Abdul Quyoom, started his journey on November 25, 2022, from district Poonch to Delhi airport from where he will fly to Saudi and then again walk to Medina from the airport in Mecca. His goal is to walk 817.4 KMs and walks at an average of 20 kilometers a day on routine and on days, he walks up to 30 kilometers, he said.
Maulana Abdul Qayoom Ashrafi, a resident of Hadibudda village in Mandi tehsil of Poonch district wrote Quran Sharif with his own hands within 29 days of Ramdhan. The weight of Quran Sharif is 25 kg, which Qayoom is carrying on foot from Mandi to Delhi.
“In 2018, I made an enormous effort to start this journey from Kashmir to Medina, but at that time, I was not allowed to do so by the authorities,” he said.
Qayoom said that he wanted to do the entire journey on foot through Pakistan and Iran, but the rest of the countries refused to grant him a visa.
It may take 45 days to reach Delhi, from where the flight is planned to Jeddah airport. Traveling further on foot, he will present the Quran Sharif to the library in Mecca.
He thanked the central Government for granting him permission to travel by foot to Delhi.”I want to present a Quran to the Medina library which i am carrying with me. The Quran was written by me in 29 days,” he said.
Quyoom on his journey to Delhi has been welcomed by hundreds of people who offer food and other eatables to the Poonch-based cleric. He started his journey 17 days ago from Mendhar area in Poonch.
“I still have 641 kilometres to cover, but with the grace of Almighty, I will cover this distance on foot,” he said.