Khutbah on Physical Disabilities

By Sheikh Abdul Hamid Lachporia

Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen was Salatu

was Salaamu ‘alaa Ashrafil Anbiyaa’e wal Mursaleen

Wa Ba’d:

Beloved Ummatul Muslimeen! Please join me as we open the Most Holy and Noble Qur’an and turn our attention to the first ten verses of Suratul Abasa (“He Frowned”). This incident took place one day when our Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam was deeply and earnestly engaged in preaching Islam to Walid al-Mughhra and some of the other Quraysh chieftains when he was interrupted by Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum, a blind man.

Abdullah Ibn Umm-Maktum was the son of Qays Ibn Sayd and Aatikah Bint Abdullah. He was blind by birth and hence his mother was called Umm-Maktum (Mother of the concealed one). Ibn Umm-Maktum was a cousin of Hazrat Khadijah bint Khuwaylid R.A. the first wife of our Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam. Abdullah Ibn Umm-Maktum was among the first converts to Islam.

He interrupted the Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam because he wanted to learn about Islam. The Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam was perturbed at the interruption and it showed on his face. He ignored the blind man and continued his appeal to the Makkah notables. Almighty Allah admonished the Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam for this action via the first ten verses of Suratul Abasa. This is the background of this Surah which informs us in verses 1 to 4:

“He (Muhammad) frowned and turned away when the blind man came

towards him. But how would you (Muhammad) know that he might not

be informed, or that he might not take heed and benefit from

your admonition?”

The Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam appreciated the reproach and thereafter became more deferential and accommodating towards Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum. He would call him “the man my Rabb censured me about!” It also became the Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam’s practice to leave Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum in charge of Madinah whenever he had to leave the city for any reason.

The Surah then continues to expound the nature of Almighty Allah’s Message. It is a Message to be passed on orally as well as in written form. Those who receive this Message should reflect on it, appreciate its meaning, respond to Almighty Allah’s Call and prepare for the Aghirah. Alas! Not all people react in a positive way to Allah’s Message for we find the exact opposite existing within our Muslim communities when dealing with the physically impaired, disabled, and handicapped. How sad indeed!

Many of our disabled and physically impaired brothers and sisters are discriminated against, and are either treated very poorly in the workplace, are stuck into the most menial jobs, or denied employment completely Yet Islam has a very perspective of disability and impairment. The message of the Most Holy Qur’an is addressed to all including our disabled and physically impaired brothers and sisters is one of hope and patience for Almighty Allah declares in verses 5 and 6 of Suratul Al-Sharh or Al Inshirah (The Expansion of the Breast):

“So, verily, with every difficulty there is relief”

“Verily, with every difficulty there is relief.”

And in verse 286 of Suratul Al-Baqara Almighty Allah declares:

“On no soul does Allah place a burden

greater than it can bear.”

And in verse 87 of Suratul Yusuf we are reminded:

“And never give up on Allah’s soothing Mercy.”

When man looks upon these tribulations and afflictions as being a test from Almighty Allah Azza Wajjal he will come to accept that there is a great Divine Wisdom behind all these tests. This is surely an absolute fact, whether we know it or not. It is also a great thing that Almighty Allah, when depriving a person of a certain physical disability, compensates him or her for it, by bestowing upon him or her other gifts by which he or she excels others. That is why we see that those people who are deprived of sight, have very sensitive ears that they can hear very low beats or movements around them. They may also possess amazing memorizing capabilities bifadilillah whereby they are able to compensate for their physical impairment.

In order to be an active member in the community, a disabled person needs to be fully aware of his or her surroundings and the nature of his or her disability. In addition, it is incumbent on the Muslim community to offer a helping hand to all those people. Islamic history has a shining record of many examples of people who, while having some kind of disability, occupied excellent positions and prominent status in the society. `Atta Ibn Abi Rabah, who was a lame and paralyzed person, was a renowned Mufti in Makkah. He was highly honoured by `Abdul-Malik Ibn Marawan, the Caliph of that time. His vast knowledge earned this prestige.

