Disability is not a punishment, it is a test

Sometimes it happens that a pleasant breeze of fresh air passes by people, people go to sleep for a while, but the world of suffocation remains the same.

People living in the city of the blind are unaware of the glory that descends on their courtyard. The besieged people are called from across the walls, but there is no movement in their closed doors.

The rosy rays touch the edge of the eyelashes and return back, but do not affect the vision. The purpose of all these sentences is nothing but to make people aware of the anxiety inside. They are not related to the main topic. The main topic is about a special day.

In the light of United Nations General Assembly Resolution No. 47/3, a special day was started on December 3, 1992. This day was dedicated to the disabled. The purpose of celebrating this day was to solve the problems of the disabled and give them a respectable place in the society.

This day has been celebrated for the past thirty years. The question arises again and again whether celebrating this day has brought any real or major change in the world of disabled people.

From the perspective of backward countries, the answer to this question is negative. The day passes like a pleasant breeze, but there is no abatement in the stench and suffocation of the atmosphere. This polluted environment cannot be changed until people’s thinking changes and the real causes of pollution are not removed.

Before proceeding further we should know what is disability? Generally speaking, disability refers to a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s activities, senses and movements. Due to disability, a person’s social interaction or interaction becomes less important and such a person is unable to play his full role in the society. Disabilities can be congenital or can be caused by an accident or disease.

According to the World Bank, 15 percent of the world’s people suffer from some form of disability and face difficulties in playing their full role in society. According to the latest report (year 2022) of an organization that collects data related to people with disabilities, 650 million people in the world are living with some kind of disability. Pakistan’s statistics regarding disability cannot be said to be reliable.

According to the United Nations Organization UNDP, 6.2 percent of Pakistan’s people are suffering from disabilities. In other words, millions of people are facing disability outside of Pakistan. According to other institutions, the actual number is much higher and may go up to two and a half million.

This question is very important, what kind of disability are people suffering from? Overall, depression is most common in people under the age of 60. Then there are hearing and vision problems. The scenario of the disabled world that comes before us is very painful. In our society, people with disabilities are ridiculed and ridiculed.

Our general attitude is to give a name to people based on their disability and then call them by that name like hunchback, blind, deaf, bhanga, lame and dumb etc. We belong to a Muslim country and this type of behavior is strongly condemned in Islam. In the Holy Qur’an, it is forbidden to make fun of any human being and it is condemned to have bad names. “Do not revile one another and do not call one another by bad names” (Surat al-Hujarat, 11).

A hadith narrated by Hazrat Ali al-Murtaza (RA) reveals that once Hazrat Abdullah bin Masood (RA) climbed a tree to break a toothbrush for the Prophet (PBUH). On this occasion, people saw their thin legs and mocked and humiliated them.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) disliked this behavior of people and said about the legs of Hazrat Abdullah bin Masoud, “They will weigh more than a mountain in the scale of deeds.” Our religion is with every disabled person. It instructs to adopt an attitude of honor, dignity and respect.

Persons with disabilities deserve our special attention. We should value their abilities, and pay special attention to training. Once, the Prophet ﷺ was presenting the Da’wah of religion in front of the leaders of Makkah and other influential people.

On this occasion, the blind companion Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Maktoum RA came to the gathering and wanted to ask him a question.

This attitude of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was not based on mockery and contempt, rather he (PBUH) believed with good intentions that if the influential people of Makkah accepted Islam, it would promote Da’wah. On the other hand, Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Maktoum RA was the paternal cousin of Umm al-Momineen Hazrat Khadija RA and as a member of the family, he could have acquired knowledge of religion at another time.

In Surah Abs, Allah Almighty lovingly instructed the Prophet ﷺ that the first addressees of his invitation are those who are sincere and truly want to understand the religion. On this basis, the blind Companion Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Maktoum is entitled to priority. This incident shows that what really matters is the passion and quest of a person, even if he is disabled. In this sense, disabled people deserve our special attention.

All individuals and institutions of society have a moral and religious responsibility to take care of the needs of disabled people. It is our responsibility to arrange cane and crutches for the blind, provide crutches or wheelchairs for the other disabled, arrange for artificial limbs if possible. By doing all these things, we are not doing a favor to a disabled person, but we are doing our duty.

It is the responsibility of every government to patronize disabled people, take care of their needs, provide them with suitable means of employment. When Hazrat Umar saw a person eating with his left hand in a gathering, he slapped him. Despite being poked repeatedly, he continued to eat with his left hand.

