The Award

The 20th edition of Al Burda Award celebrates the aesthetics of the Islamic culture in honor of the biography of the Prophet (PBUH), in line with the declaration of the UAE of the “Year of the Family”, and to reinforce the virtue of the Prophet (PBUH) in strengthening family bonds, as the family is the fundamental pillar upon which a strong and prosperous society is based.

The theme for this edition “Family.. Tranquillity and Compassion,” is inspired by verse (36) of Surah An-Nisa:

“Serve Allah and ascribe no partner to Him. Do good to your parents, to near of kin, to orphans, and to the needy, and to the neighbor who is of kin and to the neighbor who is a stranger, and to the companion by your side, and to the wayfarer, and to those whom your right hands possess. Allah does not love the arrogant and the boastful.”

The verse presents a comprehensive model of family, in which the devotion to Allah is reflected through kindness within the family, making the family a school of values and a starting point for a compassionate and cohesive society.

This verse highlights that the family is the primary starting point for embodying faith. Following the command to worship Allah alone, kindness to parents is mentioned immediately, as they constitute the foundation of the family and the source of upbringing and care. This sequence reflects that family stability and the quality of relationships within it are a natural extension of proper worship.

The verse further broadens the concept of the family beyond its immediate scope to include the extended family through kindness to relatives, thereby strengthening kinship ties and reinforcing bonds across generations. It then extends to orphans and the needy, affirming the role of the family in instilling the values of compassion and social solidarity in the hearts of its children.

The verse also points to the importance of close, everyday relationships such as the neighbor and the companion, which represent a moral extension of what an individual learns within the family in terms of respect, cooperation, and good conduct. It concludes with a warning against arrogance, as humility is a fundamental virtue that preserves family cohesion and prevents disintegration and conflict.

The Award also draws inspiration for its theme from the prophet’s hadith: (The best among you is he who is the best with his family. Verily, I am the best one among you with my family). Here, the highest meanings of compassion and exemplary conduct are manifested, as the hadith reflects the adoption of a culture of respect, affection, and cooperation within the family, and establishes good treatment as a standard by which individual character is measured, thereby contributing to the building of a strong and stable family founded on compassion and shared responsibility.

Thus, the strength of the family emerges, as its well-being begins within the warmth of homes, and in hearts nurtured in the school of Prophethood, where love is understood as a responsibility, and kindness towards one’s family is an act of worship that brings one closer to Allah and builds a cohesive society characterized by tranquility and affection.

Al Burda Award continues its mission of inspiring artists and creatives to explore horizons of beauty and creativity across various artistic categories. In its 20th edition, the Award is guided by the theme “Family.. Tranquillity and Compassion”, inviting artists to embody this profound human concept through their creative expressions in works ranging from writing to calligraphy and design, in order to highlight the aesthetics of Islamic arts inspired by the theme of this edition.