The Application of the Braille Version of Nawawi's 40
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JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 18, 2020 THE APPLICATION OF THE BRAILLE VERSION OF NAWAWI’S 40 HADITH AMONG PEOPLE WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT Ahmad Yunus Mohd Noor1,2* Mohd Izhar Arif Mohd Kashim2,3 Ab Rahman, Z.1 Fadlan Mohd Othman4 Asmilyia Mohd Mokhtar5 1Research Center for Theology & Philosophy, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. 2Institute of Islam Hadhari, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. 3Sharia Research Center, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. 4Al-Madinah International University, Pusat Perdagangan Salak II, No. 18, Jalan 2/125e, Taman Desa Petaling, 57100, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 5Faculty of Major Language Studies, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Bandar Baru Nilai, 71800, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. *Corresponding author: [email protected] Received: 28 May 2020 Revised and Accepted: 06 July 2020 Abstract: The production of the Braille version of Imam Nawawi’s 40 Hadith is a current initiative and a new alternative of learning hadith for people with visual impairment in this country. The book, which contains Arabic/Jawi and Malay Language, consists of 42 Hadiths selected by Imam Nawawi and is hoped to become a teaching and learning medium for all educational institutions as well as Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) involved. Through reading and mastering of the Braille Hadith book, a person with visual impairment can develop knowledge of Hadith and understand religious matters better. The Braille Version of Imam Nawawi’s 40 Hadith has not been presented to the Malaysian Educational Ministry (KPM) to be carried out in Primary or Secondary school level and has not yet been introduced to any Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) in Malaysia. A study was carried out on the application of the Braille Version of Nawawi’s 40 Hadith in 3 chosen locations around state of Melaka. A total of 50 respondents were chosen as part of the study, consisting of teachers and students of Sekolah Kebangsaan Ayer Keroh, Melaka and Sekolah Menengah Padang Temu, Melaka as well as members of Melaka’s Society for the Blind (SBM). The purpose of the study was to identify the level of use and the respondents’ acceptance towards the book, which has gone through many processes such as data collection, document analysis, interviews and surveys. Results showed that the visually impaired respondents were very interested in the Braille version of Nawawi’s 40 Hadith and agreed for it to be applied at school level as well as by NGOs to allow them to have better understanding of Hadith as well as the Quran. Keywords: Application, Braille Hadith, People with Disabilities, Visual Impairment I. INTRODUCTION In general, the Imam Nawawi’s 40 Hadith has been acknowledged as a well-known masterpiece and remains a treasured compilation until today. This collection of Hadith contains 42 sound hadith that were compiled by Imam Nawawi, most of which can also be found in the corpus of Shahih al-Bukhari and Shahih Muslim (Mohd Solleh Ab Razak, 2017). This collection has been at the forefront of Islamic studies and is a very important reference for all Muslims as a foundation in Islam. The material though simple, can give a deep and expansive meaning towards explaining certain issues in religion (Mohd Solleh Ab Razak, 2017) (Ahmad Yunus Mohd Noor et al., 2018) The compilation by Imam Nawawi is of 42 hadiths, so why it is then called 40 Hadith? With reference to Arabic grammar rules and traditions, a number less than five will be rounded to the nearest lowest ten, while a number higher than ten will be rounded to the nearest highest ten. Imam Nawawi selected the 40 hadiths on the seventh century of Hijri, which was in Damascus. He then stated that there were some scholars who collected 40 hadiths on Usuluddin (Aqidah and Islamic Thought) while others discussed on its branches, jihad, zuhud, adab (Islamic etiquette) and Friday sermons. Thus, Imam Nawawi felt that there was a need to collect 40 hadiths that were the most important among all the hadiths that had been 2109 JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 18, 2020 collected by previous scholars and each of those hadiths became renowned methods (principles) among religious principles and encompassed matters of importance and reminders of pious practice. Imam Nawawi was then committed to selecting these 40 hadiths to ensure they were sound hadith, and most of them can also be found in the Shahih al-Bukhari and Shahih Muslim. Imam Nawawi discarded citations from the hadiths to ease memorization and have greater benefits. Each of these 40 hadiths was then followed with a description of meaning to ensure clarity. II. THE HISTORY OF BRAILLE Braille is a tactile writing system used by