In one of the most heartwarming and inspiring stories to come out of Ramadan 2026, a ten-year-old girl from Indonesia has made her entire nation and the whole Muslim world incredibly proud. Her name is Aisyah Arrumi, a young Hafizah from Malang, East Java, and she has just secured second place at the world’s most prestigious Quran competition.
The 28th edition of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award 2026 made history this year by introducing a dedicated category exclusively for female participants for the very first time. The total prize value for the entire competition exceeded AED 12 million, making it one of the largest Quran competitions in terms of prize money anywhere in the world.
Following two rigorous qualifying rounds, judges shortlisted six finalists from thousands of global applicants. In the female category, Aisyah Arrumi of Indonesia competed alongside Jana Ehab Ramadan of Egypt and Sara Abdul Karim Alhalak of Syria.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, personally honoured the winners. Jana Ehab Ramadan of Egypt won first place, while Aisyah Arrumi secured second place, and Sara Abdul Karim Alhalak of Syria took third.
At just ten years old, Aisyah has already memorised 26 juz of the Holy Quran and maintains her memorisation through daily revision of 3 to 5 juz every single day. The competition was attended by 5,618 participants from 105 countries, making Aisyah’s achievement even more remarkable.
Aisyah is a student at SD Tahfidz Al-Qur’an Daarul Ukhuwwah in Pakis, Malang, and previously appeared on the nationally televised Hafiz Indonesia 2024 programme, where her talent first caught the attention of the wider public.
In her own words after winning, Aisyah said beautifully: “I am still small but I love the Quran. I will always memorise the Quran. I ask Allah to gather us all in Paradise together with the Prophets and the people of the Quran.”
