Rules & Regulations (2025)
To Ensure Compliance and Avoid Disqualification in the Upcoming Competition,
Please Review the Rules & Regulations Set Forth on this Page.
Prelim Round
Imam Al-Shatibi Qur’an Competition will hold a preliminary round of testing in May 2025.
- Participants will have a virtual preliminary competition via Zoom from May 22nd to May 26th.
- This will be the case for both Non-MN and MN participants.
Final Round
Participants with the highest grades in the preliminary round will be qualified to participate in the final round which will be held in-person for both Non-MN and MN participants in Minnesota, USA.
More information regarding the final round of testing including location and dates will be updated here soon.
Terms of Agreement
Competition Outcome
Grading Criteria
The grading criteria is more nuanced then most people might believe. There is more to it than Memorization and Tajwīd. Click here for a brief summary of the grading criteria.
Ten Qira'at Division
A. 30 Juz (Whole Qur'an)
B. 15 Juz
C. 5 Juz
Memorization Divison
A. 30 Juz (Whole Qur'an)
B. 20 Juz
C. 15 Juz
D. 10 Juz
E. 5 Juz
F. 1 Juz (Juz Amma)
Best Voice Divison
There are two sections in division:
A. 13 yrs old and older (Group A)
B. 12 yrs old and younger (Group B)
Click here for specific rules regarding the the Best Voice Division.
How many award Winners will there be?
Classification Terms & Award Criteria
Let us first review the terms used by Imam Al-Shatibi Qur’an Competition for classification. Division is used to describe the type of competition (Ten Qira’at, Memorization, and Best Voice). Category is used to describe the classes within a division. Section is used to classify a group based on gender or age. Awards generally include monetary award & umrah award unless specified otherwise.
In the Ten Qira’at division, if any category, at any point, has less than 5 participants, it will be cancelled for that year. In terms of awards, below is the award criteria:
- 10 or more Participants – 3 Award Winners
- 5 to 9 Participants – 1 Award Winner (2nd and 3rd Position winners will receive a Certificate Award)
- Less than 5 Participants – Cancelled
1 Juz (Juz Amma) & 5 Juz Categories
- 5 Award Winners (Default)
- 2 Sections for boys and girls. (Default)
10 Juz, 15 Juz, 20 Juz, and 30 Juz (Whole Qur’an)
- 3 Award Winners (Default)
- Adjustments: At the discretion of the competition management:
- The number of awards for a category may be increased to five.
- The category may be split into two sections (for boys and girls) depending on the number of participating boys and girls.
In the Best Voice division, below is the award criteria:
- 10 or more participants – 3 Award Winners
Do you qualify?
Participation Requirements
Review the specific rules to avoid being disqualified later on
01
Residency
Participant must be a resident of North America (Canada, the US, and Mexico).
02
Age
Participant must meet the age requirements for category as listed below.
03
Memorization
Participant must have strong memorization, Tajwīd & other rules.
04
Registration
Participant must be registered during the registration period.
Participation Requirement Details
Residency
Participant must be a resident of North America (Canada, the US, and Mexico).
Age
Participant must meet the age requirement for registered category as listed below.
The cutoff date for 2025 will be Jan 1st, 2025. To be eligible, participants must be of the required age for their registered category as of Dec 31st, 2024.
Ten Qira’at Division
- 30 Juz (Whole Qur’an) – 40 Years of Age or Younger
- Must be born on or after Jan 1st, 1984
- 5 Juz & 15 Juz – 35 Years of Age or Younger
- Must be born on or after Jan 1st, 1987
Memorization Division
- 30 Juz Category (Whole Quran) – 25 Years of Age or Younger
- Must be born on or after Jan 1st, 1999
- 20 Juz Category – 23 Years of Age or Younger
- Must be born on or after Jan 1st, 2001
- 15 Juz Category – 20 Years of Age or Younger
- Must be born on or after Jan 1st 2004
- 10 Juz Category – 16 Years of Age or Younger
- Must be born on or after Jan 1st, 2008
- 5 Juz Category – 12 Years of Age or Younger
- Must be born on or after Jan 1st, 2012
- 1 Juz Category (Juz Amma) – 8 Years of Age or Younger]
- Must be born on or after Jan 1st, 2016
Best Voice Division
- Group A [Best Voice Category] – 13 years of Age up to 25 years of Age
- Must be born on or after Jan 1st, 1999, but before Jan 1st, 2012
- Group B [Best Voice Category] – 12 years or Age or Younger
- Must be born on or after Jan 1st, 2012
Memorization
General Requirements: Participant must demonstrate strong memorization, Tajwīd, and other rules.
