Al-Qalam 
By Nabeelah Shaikh
Haafidh Zafeer Patel brought honour to South Africa when he recently made it into the finals of the world’s most prestigious Quran memorisation competition held in Saudi Arabia.
Patel, 17, participated in the King Abdul Aziz International Quran Competition which was held at Masjid al-Haram in Makkah last month.
In the preliminary stage of the competition, there were over 250 participants representing 118 countries, and only 60 qualified for the finals – and Patel was one of them.
Patel, a grade 11 pupil at the Lenasia Muslim School in Joburg, began his hifdh journey at the tender age of just four. He says memorising and learning the science of the noble Quran has been an honour and blessing from the Almighty for him.
“I praise Allah for giving me the opportunity to be part of the finals. I was inspired to start memorising the Quran after listening to the recitation of a local Imaam, Moulana Israeel Choonara.
My quest to start learning began when I was 4. I then studied under various scholars and completed my hifdh by the age of 10-years-old,” said Patel.
He said some of the scholars he learnt under included Haafidh Zeyn Coovadia, Haafidh Ahmed Saeed and Moulana Muhammad Ganchi. Patel said since the age of five, his teacher Qari Basheer Patel, was one of his biggest motivations.
“He spent many hours teaching me the science of advanced Quranic recitation and he continues to do so even today. I also need to thank, acknowledge and never forget the great role and sacrifices of my parents in making this an easy path for me,” said Patel.
Patel’s journey to participating on an international scale began in 2018 when he won the 12th National Quran Memorisation competition hosted by the South African National Quran Council. He was then selected to participate in the TanzanianI nternational Quran competition, in 2021.
“This was my first opportunity participating internationally and it was a huge eye-opener for me. I was exposed to fellow Hufaadh from across central Africa, and there I discovered that our level of Hifdh was way below what was expected,” said Patel.
He said being a Haafidh was not just about memorising the Quran by word, but also the proficiency of reciting it correctly, as was revealed to our noble Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
“The participation made me realise that being a Haafidh is a lifelong path. Reciting in front of an audience of over 70 000 people in Dar es Salaam’s largest stadium was life changing, and overwhelming for me. To witness so many people attend the event for five hours in Ramadan, to attentively listen to the noble Quran being recited, showed me the true love that people have for the Quran,” said Patel.
With regards to his latest achievement competing at the King Abdul Aziz International Quran Competition, Patel says lots of intense preparation went into planning for the event, from at least five months before the event.
He said the South African National Quran Council’s various Quran development programs, including the annual national competition, have opened many opportunities for him and others alike.
“These are opportunities that I never knew existed. They are most certainly deserving of the community’s support in order to afford others the same opportunities that I was granted,” said Patel.
His advice to other Hufaadh is that the journey to seeking divine knowledge is not an easy path and requires strong will, and much patience, but he says, it is certainly rewarding and satisfying.
“It is most certainly well worth the journey and all the effort and sacrifice that are required. The most important aspect of being a Haafidh is to understand the Arabic language, without which the true beauty of the noble Quran cannot be achieved.
To be a Haafidh of the noble Quran should never be taken lightly. It is from the most honourable of bounties that the Almighty Allah can bestow upon a person, both in this world and the next.” said Patel.
