Usim develops Malaysia's first sign language Al-Quran application

NILAI: Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (Usim) through its Faculty of Quran and Sunnah Studies has created the country's first Quran application to facilitate hearing-impaired individuals to read and discover the holy book.

Usim vice-chancellor Datuk Dr Mohamed Ridza Wahiddin (pic) said researchers from the faculty’s Ibnu Maktum Research Centre (Ummi) explored new knowledge to promote a balanced life among the disabled people founded on Maqasid Syariah (objectives of Islamic principles) and the Islamic approach.

"The visual strength and IT literacy among the hearing impaired group is the basis of the exploration and studies related to the readiness, usability and methods of teaching and learning the Al-Quran according to their strengths.

"The hearing-impaired communities not only in Malaysia but from all over the world can read the Quran using the Sign Language Quran application that can be downloaded through the Android and iOS platforms for free,” he said at the launching ceremony of the application and the opening of the Faculty of Medicines and Health Sciences at Usim on Tuesday (April 19).

Tunku Ampuan Besar of Negri Sembilan Tuanku Aishah Rohani Tengku Besar Mahmud officiated at the event, which was also attended by Usim pro-chancellor Tunku Besar Seri Menanti, Tunku Ali Redhauddin Tuanku Muhriz and Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad.

Mohd Ridza said the application has earned an entry into the Malaysia Book of Records as the First Sign Language Al-Quran Application.

He said the application started as a final year project of students of the faculty, who created a courseware software for interactive Quran and solat (prayers) learning in 2017, adding that feedback from the Malaysian Deaf Muslim Association (Prisma) and the Negri Sembilan Deaf Association (Nesda) had opened an opportunity to improve the software to a full-fledged application on Android and iOS.

He said phases one and two of the project were funded by the Yayasan Inovasi Malaysia (YIM) with support from SME Corp.

Ummi director Dr Norakyairee Mohd Raus said the development of phases one and two of the application had cost them nearly RM1mil, adding that the team would still need about RM3mil to complete phase three.

Meanwhile, Noraini said in her speech, YIM had invited Ummi researchers to promote the application at Expo 2020 Dubai which ended last month for international exposure. - Bernama