The Ghanaian Minaret

Accra: The Ghana Branch of the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Oulema has successfully selected three contestants to represent Ghana at the upcoming Africa Hadith Competition.

The contestants, participating in three different categories, were crowned winners over the weekend at the end of a national Hadith competition that brought together students from Madrasas across the country.

They were Afnaan Swalah Nasigri, winner for category one – 40 selected Hadiths with chain of transmission; Sa’aadatu Thaalith, winner for category two – 35 selected Hadiths with meanings; and Yasin Abdul Mutallib for category three – 25 Ahkaam Hadith with explanations.

Early on, regional preliminaries were conducted in the Northern, Central, and Southern zones to select finalists for the national event.

The annual Hadith Competition sought to promote Islamic scholarship, preserve the Prophetic traditions, and inspire young Muslims to deepen their knowledge and faith.

The contest also underscored the relevance of Hadith in guiding contemporary Muslim life.

Participants demonstrated their mastery in memorisation, recitation, and interpretation of Hadith before an audience that included dignitaries from the Moroccan Embassy, leading Islamic scholars, Arabic instructors, and members of the Muslim community.

Sheikh Mustapha Ibrahim, President of the Foundation’s Ghana Branch, praised the high level of commitment displayed by the students and urged winners to make Ghana proud at the upcoming continental finals.

“Ghana will be competing against Nigeria, Mauritania, Senegal, Chad, Morocco and others. With the dedication shown, I am confident Ghana stands a strong chance of winning,” he said.

He observed that Ghana has a good reputation on the continent, as it had performed creditably well in competitions organised by the Moroccan foundation.

The country’s performance, he noted, was an indication of how well endowed Ghana was as far as Islamic knowledge was concerned.

“We have no excuse to say we don’t have scholars,” he said.

In the first edition of the African Hadith Competition held last year, Kamaludeen Mohammed from Ghana was declared a category winner for “memorising twenty hadith texts of rulings with an explanation of the jurisprudential benefits.”