The concept of love in God is vibrant in all Abrahamic faiths. As a Muslim, Hassan Hathout believed that love is the backbone of Islamic faith, and that the mission statement of Islam is summarized in God’s words to the prophet “We have sent you for nothing but mercy to the worlds”.

In this spirit, the Hassan Hathout Legacy Foundation holds an annual contest for students in 5th through 8th grades (or age 10 through 13 years).

The title of the essay is:

“How to Grow a Loving Heart”

Each student should describe a project, personal activity or experience, historic event, or current world event, and submit an essay highlighting how this relates to growing a loving heart and to their faith. Supporting material may include excerpts from the Quran, sayings of the prophets, life stories of people of faith, or writings of Hassan Hathout or other religious scholars.

Two to three pages are required.

Participating students must provide the student’s name, age, grade, email address, contact phone number, postal address, school name and location. Teacher’s name and contact information is optional. All contact information should be typed as a cover page for each student’s essay. However, scoring reviewers will not have access to the cover page, so each essay needs to be prepared with the first page including title and grade level only without any other identifying information.

Electronic submissions from October 1, 2019 to November 11, 2019.

Previous participants will be allowed to participate again this year provided they adhere to the guidelines above and submit an essay that is different from the one they previously submitted.

All participants will receive certificates and honorable mention. Top contestants will each receive a medal and a monetary gift of $ 200.00.

“How to Grow a Loving Heart, Long Beach, California

Celebrating Essay Winners at 2020 Event

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