I remember speaking to two young deaf brothers whom I met recently for Jummah Salaat. They told me how deaf Muslims praying in congregation end up just standing and following the motions, unable to hear any of the vocalized invocations and recitation of the Holy Qur’an that are meant to transform our hearts. They asked if it would be religiously permissible to use sign language when leading a prayer, so that those who could not hear would be able to be more actively present. It was honestly something I had never thought about, which was alarming to me. It opened my eyes to the many ways in which the leaders of Masaajid and Islamic Centres fail to be inclusive and accessible to our Muslim brothers and sisters living with hearing disabilities.

The experience also made me reflect on my own relationship with my Ibadat and the Holy Qur’an itself. These young men would do anything to be able to hear the Most Noble Qur’an being recited, and they even stand in Salaat despite not being able to hear the Imaam. These are people who have a thirst that they are trying to quench from wells that you and I can easily drink from every day, but a lack of mindfulness on our part keeps us from realizing the great difficulty being encountered by our deaf brothers and sisters within our communities.

“Hard of hearing people have been able to do more to be religious…but as deaf people…[we] are not able to hear anything. We must sit there and act as if we understand—but we really don’t.” The time has now come for the leaders of our Muslim communities to realize how cut-off deaf Muslims feel from the greater Muslim community. Isolated and unable to benefit from the knowledge and camaraderie of being able to communicate with hearing Muslims.

It is a known fact that many who hear do not realize that lip-reading is very difficult, and many deaf have not mastered it. Written text can also be hard to follow because most deaf people do not develop a strong reading vocabulary. Unable to hear words, even their own, speaking properly is also a great challenge for the deaf. Most are comfortable with sign language, a system of hand movements and other gestures to communicate thoughts.

Parents of deaf Muslims children often neglect their children’s religious education. And since the Most Holy Quran and Sunnah are not translated into sign language nor are most Islamic events and Friday Khutbahs interpreted, deaf Muslim brothers and sisters have very limited access to Islamic teachings. Learning about Islam can be an even more daunting task for deaf converts.

Assisting and helping the physically disabled, and hearing impaired brothers and sisters within the Muslim community requires an urgent and higher level of wisdom and understanding. This is a major issue that our community leaders must begin to examine critically and objectively. Muslims are not that much outnumbered as we are out-organized. It must be admitted in all honesty, that the picture looks gloomy but not hopeless.

The Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam, addressing all who have illnesses and disabilities, said, “No Muslim is pricked with a thorn, or anything larger than that, except that a hasanah will be recorded for him or her and a sin will be erased as a reward for that“(Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

There exists in these prophetic texts and Hadith Qudsi comfort and glad tidings for everyone with a certain disability; if they exhibit patience at their adversity, being content with the trial Almighty Allah has afflicted them with, anticipating the reward from Him Alone for their disability, He will surely recompense them with Paradise – Insha’Allah; Ameen!

Thus was the Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam’s society, a society that was marked by mutual support, cooperation, and unity in consoling, honouring, and respecting those with special needs. For all of this, the course of the merciful Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam was the role model in dealing with those who have special needs. Visiting the sick in general, and the disabled in particular, was legislated by Islam for the purpose of relieving their suffering. A disabled person, compared to a sound one, is closer to withdrawal, isolation, a pessimistic view, and psychological illness.

The Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam used to visit the sick, pray for them and console them, instilling confidence in their souls and covering their hearts and faces with happiness and joy. He could once go to someone in the outskirts of Madina particularly to answer a simple need of his or hers or to perform Salaat in the house of an afflicted one.

An example of this was Hazrat `Etban ibn Malik R.A. he was a blind man from the Ansar. He said to the Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam “I wish that you, O Messenger of Allah, would come and perform Salaat in my house so that I would take it as a place of prayer.” The Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam humbly promised to visit him and perform Salaat, saying, “I will do, if Allah so wills.”

