All India Braille Qur’an Conference

All Praise to Allah (SWT) the Lord of the Worlds and Peace and Salutations be upon our beloved Prophet Nabi Muhammed (S.A.W).

Alhumdullilah, Madrassa An-Noor for the Blind was invited to attend the First All India Braille Qur’an conference that took place on the 25th and 26th of December 2016 in Melvisharam which is situated near the city of Chennai in India. Our principal Moulana Hassan Murchie was invited to attend.

Over 200 blind people from all parts of India including Kashmir, Maharashtra, U.P and Hyderabad etc attended this historical conference. Some of the chief guests who attended this conference were Moulana Rehmatullah of Srinagar, Moulana Mohamed Tayeb who is the Khalifa of Moulana Hussain Ahmad Madni R.A.

The world famous Naat reciter, Moulana Ehsan Mohsin had the audience captivated. Many young blind Naat reciters as young as 5 years old displayed tremendous talent through their beautiful voices in their recitation of the Holy Qur’an and Naats which left us in tears.
Moulana Muzammilludeen Nadwi who is the main Braille Qur’an Workshop coordinator for India also addressed the gathering. Some of the deliberations at this conference included empowering the blind after learning the Qur’an to respective jobs so that they can be empowered economically.

The Braille Qur’an that has been printed in India was exhibited and sets were distributed for free to many participants. Alhumdulil Allah, the Qur’an is now easily available in India.
May Allah (S.W.T) accept all the efforts of those that contributed to this conference especially our hosts, Moulana Mohammed Usman and Moulana Ebrahim of Melvisharam. Ameen.

Dawah to the Blind in the West Indies

All Praise is due to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds, Peace and Salutations be upon our Beloved Prophet Nabi Muhammad (P.B.U.H).

After reaching the small and very beautiful Island of Barbados, which is in the Caribbean Sea, we were fortunate to meet Afeefah, a 17 year old accompanied by her mother. She has severe visual and speech impairments. I noticed a classic example of the struggle disabled learners experience in their endeavor to be accepted by mainstream society when she showed me her notebook, wherein she had painstakingly copied her Islamic Duas and lessons in Arabic and English print. I was astonished by her commitment, courage and dedication and by the help offered to her by the local Alima’s on the Island. Her question to me was if she could read the Holy Quran in Braille, as her secular school teacher said there was no need for it.
My response to her was, nothing ventured, nothing gained, take the plunge and swim.

The next day, accompanied by the principal of Al-Falah Islamic School, Moulana Ebrahim Bhana, we visited the CEO of Trinidad and Tobago Association of the Blind and were made to understand that there are a high number of people resident whose grandparents originated from India. We explained to him our mission of enabling literacy through the medium of teaching the Holy Quran in Arabic Braille. His shocking response was thatmany Blind Muslims were now reading the Bible, as there had been a long lapse in any religious instruction in the Muslim community.

We also had an opportunity of addressing the students of the Darul Uloom Trinidad Tobago in Port of Spain, as well as the local community, and advised them of the importance of empowering our visually disabled brothers and sisters by affording themequal access to Islamic studies. Many people were amazed to see the Holy Qur’an in Braille, as our set consists of six volumes and weighs 10 kilograms. When our plane touched down in Georgetown in Guyana, our ex- graduate Moulana Khalid Boodoo, was there to receive us. He immediately took us to his home for a supper that was prepared by him. The next day, we took a speed boat to visit a Madressa on the West Coast of Guyana, Anna Regina. Guyana is known to be the land of rivers and we witnessed vast and powerful rivers. One is dumbstruck at the sheer might of the Amazon, the Kudrat of Allah Ta’ala, which throws into stark contrast our insignificance.

We delivered our talk themed on teaching the Blind and how to spread the knowledge of Islam. We were told that most people of this country (a population of 450 000) live next to the river and the rest of the country lives in a virgin jungle with all types of animals and birds. Moulana Khalid took us to meet the Head of the Blind association in Georgetown. We met Mr Ganpath, and the computer aid specialist. He connected with Moulana Khalid as they were childhood friends and both of them lost their sight later on in life. Moulana Khalid accepted his invitation of contributing on the local Wednesday talk show especially for the blind.
Our next flight was to Panama City, the capital of Panama. Here the local language is Spanish. Uncle Rashid Bhiku was our host and arranged for us to visit the Panama Canal where ships use the lock system to travel between the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. If man is determined enough,he is able to connect seas. Unfortunate, however, is that human who does not connect with his Rabb Allah. We then met our Madressa Noor for the Blind graduate Moulana Abdullah Patel who is returning to South Africa to complete his Ashara Course. Many talks were given on the importance of Deeni education and empowering the visually impaired.

