Spirited blind man Zaheer writes Quran’s tafseer in Braille

KABUL (Pajhwok): Hasibullah Zaheer, 26, who born blind, has completed his higher education like a sighted person and has almost completed writing tafseer of the Holy Quran and some important history books in Braille and tries to open new avenues of hope for other blind people.

Life’s hardships and achievements

Hasibullah Zaheer, who was born blind to his mother; is a resident of Chahar Qala area in Kabul city. He finished his primary education at the Vocational High School for the Blind in Kabul and his higher education at the Department of International Relations of the Faculty of Law and Political Science of Kabul University.

He currently works at the Complaints Department of the Electricity Company.

Remembering his difficulties during his studies and education, he cited the lack of a special curriculum and books for the blind as he problems during his education.

“Sometimes we would take notes by hand, sometimes we would use audiobooks; anyhow we had many challenges.”

Zaheer, who is annoyed with his countrymen, says: “Despite my blindness, I do not feel disappointed in any aspect of life except when I cross the road and I wait for someone to help me.”

He does not carry a cane with him and walks quickly on the road. “I have become accustomed to the roads to reach my destination.”

He recalled during his high school for the blind they faced no big problems, but the university was crowded and he would often collide with others and faced difficulty in finding his classes.

He also mentioned the lack of teaching materials and seminars some of the problems he faced during his university years.

He did a lot of work for the blind at Kabul University. “I established a Braille printing press at Kabul University. From an empty room that was handed over to me, today we have many equipment or at least basic facilities for new comers to complete a four-year bachelor’s degree and two years master’s degree. We can provide them with some facilities. We wanted to the new comers do not face problems that we had or the generations before us had… Also, at my suggestion, rubber (plastic) barriers (borders) were built at Kabul University so that the blind can use them to mark the path and reduce their problems.”

Zaheer said two or three people should be officially appointed to work at the Kabul University Braille printing press alongside him to serve the blind at Kabul University.

He also said he needed a computer, a Braille display, and a printer.

Currently, he continued, 14 blind students were studying in different faculties at Kabul University.

“No eyesight cannot stop progress.”

He has started writing the interpretation of the Holy Quran and books ‘Afghanistan on the Path of History’ and ‘Afghanistan in the Last Five Centuries’ in Braille and is close to completing them.

He started writing the Kabuli interpretation in Braille on the computer about a year and a month ago and now only one and a half chapters remain to be written.

Zaheer says he has divided this interpretation into six volumes in Braille and has so far written it on 7,140 pages in such a way that one person can read and write it.

About the finalization and printing of the Kabuli Tafseer in Braille, he said: “Once Kabuli Tafsir is completed, I will check it myself, then I will request the Ministries of Higher Education, Hajj, Auqaf, and Education to form a committee and introduce to us those who are specialized in this field, so that the check can be completed in the committee, then it can go to the court and go to the Dar al-Ifta; it will be something that is official at the level of Afghanistan.”

Regarding writing verses of the Holy Quran with diacritical marks, he said: “The Braille script is made up of two columns, three rows and six points. Diacritical marks are contained in these six points. Similarly, Dari, English, Pashto and every other language is contained in these six points. In the rest of the world, there is also an eight-point Braille, but the standard Braille has these six points and the six-point Braille is used in many countries of the world.”

He wrote ten Arabic words in Braille in one minute, but because Dari words were easier to write, he wrote 25 Dari words in one minute.

He said he will complete the remaining half of the tafseer by the end of the current 1403 solar year.

He started writing Mir Ghulam Mohammad Ghobar’s book ‘Afghanistan on the Path of History’ in March last year, and has now completed it, and only the proofreading remains.

According to him, he started writing the book ‘Afghanistan in the Last Five Centuries’ in July this year, and has now completed it, and only the proofreading remains.

Sweet and bitter memories

Zaheer says: “I remember every moment of my life, the best and most beautiful memory of my life was obtaining first position in the 2018 Special Entrance Examination (for the Blind); the full score in the exam is 100 and I scored 96.”

He added: “I also have bad memories of life as well. I will tell you two of them. I hope that those who hear my voice will not be offended. I went to a private company to get a job. It was an excellent company, but I do not want to mention its name. I had my documents with me. The gentleman said to me “Qari Sahib, we do not have budget to help the blind. We had that much that we gave to the foundation that works for the blind.”

“It saddened me a lot that a young man with a bachelor’s degree is treated like this. it was painful. Secondly, currently I am working in the electricity company in the complaints department, I was a contractor and finally I became permanent. I went to the electricity company to show them my contract. They told if we needed any blind person, we would officially appoint them on the first day; which was really painful for me.”

Zaheer’s message to the government, people and the blind

Zaheer says: “My humble request to the Islamic Emirate is to help us reach the day when a disabled person is not a burden on his family. This is a very simple and easy task, and there are simple and easy ways.”

He addressed the general public: “Accept the disabled person, especially the blind, as a member of society, provide them with their rights and help them enter society.”

To the blind he said: “Unfortunately in Afghanistan the blind people are kept as an oppressed class. If a sighted person does not study, he will find a cart and work on it, but the blind will either study or beg.”

Zaheer, who married a blind girl about three and a half months ago, said: “I wish her a happy and prosperous life… My marriage was a combination of tradition and love that is, I loved her and it was almost a simple, arranged marriage.”

He has five brothers and one sister. Of his family members, only one brother, who is younger than him and a Hafiz of the Holy Quran, is blind, while the rest of the family members are all normal.

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