`Etban said, “Allah’s Messenger and Sayyidina Aboo Bakr R.A. came early one morning. Allah’s Messenger asked for permission to enter, which I gave.” Without sitting, he immediately entered and said, “In which part of your house would you like me to pray?” I pointed to a certain place in the house, so the Messenger of Allah (s) stood and started praying and we, in turn, stood in a row. He performed a two-rak`aah prayer, ending it with tasleem”. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

The mercy of the Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam toward people with special needs was so manifest as well when he legislated the supplication for them as a way to encourage them to endure afflictions. He desired to create will and build resolve in their souls. Once a blind man said to the Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam:

“Supplicate Allah to cure me.” He, (Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam) replied, “I shall supplicate if you wish, yet it would be better for you if you choose to keep patient.” The man asked Allah’s Prophet to make Du`ah for him. Then, the Messenger of Allah ordered him to perform Whudoo’ and recite the following Du’ah: “My Rabb, I implore You and turn to You, having your Prophet Muhammad as an intercessor for me, so that my needs may be answered. O Allah, make him an intercessor for me and accept his intercession.” (At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah)

“Cursed is he who misleads a blind person away from his path“(hadith)

People with special needs, in some societies of Europe, were taken as objects of mockery, amusement, or fun. The handicapped would, therefore, find themselves stuck between two fires: the fire of exclusion and isolation on one hand, and the fire of derision and malicious joy on the other. Accordingly, the society would turn, within itself, into an abode of estrangement, persecution, and separation. However, Islamic law came to forbid ridiculing all people in general, and the afflicted in particular. Almighty Allah the Exalted revealed most evident Qur’anic verses stressing the prohibition of such an ignorant attribute of the pre-Islamic era. We learn from verse 11 of Suratul Al-Hujurat:

“O you who believe! Let not some men among you laugh at others: It may be that the (latter) are better than the (former): Nor let some women laugh at others: It may be that the (latter are better than the (former): Nor defame nor be sarcastic to each other, nor call each other by (offensive) nicknames: Ill-seeming is a name connoting wickedness, (to be used of one) after he has believed: And those who do not desist are (indeed) doing wrong.”

It is also authentically reported that the Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam said: “Pride is the rejection of the truth and looking down at people” (Muslim). Perhaps the afflicted one is higher in rank in Almighty Allah’s sight and has a precedence over people in terms of knowledge, jihad, piety, chastity, and good manners. Additionally, the Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam has warned us against making our disabled and physically impaired brothers and sisters an object of fun and mockery. He also said:

“Whoever rises in the morning and gives no thought to the affairs and needs of Muslims is not a Muslim”

Every human being in this world endeavours to achieve happiness and tranquility, and struggles day and night to reach this dream in the fields of life which appear like war arenas. He or she fights in this field willingly, in most cases, to sacrifice everything in order to witness the bird of happiness fly over his or her head so that he or she can live beneath its shadow for the rest of their lives. Our Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam said:

“On the Day of Resurrection the one with the highest place in the regard of Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala will be the one who advanced the welfare of the servants of Allah”.

It has become evident today that indifference to the plight of the deaf and physically impaired is a danger threatening the survival of our society. Beyond alleviating their needs to this extent, we are commanded to ease their pain and suffering for the Pleasure of Almighty Allah Who declares in verse 92 of Suratul Al-i’Imran:

“You will not attain to piety until you spend of what you love”

Beloved Ummatul Muslimeen!

“In disaster, be a helper to the helpers,

So that Divine Grace will come to your aid.

At all events, there will one day sprout,

The seed of goodness that you plant now.

And Almighty Allah knows best.

And Peace be upon those who follow the Guidance.
The Truth is from Almighty Allah; the errors are all mine
and I stand to be corrected.

Baarak Allaahu Feekum wa-sal-Allaahu wa-Sallam ‘alaa
Nabiyyina Muhammad sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam.

Was Salamualakum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhoo

Abdul Hamid Lachporia

Please be advised that you are more that welcomed to use and share
my Khutbah’s for propagational purposes without my prior consent.

جَزَاكُمُ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا