Just four months and 10 days later, the 10-year-old succeeded in memorising the 30 Juz, or chapters, of the Quran – an extraordinary achievement for anyone, much less a boy who had been diagnosed with autism when he was seven.

His mother Nurul Shahida Lukman, 35, said her son achieved this feat through his participation in a programme conducted by Akademi al-Quran Amalillah, a tahfiz institution in Marang.

She said Ahmad Ziyyad – or Abe Yadd, as they fondly call him – showed an interest in the Quran even as baby. Even before barely turning three, he had already memorised 42 verses just by listening to the recitations.

“I often lulled him to sleep with Quranic recitations. I remember reciting ‘Surah al-Kahfi’ to him when he was eight months old,” Nurul recalled.

“Should I forget a sentence while reciting, he would cry as if wanting me to start again from the beginning. Only then would he stop crying and fall asleep. That was how his memorisation process began.”

Last year, Nurul and her husband Mohd Zahir Mohammad Noor Sabri, 38, temporarily moved from their hometown Kota Bharu, Kelantan, to Marang so Ahmad Ziyyad could attend Akademi al-Quran Amalillah daily.

“At the time, the academy only accepted students aged 10 to 15. But by Allah’s will, my son was accepted at age nine because he could memorise several verses in just 10 minutes, whereas most students take much longer,” she said.

Ahmad Ziyaad has now returned to continue his education at Sekolah Rendah Integrasi Teras Islam Al-Fateh in Kota Bharu.

According to Nurul, her son has hyperlexia and hypernumeracy, traits commonly associated with the autism spectrum. Hyperlexia is the advanced ability to read, while hypernumeracy refers to an extraordinary aptitude for understanding numbers and numerical concepts.

“Sometimes his emotions are unstable and he cries easily, but when he stops, he resumes his memorisation and does it better. I keep him company every night, playing audio recordings of the Quran and making sure he memorises three to five pages,” said the full-time homemaker.

Nurul added that what makes her and her husband most proud is not just Ahmad Ziyaad’s memorising skills but the positive changes in his behaviour.

“Abe Yadd performs his prayers on time without being told. In terms of his emotions as a child with autism, he is now more stable and behaves like any other typical child.

“We see that he is maturing and becoming a great role model for his two younger siblings,” she concluded.