Disability status no hindrance to preaching Islam, says award recipient

PUTRAJAYA: Being visually impaired is no hindrance for Zamzuri Ghani to actively spread the message of Islam using his expertise in Braille.

As a result, he was honoured as one of this year’s recipients of the National Maulidur Rasul SAW Award.

Born in Pasir Mas, Kelantan, the 48-year-old is actively involved in the publication and distribution of Braille Qurans and Tafsir Pimpinan Ar-Rahman, as well as organising Braille Quran study and fardu ain classes.

As the Association of Blind Muslims Malaysia (Pertis) operations manager, he was also involved in creating 58 Islamic reading materials for the visually impaired and providing textbooks to the Education Ministry as references for visually impaired students.

Zamzuri received the award from Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin AlMustafa Billah Shah at the national-level 1445 Hijrah/2023 Maulidur Rasul celebration at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here on Thursday (Sept 28).

When met by reporters, Zamzuri said he did not expect to receive such a significant award and considered it as recognition for Persons with Disabilities (PWD) and Pertis.

“My contribution is not that big, but Alhamdulillah, this success proves the importance of the PWD community in spreading the message of Islam,” he said.

The father of five children aged one to 12 said he has been actively helping visually impaired individuals learn about Islam and read the Quran through Pertis since 2001.

“Teaching the Quran using Braille is extremely helpful, especially for visually impaired people aged 18 to memorise it,” he said.

The other five recipients of the Maulidur Rasul SAW Award are the Islamic Propagation Society International president Datuk Kamarudin Abdullah and the former director of the Sarawak Islamic Religious Department (1994-2000) Datuk Misnu Taha.

Other recipients are animal welfare activist Datuk Dr Mhd Nordin Mohd Nor, Persatuan Falak Syar’i Malaysia president Syed Kamarulzaman Syed Kabeer and former civil servant Shaariah Dahman.

Meanwhile, Prof Datuk Dr Syed Othman Syed Husin, who was named the recipient of the Maulidur Rasul SAW Perdana Award, said the award would serve as a catalyst for him to become more active in preaching Islam to the community.

“I honestly did not expect to receive this award. It is a gift from Allah SWT and I will provide good service to the community,” said the former acting vice-chancellor of Universiti Utara Malaysia from 1987 to 1990.

The national-level Maulidur Rasul celebration with the theme of ‘Perpaduan Teras Malaysia Madani’ (Unity the Pillar of Malaysia Madani) was graced by Al-Sultan Abdullah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.

Also present were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, as well as the two Deputy Prime Ministers, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.- Bernama