people with visual impairment. The system was created by a visually impaired Frenchman named Louis Braille who lost his sight since childhood. It was a long road, but Braille’s effectiveness as the written system used by the visually impaired worldwide has been officially recognized. Therefore, Braille does not only function as a communication tool for the blind, but is also a representation of competitiveness, the will to be independent and equality (Sunanto, 2005). Sunanto (2005) in his writings also stated that Braille is a chain of raised dots that a visually impaired person reads through touch. Braille is not a language, but a code or medium that enables languages such as Malay, English, Arabic, German and others to be read and written. Moreover, Braille reading and writing activities are still being used widely by visually impaired people in advanced countries as well as developing countries. Students with visual impairment or have completely lost their sight (blind) will read using a raised writing system known as Braille code. The history of the development of the Braille code was first recorded in Alexandria during the 4th century (Henderson, 1973). This is supported with examples put forward by al-Mousa (2009) in his book on a visually impaired figure named Didymus. The Didymus was a principal of a school in Alexandria, Egypt who invented a letter system carved from wood. He used the wood carvings to build words and sentences which enabled him to communicate well. In time, the process of developing methods of reading and writing using finger touch (Braille) began at the end of the 17th century. There were many tactile methods invented, but not many survived the test of time and achieved optimal productivity. In the 18th century, the embossed method of writing by Louis Braille was founded, which brought a monumental change to the lives of the visually impaired and improvement in the field of reading (literature), communication and education (Sunanto, 2005). Various efforts were made to establish a tactile writing system in the west through the 16th century; however none of them were successful. In the 18th century, more formal, systematic and influential tactile writing systems emerged. Some examples are Embossed Roman Letters (1784), Gall (1831), Boston Line Type (1834), Alston (1837), Lucas (1838), Moon (1845), New York point (1868), American Braille (1870), Braille (1829) and others. One system that successfully remains is the system invented by Louis Braille (Mackenzie, 1954). There were many criticisms towards Braille in terms of its form compared to the writing of those with sight. After the death of its founder Louis Braille, the writing system was almost forgotten, particularly in France. According to Lorimer (1996), the French authorities never officially recognized the writing system and it was only spread through the initiatives of teachers and those who were visually impaired. It was only two years after its creator’s death that the system was officially recognized. In other countries, there were many responses to Braille throughout the 19th century. For example in Britain, Dr Thomas Armitage together with his colleagues founded the British and Foreign Blind Association for Promoting the Education of Blind People (RNIB). According to Thomas (2011) the association was set up to focus on identifying the best tactile based writing system to be used by those who were visually impaired. After two years of research, in 1870, they acknowledged that Braille was better in comparison to other writing systems. Disagreement in terms of a writing system also occurred in America. In the year 1860, the St Louis school used the Braille system. This was the result of the efforts of Simon Pollak, a board member who visited France and was attracted to the writing system there. Around that time, other writing systems existed alongside the Braille system such as Boston Line Type, New York Point and American Braille. However, issues came about when supporters of each system promoted the benefits and advantages of their own system, leading to intense competition at the time. Thus the New York Board of Education raised the question of a uniformed and formal writing system. At first, they chose to make the American Braille system official. The Board also put together a national committee to conduct research on the matter. Results found that the original Braille system was better and more effective compared to other writing systems, despite having some limitations (A. Kamal et al., 2008). On 25th June 1913, the use of a new system that combined existing systems and a dot pattern system was proposed. According to Lorimer (1996), this writing system gained recognition from The American Association of Workers for the Blind (AAWB), but was not supported by the British. The British instead suggested the use of Braille as it was used in Britain as the universal standard. Their efforts to put forward the dot standard were not successful.