Scholars grace Shetty’s Qur’anic recitation contest in Kano as winners get cash prizes

The maiden edition of the Qur’anic recitation contest organised by Dr. Maryam Ibrahim Shettima, popularly known as Dr. Maryam Shetty, has ended in Kano with participants from across Nigeria showcasing their talents through social media platforms.

SolaceBase reports that the contest, tagged “ReciteWithShetty” and themed “The Qur’an: A Guide to Cleaner Social Media,” was designed to promote moral values online and encourage Nigerian youths to use digital platforms positively.

During the event on Saturday, Dr. Shetty said the initiative was aimed at uniting Muslims across the country through the Qur’an while also addressing the growing concerns of immorality on social media.

She stated that, “We are here precisely to celebrate ReciteWithShetty, which is an initiative for uniting Muslims across the whole nation through the melodious sound of the Holy Qur’an.

“Beyond that, we want to use it as a means to sanitize social media against the immoral activities that are quite rampant at the moment,” she said.

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She explained that the competition revealed a pool of talented Qur’an reciters who might not have been discovered without such a platform.

“It is quite impactful because we were able to discover a lot of talented individuals who are really great at reciting the Qur’an. This is a platform for people who do not usually have voices to be heard and seen across the world,” she added.

Dr. Shetty disclosed that TikTok was the main platform used for the contest, noting that her newly created account gathered almost 15,000 followers in less than two weeks, with some videos reaching over one million views.

The event, which attracted the mother of Africa’s richest man, Mariya Sanusi Dantata, alongside Islamic scholars such as Sheikh Ibrahim Khalil and Sheikh Aminu Daurawa, witnessed keen competition among participants.

At the end of the event, Nuraddeen Mu’azu from Abuja, who emerged the overall winner with 98.6 points, received a cash prize of N1 million.

He was followed by Muhammad Khaleed Idriss from Bauchi, who scored 97.7 points to clinch second place and a prize of N500,000. The third position went to Aisha Tahir Ibrahim from Jigawa, who also scored 97.7 points and received N250,000.

All three winners also received an additional N50,000 each from the Kano State Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Dr. Dahir Muhammad Hashim, who said he was impressed by the efforts of both the organisers and the contestants.

Also speaking, Sheikh Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, under whose guidance the three-man judges’ committee worked, commended her effort, calling on her to sustain the initiative.

Daurawa, who was represented by Malam Aisar Salihu Musa, stated that, “On behalf of the Sheikh, who asked me to state this on his behalf, Maryam should be able to sustain this commendable effort.

“Such programs can be used to change our youth, the way they think, and how they engage with society,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the winners, Aisha Tahir expressed gratitude for the opportunity and called the experience “a source of encouragement for many youths to embrace the Qur’an.”

The event drew a large audience, including politicians, religious leaders, and community stakeholders.