Muslims believe that the Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, by God Almighty through the Angel Gabriel. The Qur’an informs us that Muhammad is the final Messenger in a long line of previous Messengers that God sent, such as Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, peace be upon them all. Although it was revealed in the 7th century in Arabia, it contains a universal message for the whole of mankind. About learning the meaning of the Qur’an must be like extremely hard, but it is wrong. God promises that He has made the Qur’an easy for us to learn. Take a look in these two verses :

وَلَقَدۡ يَسَّرۡنَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ لِلذِّكۡرِ فَهَلۡ مِن مُّدَّكِرٖ

“And We have certainly made the Qur’an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?”
[本当にわれは，クルアーンを易しく説き明した。さあ，誰か悟る者があるか。]

[Quran Surah Al -Qomar : The Moon, 17]

فَإِنَّمَا يَسَّرۡنَٰهُ بِلِسَانِكَ لِتُبَشِّرَ بِهِ ٱلۡمُتَّقِينَ وَتُنذِرَ بِهِۦ قَوۡمٗا لُّدّٗا

“So, [O Muhammad], We have only made Qur’an easy in the Arabic language that you may give good tidings thereby to the righteous and warn thereby a hostile people.”

[われが（クルアーン）をあなたの言葉（アラビア語）で下し分りやすくしたのは，あなたが，主を畏れる者に吉報を伝え，議論好きの者に警告するためである。]

[Quran Surah Maryam : Mary, 97]

Today, there are over 1.7 billion Muslims in the world of all races, nationalities and backgrounds. Imagine how many Muslims on any day, someone, somewhere, is reciting the Qur’an, and this fact make the Qur’an is the most widely read book in the world. It is estimated that some millions of Muslims alive today have memorized the entire Qur’an. In Muslim minority countries, like here in Japan, the leaders of Muslim societies also encourage the community to study the Quran through many ways including weekly Arabic lessons, teaching Qur’an for children, and also programs for Muslimah.

Last week on January 18, 2020, Ishikawa Muslim Society held Quran Competition for Children around Ishikawa Prefecture. The venue was in Umar ibn Al Khattab mosque, usually known as Kanazawa Masjid. Participated by approximately 25 children, age range from 3-17 years. The committee divided the competition into several categories, i.e Surah Al Fatihah, 10 Surahs, 20 Surahs, Half Juz, and 1 Juz of Quran memorization. All of the winners got presents and also appreciated with a certificate.