The NQC story · 2026
From 333
to 56
The story of the UK's first National Qur'an Competition — and the weekend in Leicester where its first champions were crowned.
A national first
When registration opened for the National Qur'an Competition — the NQC — no one knew how Britain's ḥuffāẓ would answer. The answer came quickly: 333 contestants entered from every corner of the UK and beyond, from Leicester and Birmingham to London, Manchester and mainland Europe. Five categories spanned the full breadth of memorisation: from Juz ʿAmma, recited by children as young as six, to the entire Qur'ān — all 600-plus pages — carried from memory.
Seven days of semi-finals
Across seven days in July, every contestant recited live before a judging panel, examined on passages drawn at random from their memorised portion. Marks were deducted for hesitation, prompting, and errors in tajwīd and makhārij under a published national rubric — the same standard, for every child, in every city. Scores were locked and signed by the judges, and when the final session closed, the standings named the grand finalists.
The fifty-six who stood
Fifty-five finalists were announced in July, and by finals weekend the roll had grown to fifty-six. Nine in Category E (Juz ʿAmma), nine in D, eight each in C and B — five, ten and twenty ajzāʾ — and in Category A, the deepest field of all: twenty-two young men who each hold the entire Qur'ān. They came from twenty-three cities across five countries, the youngest just six years old.
Two days in Leicester
On Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 August, Masjid Taqwa Hall on Harewood Street became a national stage. Saturday belonged to the younger categories — Juz ʿAmma, five ajzāʾ, ten ajzāʾ — and Sunday to the twenty ajzāʾ and the Full Qur'ān championship. Each finalist recited afresh before a panel of five renowned qurrāʾ: full-page passages, no time limit, every mark deliberated and confirmed, and every recitation broadcast live on our channel, @studyiic. The results stayed sealed until the very end.
The Awards Ceremony
On Sunday evening the hall filled for the moment the whole summer had built towards. All fifty-six finalists processed together, and every one of them left with a certificate and a gift — reaching that hall was the achievement. The winners of all five categories were then crowned in rising order, sharing £14,425 in prizes, alongside the People's Choice awards — voted by the public, 419 votes cast, one award in each category and Category D's awarded jointly. And to close the weekend, the champion of the competition — Mohamed Lharod Lhadari of Brussels, champion of the Full Qur'ān — recited to the whole hall.
The appeal
Across the weekend the competition carried an appeal for the future of Islamic education in the UK — a £100,000 campaign for what the College builds next. Gifts and pledges came from the hall and from the stream, tracked live on the venue's screens, and the appeal remains open on the NQC page.
Those who carried it
The NQC stood on many shoulders. Ethar Relief, our platinum partner, whose relief work spans the Horn of Africa. Islam Channel, our media partner. Haramain Properties, our gold sponsor; Bombay Bites, our silver sponsor; and Hyperglow. Masjid Taqwa, who gave the hall and the welcome; Masjid al-Furqan, who hosted travelling brothers at the free Qur'an camp all weekend. Five judges who heard every recitation as equals. And the Anṣār — the marshals, volunteers, kitchen, drivers, donors, teachers and families behind every ḥāfiẓ — whose work was given freely, and mostly unseen.
The first champions in British history
On Sunday 2 August 2026, in front of a full hall, the first champions in the competition's history were crowned — five categories, the Full Qur'ān championship among them, and the People's Choice awards voted by the public. The full results, the roll of honour and both days' replays are on the NQC page.