Teacher Responsibility: Teachers are are expected to only allow the registration of students who are prepared.
Overqualification Restrictions:
- Previous top 3 winners in a category cannot compete in the same or lower categories. However, competing in a different division is acceptable. The only exception to this rule is Certificate award winners from the Ten Qira’at division.
Registration
Registration Period: Participant must be registered during the registration period.
2025 Registration Starts March 1st and ends March 16th.
Approval: The teacher of the participant must give the approval for registration. Registration must then be completed by the teacher or parent with the presence of the participant. Participants older than 18 may register for themselves with the approval of their teachers.
Online Registration: The registration is online. All the necessary fields must be completed accurately before submitting registration. Incorrect input will result in problems later such as the incorrect spelling of a participant’s name and the inability to reach participant teacher/parent when needed.
Those who miss the registration deadline will not be participating in the competition that year. No exceptions will be made for late registrations, regardless of the reason for the delay. It is the responsibility of the participants and their guardians or teachers to ensure timely registration.
We advise everyone intending to participate to register without delay during the registration period. Every year there are numerous people who miss the deadline because they forgot or assumed someone else registered for them. No one has been given an exception.
Unleashing the Beauty of Your Qur'anic Recitation
Best Voice
Selected participants will be informed on the registration site after the preliminary competition of the Memorization Division.
Competition Information
- Group A (13 Yrs & Older): Participants will not be given the Ayat of recitation in advance.
- Group B (12 Yrs & Younger): Participants will be given the Ayat of recitation in advance (a few hours before the competition)
- Judges will ring a bell to remind the reciter that their 5 minutes is up and that they should finish soon.
- Reciters will be given a Mushaf to read from.
How to enter?
When?
can I opt out?
Brief Summary of the
Grading Criteria
A few reminders
- Judges generally do not notify the participant regarding Tajwīd mistakes.
- Very often, participants are very close in their performance even when they are 1 or 2 positions apart from each other.
- Winning or losing in the competition does not necessarily equate to how well or not well a participant memorized the Qur'an
- The main goal is not to win, but to improve in your knowledge of Qur'an
- On the right is a layout of the general grading criteria the judges use during the competition. It is not comprehensive.
Including Waqf and Ibtida
Faltering, stopping, or suddenly going back to remember
Going back more than 2 lines Mistakes whether corrected or not after being notified
Long pause after the judge's recitation (more than 5 sec)
Beauty of the voice and control over it
Confidence in the strength of memorization
Clarity in style of recitation
Reciting and pronouncing without strain
Penalty
Penalties for Non-Compliance:
Penalties for Teachers:
Teachers must only register students who have strong memorization skills. If a teacher registers students with very weak memorization, the following penalty will apply:
The teacher will be prohibited from registering their students in the following year’s competition.
Penalties for Participants:
Attendance: Participants must attend the main competition on time. If a participant fails to attend the main competition, the following penalty will apply:
The participant will be barred from participating in the next year’s competition.
Falsification of Information: Participants must not falsify their personal information on the registration form. If a participant is found to have falsified their registration information, the following penalty will apply:
The participant will be permanently barred from participating in any future competitions.
Umrah Travel (2025-26)
Umrah travel departure for the top position competition winners will be sometime in mid-December for approximately 2 weeks .
Winners awarded with Umrah and traveling parents must submit their valid passports and photos by the week following the competition closing ceremony. After this deadline, no additional individual will be added to the travelling group.
Islamic Journey
Compete for a chance to perform Umrah in Mecca and to be part of a life-changing spiritual journey. Register now and make your dream a reality.
