By Khadija Waziri
Kano was filled with excitement today as Dr. Maryam Ibrahim Shettima, better known as Maryam Shetty, hosted the first edition of her Recite with Shetty Qur’an competition.
The colorful event took place at Mystic Falls Event Center, Kano and ended with the overall winner walking away with a grand prize of ₦1 million.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Shetty said the idea behind the initiative is to promote unity and use Qur’anic recitation as a way to “clean up” social media space which is often flooded with immoral content.
She explained that the project has already helped discover amazingly talented young people whose beautiful recitations deserve to be heard.
“This is not just a one-time contest,” she said with a smile. “It’s the beginning of something bigger. The feedback we’ve received has been beyond our expectations, and we are determined to keep it going.”
The event also featured Qur’anic recitations from scholars and nominees, creating a spiritual and uplifting atmosphere.
Among those in attendance was the Kano State Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Dahir Muhammad Hashim, who made a personal donation of ₦50,000 to each of the winners. He applauded the initiative and described it as a “rare example” of using social media for positive change.
The winners were:
• Nuradeen Mua’zu (Abuja) – 1st place, ₦1 million
• Muhammad Khalid Idris (Bauchi) – 2nd place, ₦500,000
• Aisha Tahir Ibrahim (Jigawa) – 3rd place, ₦250,000
For Dr. Shetty, the highlight wasn’t just the prizes, but the reach of the initiative. Within just two weeks of launching the Recite with Shetty TikTok page, it had already attracted nearly 15,000 followers and some videos hit over a million views.
One of the winners, Aisha Tahir, spoke on behalf of the contestants. She thanked Dr. Shetty and urged others to support similar projects that promote Qur’anic values and teachings.