Kund (Kulgam), March 28: At the hilly village of Nageenpora Kund in south Kashmir’s Qazigund town, people are flocking to the house of Shabir Ahmad Bakerwal to get sight of his handwritten Quran.
Greetings and wishes are pouring in from across the town for the 17-year-old boy who completed writing the Quran in just two months.
Shabir Ahmad, an underprivileged orphan boy, and Jana Begum (50) his mother used to keep awake burning the midnight oil as the son was determined to succeed in his childhood passion of writing the Quran.
What inspires him to write the Quran?
Since his childhood, he has had a passion for writing the Quran. With the help of his two benevolent teachers at the local Darul- ul - Uloom, he managed to buy the essentials required to take up the task.
“I didn't even have a basic pen and paper to write the book, but I want to express my gratitude to Molana Sabzar Ahmad Koka and Moulana Riyaz who assisted me in carrying out my idea.”
Due to poverty and the death of his father – the lone bread earner for the family of six members – Shabir had to discontinue his education when he was in 10th class. After that, he was obligated to look for ways to support his family.
“I don't go to school anymore and I always think about ways to make ends meet. Writing Quran has helped me find solace in this poverty-battered life,” Shabir said.
Years after his father’s death, he left school but not his passion, and started earning a livelihood to support his family. But, writing Quran was the passion he didn’t give up on the pretext of being poor. Despite the circumstances forced him to be out of school, but no barriers could impact his passion.
It took him two months to complete the handwritten Quran on simple A4 sheets of paper with sketch pencils. He used to write Quran mostly at night in order to schedule his other activities such as family work and other things during the day.
“The struggle my son did at a very young age to run the affairs of the family and the path he chooses keeps one away from social evils and drugs that have consumed this young generation. My son has done a remarkable job and I am proud of it”, his mother added.