“Health is a crown worn by those who are well and seen only by the sick.”
Disability discrimination and prejudice is something which a lot of disabled Muslims are subjected to from within our communities. Regardless of the type of discrimination, whether it be from family members, family friends or the wider community, it is unacceptable, and horrendous in all demonstrations.
To constantly be on the receiving end of prejudice and discrimination is incredibly draining. Being seen as ‘less deserving than others’ simply because you may not ‘look a certain way’, or because you may use an aid to get around, often being dismissed due to being perceived as someone who is incompetent, can be soul destroying.
No one chooses to be born disabled and nobody has the option of picking whatever genes they want. We are all created in our own unique way based on various factors; our genes, environmental factors and fate. Our characteristics manifest in different ways - that is the beauty of being human.
Society will always discriminate and make judgement based upon their understanding of what ‘normal’ is, however what is important is how we react to this discrimination and how we define ourselves – which is not anyone else’s domain. By doing so, you are regaining control and not allowing anyone to take your peace.
Society’s strict standards of beauty and ‘normal’ will continuously change throughout time, therefore it is impossible to achieve. Everybody needs to be respected regardless of any quirks or disabilities they may have.
Society’s negative mindsets and attitudes towards disabled individuals must be challenged. Having open discussions regarding these issues is paramount so together we can dismantle this framework of ignorance and intolerance. Life would be much easier if people could simply accept others on a human level, instead of judging and discriminating, based on people’s bodies and appearance.
We as a Muslim community should not mistreat and exclude disabled Muslims as they deserve love and respect like everybody else.
We must give a platform to those disabled individuals who are suffering so that we as a wider community can recognise where we have gone wrong and ultimately find ways to implement positive change and strategies based on our Islamic teachings. For this reason, we have created our Inspirational stories blogs series on the Disabled Muslim Matrimony website allowing our fellow disabled Muslims to share their stories and experiences with the world in order to empower and inspire others insha’Allah.
It takes a great deal of strength, self-belief and faith in God to keep pushing through in life, Despite all the barriers, prejudice and challenges that are thrown at disabled Muslims, we have no choice but to pick ourselves back up, dust ourselves off and hope and pray that some relief will come our way, on this long and winding road called life.
The main source of respite for many is the hope and faith in God – that His promise is true, as Allah says in the Quran,
So be patient, Verily, the Promise of Allah is true. Qur’an 30[Rum]:60
“But those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, We shall admit them to the Gardens under which rivers flow to dwell therein forever. Allah’s Promise is the Truth, and whose words can be truer than those of Allah?” Qur’an 4[Nisa’]:122.
We must come together and support one another as equal human beings instead of picking differences, because together we are stronger.
Leave a comment