MAKKAH: They may be mute but rubber-tappers Ibrahim Ahmad, 62, and his wife Azizah Mat Zain, 54, are not letting their disabilities affect their determination to perform the haj.
For the couple from Alor Setar, Kedah, the news they received in January this year that they had been selected to go for the pilgrimage was a dream come true.
To add to the joy was when they found out that Ibrahim’s sister, Aazinah, 68, would also be performing the haj with them.
“Alhamdulillah, we got the chance to do our haj together this year,” Aazinah said.
“They had no worries at all about the trip, but they were so excited about it, always asking me when we were leaving. Travelling with them is not difficult because they can read maps and they are literate,” Aazinah said in a press conference here today.
The couple are among the 30,200 Malaysians who will be performing the haj this year, assisted by 640 Tabung Haji staff. To date, 16,628 have arrived here and in Madinah.
Although Aazinah has never learnt sign language, she communicates well with Ibrahim dan Azizah, answering questions from reporters on their behalf.
“We have our own way of communicating. Both of them have been mute since they were born,” she said.
Aazinah, a widow, lives next door to Ibrahim dan Azizah who have two adopted children in Pokok Sena, Kedah, while she herself has seven children. – Bernama
