KARACHI, Oct 4: In an impressive display of their retentive memory, four precocious children on Tuesday rattled off verses from the Quran and answered questions about the placement and meaning of the verses.

Speaking at a press conference, the convener of the Quran Foundation, Shaikh Khawar Raza, said the children knew the Quran by heart and if a listener read out only a portion of a verse, they could not only complete it but also shed light on their placement in the copy of the Quran transcribed by Usman Taha which was used by Huffaz (those who commit the Quran to memory) all over the world. They could also tell the number of the page on which the verses were written, he said.

Mr Raza said the children could quote relevant verses from the Quran on the subjects they were asked to dilate on. When a reporter asked the children to quote verses about the Muslims’ relations with the Christians and Jews, the Huffaz did that with remarkable ease. They responded with equal promptitude when asked to quote verses on unity among Muslims.

The children who took part in the demonstration were eight-year-old Hafiz Hussain Mehdi, Hafiz Mohammad Ismail, Hafiz Mohammad Abbas and Syed Roohullah Moswi. While Hafiz Mehdi learnt the Quran at Qom, Iran, the other three children are students of Madressah-i-Haffazul Quran, Skardu.