World Sight Day: A Kashmiri torture survivor’s journey towards the Quran

Srinagar - Twenty-year-old Rayess Ahmad Wagay is blind, but that hasn’t stopped him from learning the Quran.

One of 200 students attending the Madrasa Abdullah Ibni Ummi Maktoom, in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district, Wagay has benefitted from the seminary that was established to help teach the visually impaired.

“Since my early years, I have been fortunate to learn the Quran under the guidance of Hafiz Mohammad Ayoub Bhat. His expertise has led me through the Quran with proper tajweed rules, and has also helped me in memorising 12 paras (parts),” he tells TRT World.

Bhat, himself blind, set up the school to provide people with disabilities “the tools they need to lead independent and fulfilling lives”, but his own journey in becoming a school proprietor and local healer hasn’t been easy. Here he shares his story of growing up in Kashmir under the watch of the militant-turned-vigilante group, locally known as the Ikhwan, who worked closely with the police, and how a series of events carved out his unexpected path.

A slip on a bridge

The now 35-year-old, a local to Kulgam, was just six-years-old when his school teacher subjected him to corporal punishment. The tragic incident at Government Middle School Zangalpora would change his life forever.

As a lower kindergarten student in 1990, Bhat was heading home from school during his lunch break. The young students would clamber across a makeshift bridge made of the branches of trees, in order to cross a trickling stream that flowed by the school.

As Bhat and his school mates were crossing over, he let his teacher's daughter cross first. The young girl slipped and fell into the stream, leaving her uniform drenched and her father infuriated. Instead of putting the incident down to an accident, the girl’s father decided to punish Bhat and some of the other students from the school.

The punishment lasted for about an hour and a half, during which Bhat was asked to interlock his arms behind his knees while gripping his ears firmly. When it ended and he was permitted to stand upright, he realised that the world before his eyes had turned completely dark. Tragically, Bhat was declared blind.

This incident not only robbed him of his eyesight but also shattered his innocence and marked the beginning of a challenging journey.

Costly medical treatments

Bhat belongs to a farming family that possesses a few kanals (a measurement similar to acre) of land. His father, Abdul Rehman Bhat, was the sole breadwinner and took every possible step to restore his son's eyesight. He visited numerous ophthalmologists across Kashmir, hoping for a cure, but unfortunately, their efforts proved futile.

Eventually, due to their financial constraints, Abdul Rehman Bhat made a difficult decision and sold a kanal of their land and other assets to fund his son’s treatment. With the proceeds, they were able to have Bhat undergo surgery at the All India Medical Institute, (AIIMS) Delhi, which resulted in partial recovery of sight in his right eye. This medical victory came at a staggering cost - both financially and emotionally.

"Our resources were limited, but my son's well-being meant everything to me. The decision was tough, but the glimmer of hope for Ayoub's sight compelled me to go for it. It was an investment in his future, a future we dearly hoped would be brighter," Bhat’s father said.

Upon the partial restoration of his eyesight that same year, Bhat actively contributed to his family's daily tasks and pursued his education too. Despite the partial recovery of his sight, the childhood incident left a deep emotional scar and had a lasting effect on his family's financial situation.

Ikhwan investigation

Continuing his education, Bhat enrolled in Government Kelam Higher Secondary School, located near his village. However, tragedy struck him once again in 1998 when he was in his 10th-grade, leaving both him and his family stunned.

"As part of our daily routine, my classmates and I made our way to school together, eager to attend our classes and submit our matriculation examination forms. During the lunch break, my friends and I headed out to the nearby ground. On that day, the gentle drizzle of rain prompted us to wear our pherans over our uniforms,” he recalled.

A "pheran" is a loose traditional Kashmiri attire worn by both men and women, particularly during the cold winter months in the Kashmir Valley. Bhat and his friends took out the pherans and spread them out on the ground to use instead of rugs for Duhr prayers. After completing the prayer, they awaited the ring of the school bell that would signal the end of their lunch break.

"Unexpectedly, an Ikhwan member named Iqbal hailing from the Ikhwani Camp Kellem emerged on the scene and started an investigation about a volley of bullets fired the previous night in the vicinity," Bhat recalled.

Iqbal would insist the group provide information about the incident, recalled Bhat, “even though we told him we were unaware of any details”.

The Ikhwan are accused of many gross human rights violations and extra-judicial acts. The group disbanded in the early 2000s, but its legacy and impact on the region's conflict continue to be debated.

Twice blinded

"The Ikhwani questioned us about the incident and subjected all four of us to harassment. We were subjected to a brutal ordeal, our clothes were forcibly removed, and were mercilessly beaten with a large thick stick. I received a particularly harsh blow on my head,”Bhat remembered.

The next day, whilst at school, Bhat discovered he was unable to read from the books in front of him, signalling a serious impairment to his vision.

That day remains etched in his mother Shareefa Bano’s memory:

“I can almost hear Ayoub's voice in my ears as he came back to me, tears streaming down his face. He held me tightly and said, "Booba (mum) I lost my eyesight. Iqbal Ikhwani, beat me and now everything is dark."

Tears also well in Bano’s eyes as she continued. "The incident with the Ikhwan member added to our sorrow. Our son, innocent and unknowing, fell victim to circumstances beyond his control."

During this period, government forces were searching for Arif Khan, a militant from Bhat's village. The four friends were perplexed by the sudden change in behaviour of the local soldiers who had previously played cricket with them.

"Perhaps someone had informed them that we were from Arif's village," Bhat said.

From darkness to light

The impact of conflict on vulnerable communities is often devastating and far-reaching. The conflict in the region of Indian administered Kashmir during the 1990s had profound effects on the lives of individuals like Bhat and their families, which led to an environment of fear, violence, and uncertainty.

Vulnerable individuals often found themselves exposed to physical harm and trauma.

The torture inflicted by Ikhwan members resulting in Bhat's complete visual impairment, left him with no choice but to spend a year confined to his home, as his blindness rendered him unable to engage in any activities.

It was during this time that he turned to blind scholar Qari Haneef's lectures on tape, which his father had provided. Inspired by the Qari’s abilities to contribute to religious learning despite his blindness, Bhat felt he too could overcome his challenges and achieve greatness.

In 2001, Bhat secured admission to Anwar-ul-Uloom, a seminary in Kashmir’s Dandipora Kokernag district, where he learnt how to memorise the Quran through Hifz classes.

To undertake the memorisation of the Holy Quran, his class would commence before the Fajr prayers, with Bhat being the first to awaken from sleep and rally his peers to the Hifz class ahead of dawn.

Reflecting on his journey, he said, "It took me five years, from 2002 to 2007, to memorise the Quran. The teachers would recite the verses to me, and I would painstakingly engrave each word into my memory.

"My classmates also supported me tremendously; they recited verses one by one, which I would then commit to memory," he added.

With the never-ending support of his family, in 2017, Bhat completed a three-month course at the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (NIVH) in Dehradun. Learning English Braille, cooking, mobile phone technology, he said: "I aspired to lead a life akin to anyone else, free from dependency".

However he expressed resentment against the government and said ,"In Kashmir there is no such government institute like NIVH for disabled persons where they could be trained to live independently, and could acquire the skills to not just survive but thrive".

Instead Bhat fulfilled his dream and overcame his disability to establish his own seminary in 2019, the one that Wagay, and others have benefitted from.

His reputation as a healer of the soul and a comforter in times of spiritual distress has earned him a special place in the hearts of many. People flock to him seeking remedy for their spiritual ailments, and Bhat graciously imparts his wisdom and guidance.