All praise is to Allah (S.W.T.), the Lord of the Worlds, and Peace and Salutations be upon our beloved Prophet Nabi Muhammad (S.A.W.).

Madrassa An Noor for the Blind Chairman Ml. Hassan A.K. Murchie visited Jordan and Saudi Arabia between the 14 - 27 March with the objective of teaming up with Islamic organisations (based in these countries) that print the Holy Quran in Arabic Braille. As Braille is very bulky (a complete Quran in Braille consists of 6 volumes and weighs approximately 10 kg) and expensive to produce, our goal was to obtain a soft copy of the Holy Quran to enable us to print the Quran locally. However, there are a few challenges in this regard.

There are variations in the spelling style of the Quran. Non-Arabic readers find it easier to read the Quran printed in Pakistan because of the extra Iraabs or diacritical marks. Unfortunately, Pakistan does not have the Quran in electronic format.

Organisations in Arab countries like Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are also printing the Holy Quran. However, this supply is not sufficient to meet the great demand of blind readers requesting the Quran globally.A further challenge is that there is an urgent need for adoption of a uniform Braille code that would be compatible to the (Rasmul Khat Al Othmani). To address this issue, meetings were held in regard thereof.

We are grateful to Dr. Nasir Ali Al Musa, Secretary General of the Special Education in the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia, for agreeing to host the first Quranic Braille Workshop that will be held in Saudi Arabia, Insha’Allah. In Riyadh, we had the opportunity of meeting Dr. Abdullah Saad Al Husain , Director General of Blind Association Charity during our visit to his association.

We would also like to express our gratitude to Dr. Ahmad Al-Louzi, Chairman of the Friendship Association for the Blind in Amman; President of the Asian Blind Union, for his generous contribution of 25 sets of the Braille Holy Quran to our organisation. He also presented us with a Shield of Friendship.

Special thanks to Sheikh Ahmad Al Samadi, Chairman of the Organisation of Preservation of the Holy Quran in Zarqa, Jordan, for donating to us a Braille soft copy of the Holy Quran. We also met with the officials of the (Arabic for All) Organisation in Riyadh. This organisation produces excellent study material catering for non-Arabic speakers. We are collaborating with them in an effort to convert their books into Braille.

Our deepest appreciation to Brother Yakub Vahed of Al Imdaad South Africa for coordinating our visit and to Al Imdaad Jordan for their assistance .

May Allah Ta’ala reward them all and accept our efforts.

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