The process of manufacturing the first electronic Quran for people of determination, from blind and partially sighted people, in Braille, was recently invented and developed entirely by Saudi researchers.

The new innovation is a device that does not have a screen, but is limited to an electronic board that includes Braille language points; at a rate of 28 cells and 28 rows; in each box there are six points that rise and fall and are formed electronically according to the pages of the Qur’an and its letters.

The new innovation is characterized by its small size compared to the Qur’ans available in Braille, which has a volume of six volumes, which causes people of determination to face difficulties in reviewing its pages; especially children among them, in addition to the high cost and the fact that it occupies a large area and is difficult to carry and move around.

Saudi innovator Mishaal Hisham Al-Harsani and his research team, made up of Majed Abdullah Al-Muallem and Muhammad Ladan, began converting the entire Quran wall to Braille, transferring it to a tablet and converting fixed Braille characters to vowels that are formed according to the Arabic letter and the page.

The Observatory of the Future team has followed this innovation since its launch a year ago, when it was just an idea, and today it is a product ready to spread throughout the Islamic world, starting from the Arab countries. The team aspires to have at least one electronic Qur’an in each mosque for worshipers of determination. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia there are more than 90 thousand mosques and in the Emirates there are about 6747 mosques.

Al-Harsani, PhD researcher in Knowledge Management, said in an exclusive interview with the Future Observatory that “the number of people of vision who are blind in the world is estimated at more than eight million Muslims; alone the countries of East Asia include more than three million, and in the Arab world there are about 4.92 million; According to the statistics of the Saudi Committee for the Prevention of Blindness in 2010. There are no methods that allow people of determination to read the Qur’an except through a printed Qur’an printed in Braille, which is very rare, because it is very expensive and difficult to print, as well as its weight and large size, or through the use of an electronic device Converts text to animated braille, according to letters and letters Matt, but this device exceeds the price of $ 7,000 ».

“From here, the idea for the new device, which allows reading in prominent Braille, and electronically, in which letters move according to the verses, with easy access to the fence and pages, as well as other features, including light weight and low cost compared to traditional devices, came from 90% less % ».

The team pointed out that it contacted several international universities working on similar techniques to collaborate with them, and employ this technology to serve the Holy Quran. The project comes at the invitation of the King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Noble Qur’an, and previously participated in the exhibition of teaching the Noble Qur’an for people of determination, which was hosted by Madinah in October 2019.

Braille

Braille is the writing system used for the blind and visually impaired by touch. The letters are displayed with a system of prominent points that are read with the fingers. Braille is used to read from hundreds of thousands in different countries of the world in their native languages, which provides a means of reading and writing for literacy for all.

Braille characters are small rectangular, called cells, and contain small clear bumps called raised points.