He is only five and is now the youngest haafiz in the Maldives. At a young age he was interested in listening to the Qur’an on TV; he would listen and mimic the recitation and the meaning of the verses. Today, with the will of Allah, Muhammad Ash’ham Ali is hailed as the youngest person in the country to have memorized the book of Allah.
“He would lend his ear whenever he heard the Adhaan – the Muslim call to prayer”, said his mother, Shifana Yusuf.
His mother said that the first words he spoke were none but the Qur’an and it was a custom at home to keep the verses played on his request and he would recite along.
Ash’ham is diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyper-Active Disorder (ADHD) and by the time his parents realised his ability to memorize quickly, he had already memorized some Surahs on his own.
“Ash’ham can barely speak a word properly, but he would fluently read any portion of the Qur’an shown to him”, said his proud mother.
When Ash’ham was enrolled in Dhondhooni Little Learners Preschool, his teachers observed him reading verses of the Qu’ran off by heart and recognised his potential to memorize the Quran. The news was immediately communicated to his parents and assured that he had the ability to memorize the 114 chapters of the Qur’an.
Although his mother started completely dedicating her spare time quite recently to help him with memorization, his condition made it difficult. As an ADHD diagnosed child, it was difficult to keep him on a chair and have him recite the verses. Such children do as they please and whenever they please!
Despite the challenges, his mother was determined to help him. When Ash’ham stopped, his mother would recite the Qur’an loudly and this helped him memorize. When his parents download the verses of the Quran and their meanings on their phone and the tablet, he listened and memorized verses on his own.
“He would often listen to the verses and start crying, as if he knows the meaning of the verses”, muttered Shifana.
His preschool teacher, Miss Aishath Nazuva reported that Ash’am would sometimes recite the Qur’an under the table, and suddenly might want to draw something. He might come back in a flash and read out the meanings of the verses he recited.
“He would place the pencil on the verse he reads and would circle and show me any mistakes he makes during the recitation. Or he would say to himself to read that part again” – Miss Nazuva.
Ash’ham’s father, Ali Rasheed believes that his child is a blessing from Allah and although Ash’ham cannot speak properly, he has achieved what he has set forth to achieve.
This truly reminds us of Verse 32 of Surah Al-Qamar which translates “And We have certainly made the Qur’an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?”.
Allah Akbar – Allah is Greater.