We were made aware that there are many Blind Arab Muslims in Panama and in central South America. We had the opportunity to visit the local Darul Uloom which is situated about an hour’s drive away from Panama City. The local Ulama were introduced to our institute and were given a short lesson on teaching the Blind the Holy Qur’an in Braille. They were encouraged to assist their fellow Blind brothers and sisters in that part of the world. May Allah Ta’ala accept the effort of the West Indies and may He grant all his Ridha and Jannah, Ameen

Mobile Madrassa

Online classes have been introduced with networking being centrally handled by Madrassa An-Noor for the Blind in Cedara, South Africa. Our team is now teaching the blind the Holy Quran in Braille in the privacy and comfort of their homes thus avoiding the need of inconvenient travel. This is a significant breakthrough as the issues of safety and the necessary observance of Pardah for our sisters is solved, Alhamdullilah.

Smartphone users together with their analogue (old) phone users are catered for. We ship out hard copies to all corners of the world our ‘Noor Ul Quran Primer’ that enables a Blind child or adult to learn the Holy Quran in Braille in an easy to understand, step- by-step manner.

New Intake

Alhamdu lil Allah, Almighty Allah has helped the traditional Madrassa’s of South Africa overcome a very serious challenge. Our foreign students’ visas were being rejected due to legislation. The Association of Traditional Islamic Institutes (ATII) has successfully secured permission for current and new students to study in South African Madrassa’s.

Insha Allah, many previously backlogged new students are expected for our New Year. Our new boarding block is seventy five percent complete and will be ready by the end of the year for our new student arrivals, Insha Allah.

Refreshable Braille Quran

Blind computer users are now able to use ‘Refreshable Braille’ to read the Holy Quran from our soft-copy file. A monitor displays Braille characters by means of round-tipped rubber pins raised through holes on a flat surface that is felt by the fingers.

However, this technology is still very expensive and can cost from $3000 upwards. However, the simplicity, ease and cost effectiveness of Braille paper Qurans can never be replaced and will always remain, Insha Allah.

First Mobile App for Blind Muslims

We are developing the first mobile app for Blind Muslim. This will be practically useful for Blind persons internationally in catering for their unique needs.

Besides the standard menu of the Holy Quran, Salaah, Masajid, Halaal requirements etc, the fixing of the Qiblah is also a serious challenge for a blind person. High pitched vibration sounds will allow the Blind to determine the direction of Qiblah.

International Unified Braille Quran Forum

As this will be the 30th year since our founding, we are planning to hold an International Quran Braille Forum at our Madrasa in early November this year, Insha Allah.

Ulema and Qur’an Braille experts will be invited locally and from overseas for this first International Unified Braille Quran Forum in South Africa, Insha Allah.

Reunion of Ex-Students

Through the Fadhl of Allah Ta’aala, our team of graduates of Madrassa An-Noor for the Blind has gone on to spread the Noor of Islam by establishing successful Madrassas all over the world.

They will be convening again for a reunion to update us on the progresses made and the experiences gleaned from their work. They will also Insha Allah undergo a ‘refresher’ course after the Braille Qur’an Forum.

Da’wah to Non-Muslim Blind

For the first time ever, Madrassa An-Noor for the Blind will be presenting a paper entitled ‘Literacy through The Holy Qur’an in Braille’ at the Word Blind Union (WBU) – (ICEVI) conference in Orlando, USA, Insha Allah.

At this secular conference, we hope to introduce our non-Muslim friends to the Qur’anic miracle of ‘Iqra’ represented through Braille.

Construction at Madrassa An-Noor

We are now starting to build our kitchen, dining hall block, teachers’ quarters and the Masjid thereafter, Insha Allah. We once again appeal to you to generously contribute your Lillah and Zakaat to our work. Your assistance in providing light and Noor to a blind person can only be rewarded by Almighty Allah Ta’ala.

Your Assistance

Contributions for our Braille Qurans are continuing especially during this Holy Month of Ramadan. Our goal is to provide all blind persons in every part of the world with a copy of the Holy Quran in Braille (6 volumes = 10 kgs).The gift amount is R1500-00 per set.

Visit us and perform Taraweeh Salaah with us

Please do visit us at Madrassa An-Noor and join our students for Iftaar and Taraweeh Salaat.

We are just off the main Durban – Johannesburg freeway exit 96, which is between Pietermaritzburg and Howick. We also take this opportunity of wishing you and your family Ramadan and Eid Mubarak.