On the inquiry of Hazrat Umar, the man told that he had lost his right hand in a battle. Therefore, eating with the left hand is his compulsion. Hazrat Umar was shocked to know this and immediately arranged for the man an employee, ride and other necessities of life. The governments of our era will have to adopt this approach.

The problems and difficulties of the disabled are in their place, but they should not surrender to their disability. One should continue the journey of life with courage, courage and determination. Disability should not be considered as a matter of life and death, nor should it be considered coercive. Disability is not a punishment from God, but a test, and those who are successful in this test are those who know the meaning of patience and gratitude.

These are the people who, when deprived of a blessing, act with patience and when a blessing is given to them, they thank God. Nature tries both by taking something and by giving it. God created life and death to test people. Life is the period in which the test is taken and death is the announcement of the end of the test.

A truly disabled person is not someone who is missing a limb, but a person who is truly disabled, who does not use his or her limbs properly. The Holy Qur’an describes such people as a living reality. “They have hearts, but they do not think with them. They have eyes, but they do not see with them. They have ears, but they do not hear with them.

They are like animals, but they have gone beyond them. These are the people who are lost in ignorance.” (Surah Al-A’raf, 179). This real disability is also mentioned by the well-known Urdu poet Iqbal Azim. He became blind at the end of his life. During this period, he wrote that beautiful poem, in which he talked about his blindness but also pointed to those people who are called sighted but are deprived of the real ability to see.

I am not sorry for my ignorance

Even those who are sighted do not see

This poem interprets the verse of the Qur’an, which is included in Surah Al-Hajj, “The truth is that the eyes are not blinded, but the hearts that are in the breasts are blinded” (Surah al-Hajj, 46).

This article would be incomplete without mentioning those who were mountains of determination and courage. Those who did not let their disability become a hindrance and did something unprecedented in history. We have selected only a few who belong to the recent times or the recent past. It is not necessary to agree with the ideas of these people, but it would be excessive not to appreciate their courage.

Helen Keller: was an American woman who was born in 1880 and died in 1968. She lost her hearing and vision at the age of one and a half years. He pursued higher education and worked for the rights of the disabled. She was a great writer. His book “The Story of My Life” is considered one of the best books in English.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945): Roosevelt became disabled due to polio. With this disability, he was the President of the United States from 1933 until his death. He led his country successfully in World War II.

Stephen Hawking (1942-2018): He belonged to Britain. He was unable to walk due to a neurological disease, and was also speechless. The body below the neck could not move. He was an expert in the subject of physics. He is considered among the great people in the world of research.

Sheikh Ahmad Yasin (1937-2004): He belonged to Palestine. At the age of 16, he met with an accident and suffered a spinal cord injury. Disabled from walking. She spent her entire life in a wheelchair. He was a great religious scholar. He was the founder of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas. Martyred in an Israeli airstrike.

John Nash (1928-2015): He was from America. He was a world famous mathematician. He was suffering from schizophrenia. He spent his entire life fighting this disease. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1994.

Muhammad Ali (1942-2016): He belonged to America and was a great boxer in the history of the world. He was suffering from Dyslexia since childhood. In this disease, there is difficulty in recognizing and reading words. Suffered from epilepsy in later life, but continued social activities.

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954): This woman belonged to Mexico. At the age of six, he had to face the disease of polio. He is considered among the great painters of the world.

Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman (1938-2017): Sheikh Omar belonged to Egypt. The great religious scholar was blind. Studied from Al-Azhar University. In the United States, he was sentenced to life in prison for being an extremism jihadist. Died in North Carolina (USA).

Louise Carroll (1832-1898): He belonged to Great Britain. He was suffering from autism, a neurological disease. Due to this disease, the ability to speak was severely affected. One ear was also deprived of the power of hearing. He was a world famous author. The well-known children’s book “Alice in wonderland” is the masterpiece of his pen.

Louis Brielle (1809-1852): He belonged to France. He was blind. He introduced a special system for the education of the blind, which is still used today and known by his name.

The list could have been longer, but we will limit ourselves to this. All these people were figures of determination and courage. A lot can be learned from his life. Even today, these people are trying to wake up our feelings and conscience. We have to rise up and step towards a world where everyone is equal, everyone has equal opportunities and no one is humiliated or humiliated on the basis of mental or physical disability.

(Dr. Iftikhar Birni is a psychiatrist working in a hospital in Rawalpindi. He is also the Central General Secretary of Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA).)