revising was usually done with his teacher and friends, he said.

This will also be the first time the 16-year-old will be competing in an international Al-Quran competition.

He said that he was quite nervous about the competition, particularly with the idea of competing with participants from other countries.

Still, he vowed to do his best at the competition.

For Mosque Affairs Officer Yusairi Asbol, 24, participating in the 30 juzuk category required two months of intensive preparation in revising Al-Quran.

Yusairi, who had previously represented the country in similar competitions in Iran in 1998 and Dubai in 2003, said that intensive revision of Al-Quran is more important than ever this year.

He said that this is because this year's contestants have to compete in the same category where previously, contestants were divided into Arabic-speaking and non-Arabic speaking countries.

He pointed out that this represented a slight disadvantage for the nation's contestants as they will now be competing with contestants from both Arabic and non-Arabic speaking countries.

However, the challenge will not deter Yusairi's spirit in performing his best in the competition and he expressed his hope that he will be able to secure top positions.

Muhd Ali Sabri Hj Yusof, the teacher who will accompany the contestants, said that the participants had to undergo internal tests and interviews conducted by the institute before being chosen as the country's representatives in the competition.

He added that this year will mark the country's 14th participation in the event.

A briefing was held a few days ago at the institute to brief the representatives on the competition.

During the briefing, the participants were given an insight on what to expect from the trip by the previous head of delegation and accompanying teacher who shared their previous experiences.

The briefing also stressed on the importance of paying special attention to their respective juzuk memorisation, hukum-hakam tajwid (rules in the pronunciation) and voice intonation by Hj Abdul Rashid Hj Saad, who was a judge at the 2007 competition in Jordan.

The Brunei Times