Abdul Wasim Ansari, TwoCircles.net
Muhammad Azhar Ansari, born in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh, suffers from a rare disease that affects about one percent of children. In some, the impact is mild, and in others, more severe. This condition prevents a person from seeing normally, and Azhar is one of those who can only feel light and darkness.
However, he did not allow this condition to overpower him and continued to pursue religious education. He memorised the Holy Quran and became a hafiz. He is now teaching young children in a mosque in a nearby village while also performing duties of an imam (prayer leader).
The 24-year-old said he has been like this since childhood, only able to sense light and darkness. This has now become a part of his life. His parents enrolled him at a madrasa in Mandi, Dewas district, where his teachers worked hard with him, teaching him daily from Maghrib to Isha prayers. In about four years, he memorised the entire Quran and returned to Rajgarh as a hafiz.
Azhar explains that after becoming a hafiz, he received many praises and appreciation, but the Anjuman committee did not grant him the position in a mosque or madrasa that he truly deserved. Eventually, a group of Muslim youths spoke to the mosque in Himmatgarh village, located about 6 kilometers from Rajgarh, and arranged for him to impart religious education to children and lead prayers there.
Azhar said he cannot travel by bike, nor can he cook, so the people associated with the mosque provided him with a place to stay in a room designated for the imam. He now lives there, teaching children religious education during both morning and evening times. The children read and recite their lessons to him, and he listens attentively, correcting any mistakes immediately. When it is time to move on to the next lesson, he continues teaching them.
To ensure the children behave in the mosque and do not cause mischief, a monitor is chosen who keeps an eye on the children and reports any troublemakers, whom Azhar reprimands to prevent further mischief. The monitor also receives rewards for his efforts.
Azhar also teaches children how to read and write Urdu, and for this, he has appointed some older girls from the village to check the children’s notebooks and guide them when mistakes are made.
In addition, Azhar said, the villagers have arranged for his meals. He is fed by different villagers each day, with someone hosting him for lunch or dinner. Among the children in the village, there is a strong desire to acquire both religious and school education, which helps to keep him motivated.
Muhammad Ilyas Ansari, Azhar’s father, has five children — two sons and three daughters. Three of his children suffer from the same condition, feeling only light and darkness. Besides Azhar, his son Mazhar and daughter Mantasha also have this condition and are studying in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
His 15-year-old son Mazhar had memorised five parts of the Quran, but after witnessing the Anjuman committee’s lack of support for his elder brother, he changed his path and is now attending school in the seventh grade.
Ilyas’s 17-year-old daughter Mantasha is studying in the tenth grade, and his other two daughters, who are normal, have already been married.
To understand more about this condition, TwoCircles.net visited Rajgarh District Hospital, where Dr. Priyanka Yadav, an ophthalmologist, said this condition is called Hereditary Macular Dystrophy or Stargardt disease. “It is a genetic issue, and in some children, these genes become expressed, causing a part of the eye called the macula, which is responsible for sharp central vision, to develop improperly. As a result, the child’s vision does not fully develop,” she explained.
The extent of vision impairment, according to her, varies depending on the individual, with some children experiencing significant vision loss. She said this condition is quite rare and affect only about one percent of children. “However, antioxidants in the form of tablets can slow down its progression and prevent further degeneration,” she said.
Dr. Priyanka also advised that if someone in the family has this condition, it is best to avoid close marriages within the family, as the chances of the disease being passed on to the child increase if both genetic factors combine.
All photos’ credits: Abdul Wasim Ansari.