Claim of Sikandar Raza’s daughter memorizing the whole Quran is false
A photograph has been circulating on social media accompanied by the claim that T20 captain of the Zimbabwe cricket team Sikandar Raza’s daughter has memorised the holy Quran at the age of 15. The Bangladeshi news outlet News24 also published a video report carrying the same claim. However, Dismislab’s fact-check has found the claim to be false.
On Facebook, News24’s sports page “News24 Sports” published a video report on 2 August, with the headline, “Sikandar Raza’s daughter has memorised the holy Quran at the age of 15.” The report stated that to celebrate this achievement, the family organised a home Islamic ceremony in Harare, Zimbabwe, where a teacher recited the Quran via video conference and led a special prayer (dua). By the time this report was published, the post had been viewed more than 718,000 times, had received more than 77,000 reactions, and had been shared more than 1,800 times.
A Facebook page named “Shamim Ahmed” made a post with the same claim on 1 August. The post stated that Anaya Raza had memorised all 30 paras (the thirty parts into which the Quran is traditionally divided) of the Quran in less than two years, taking online classes under the supervision of Pakistani Quran teacher Qari Muhammad Yousuf. As of the writing of this report, the post had received more than 87,000 reactions and had been shared 165 times. The same claim was spread through posts from multiple Facebook profiles (1, 2), pages (1, 2, 3, 4), and a group (1).
A keyword search revealed that the same claim had already been circulating on Pakistan-based social media pages before this. The claim was published on an Instagram page named “Current Pakistan” on 31 July, where the caption attached to the post stated that the image used was AI-generated and intended only as a reference. The claim subsequently spread through several more Pakistan-based pages (1, 2, 3).
However, a keyword search did not lead to any report on the matter from a credible international news outlet. Nor were any photographs or posts related to this claim found on Sikandar Raza’s verified Instagram and X accounts.
Dismislab subsequently contacted Sikandar Raza directly. He confirmed to Dismislab that the viral claim was false.
In other words, the claim that Sikandar Raza’s daughter became a hafeza (one who has fully memorised the Quran) is false — misinformation that was also propagated by a news outlet.
It is worth noting that, according to information available online, Sikandar Raza is known to have at least one daughter and one son. In a video published on the Instagram page of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on 1 May 2025, Raza stated that his son’s name is Isa and his daughter’s name is Anaya.
