By Ashraf Padanna/Thiruvananthapuram
This Ramadan is special for Twaha Mahboob, a blind student of College of Tahfeelul Qur’an under the Ma’din Academy in Kerala.
Gifted with sharp memory and dedication, the 21-year-old has created history of sorts by memorising the entire Holy Qur’an in Braille.
“Ramadan is the sacred month in which the Qur’an was revealed to humanity. All praise to Allah, the Almighty, for fulfilling my ambition of memorising the Holy Qur’an by this Ramadan,” said Mahboob.
It took three years for him to learn all the 114 chapters and 6,666 verses of the holy book by heart. He is now able to recite and explain any verse from any Surah from any part of the Qur’an with accuracy. He is also able to recite the verses in different styles popular in various parts of the world.
Though many blind people memorise the Qur’an, even faster than those with clear vision, learning through the Braille script is said to be very rare. For this, they do not have to rely on others to recite the holy verses and memorise.
The second son of Abdulla Haji and Mariyam of Omachappuzha village in the Malappuram district, Mahboob was a student of the Ma’din Blind School, Swalath Nagar, for seven years where he learnt the Braille script.
He says it has given him tremendous confidence to join the College of Tahfeelul Qur’an for specialised learning.
“When I pick up my Braille Qur’an to read, I feel a sense of belonging and I’m part of the community. I can read it just like any person having clear eyesight,” Mahboob says.
In a recent All-India Qur’an recitation programme organised by the Ma’din Academy, his performance along with Hafizs from across the country was highly appreciated.
Last month, he read the last parts of the Qur’an he memorised to Sayyid Ibrahimul Khaleel al-Bukhari, the group’s chairman.
Mahboob asserts that it was the happiest moment in his life.
With his rare achievement in learning of the Qur’an, he also maintains the tradition of his grandfather Hafiz Aboobacker Kutty Musliyar Omachappuzha who was a distinguished Sufi scholar and Hafiz.
The Braille version of the Qur’an is being imported from Saudi Arabia as it is not printed in India.
Recently, the Assabah Society for the Blind based in the northern Kerala city of Kozhikode started giving door-to-door lessons to the visually-impaired in reading the Qur’an in Braille for the benefit of around 75,000 blind and visually-impaired people across the state.
Twaha Mahboob: dedicated effort
