Rosmah attends 'khatam al-quran' ceremony for visually impaired

KUALA LUMPUR: The Prime Minister's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor today attended a 'khatam' (completion of reading) Al-Quran ceremony held in conjunction with a 'Selawat Perdana' programme at the Muadz Bin Jabal Mosque here.
The event attended by over 3,000 participants, among them 500 visually impaired people, entered the Malaysia Book of Records as the biggest gathering of Braille Quran reciters.
The other participants comprised orphans, students from religious and government schools and higher learning institutions and communities around Kuala Lumpur.
The programme organised by the Malaysian Muslim Women's Movement Association (Gerakwanis) in collaboration with the Malaysian Blind Muslims Association (Pertis) was aimed at fostering closer ties between the public and the less fortunate.
Rosmah later took the opportunity to mingle with the participants and asnaf (zakat fund) recipient traders.
Meanwhile, Muhamad Firdaus Hairi, 28, a visually impaired participant from Port Klang said it took him four years to memorise the Quran.
"I started reading the Quran in Braille after completing my Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) examination and started memorising the holy book at Darul Quran, Kuala Kubu Baru when I was 20-years-old.
Muhamad Firdaus, who is blind since birth, said to facilitate the memorisation process, one must know the rules of recitation (tajweed) and be able to read the Quran fluently. — Bernama