SubhanAllah..
Thought this was relevant....
Blind Thai Wins Int'l Qur'an Award
"We have to remember that there will sometimes be obstacles and tests on the path of memorization but we have to be patient and try to overcome these challenges," said Busakorn.
By Fatima Asmal, IOL Correspondent
JOHANNESBURG, October 19, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – A Blind young man from Thailand has been awarded a prestigious international Qur'an award for learning the Noble Qur`an by heart.
Mohammad Islah Busakorn, who enrolled at the Madressah Noor for the Blind in South Africa in 1997, won first prize in the Mahir bil-Qur’an (Skilful with the Qur’an) contest organized by the International Organization for Memorizing the Qur’an (IOMQ) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
"Al-hamdu lillah (all praise be to Allah) the judges thought I was good, but I hope that I’m good in Allah’s Sight as well," said Busakorn.
Busakorn, together with 9-year-old Humairah Rawoo, the only female participant, was selected to vie in the competition by an IOMQ representative, who recently visited South Africa.
Turning Point
Though he lost his eyesight at the young age of seven, the distress was a turning point in Busakorn's life.
Determined and defiant Busakorn started memorizing some surahs at nine and managed to memorize the Qur’an in Thailand at 11, under the supervision of an Imam.
He did not attend school as the only blind educational institute in the area was a Buddhist one.
"I stayed home and started listening to tapes of Qur’an recitation," he said.
"I didn’t have any intention of becoming a hafidh (memorizing Qur`an)," he added, explaining that the huffadh (those who memorized the Qur'an) in Thailand are something of a rarity.
Curious to learn about Shari`ah and Islamic teachings, he went all the way to South Africa when he knew from his brother about an Islamic institute for the blind and visually impaired; namely, Madressah Noor.
He said he learnt tajweed (rules of Qur'anic recitation) both, from tapes as well as in the school.
Asked what advice he had to offer to huffadh, Busakorn said that it was important to remember that the Qur’an was the best of everything.
"We have to remember that there will sometimes be obstacles and tests on the path of memorization but we have to be patient and try to overcome these challenges."
Principal of Madressah Noor, Hassen Murchie, is proud of his student.
“It’s a feather in the cap for our institute and our country, in the sense that he was in the company of huffadh of 60 different nationalities, but still achieved a ‘mumtaz’ (excellent) grade," he said.
