RUNNING HEAD: BLINDNESS IN ISLAM

Blindness in Islam

Paper Presented in CEC Conference 2004 - New Orleans, Louisiana

Abdulelah Almusa

Special Education DepartmentKing Saud University

Dr. Kay Ferrell

Division of Exceptionalities and Bilingual/ESL EducationUniversity of Northern Colorado

Blindness In Islam

Abstract:The word blindness in Arabic has always been related to creativity. This paper describes how Islam relates to blind people and the changes that occurred when Prophet Muhammed was sent to the Arabian Peninsula, bringing justice and equality for all. The author contends that Islam supports the participation of people with disabilities in society socially, economically, and politically and protects the rights of all people with disabilities, including those who are blind.

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Blindness In Islam

Introduction

Islam is the religion and the way of life of about one-fifth of the world’s

population. Its people, who are called Muslims, believe that Islam is Allah’s (God’s) final

message to humankind, that Muhammad is His last Prophet, and that the Qur'an are His

words (Atabek, 2004, Copeland, 2002,). The main Muslim belief is that there is only one

Allah, unique, incomparable, eternal, absolute and without peer or associate. Other

important tenets of Islam are that Allah is the Creator of all that exists, and His will is

supreme (Yahya, 2003). According to Khurshid (1999), the Arabic word Islam means

submission to the will of Allah and the peace one finds through submission to Allah’s

will.

Islam is not an individualistic faith; rather, it is a faith community, or a nation, in

which everybody interacts with everybody else and everybody has a place. Therefore,

everyone has a responsibility to contribute to the best of their ability (Fahmy, 1998).

Islam has called for protecting the rights of people with disabilities, including people who

are blind, for more than fourteen centuries (Fahmy, 1998). This call was not limited only

to people with disabilities, but also included people with illnesses in general. Today, any

person with an illness or disability knows that his or her rights are protected under the

name of Islam.

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Blindness In Islam

Musse stated that Islam views disability “as morally neutral. It is neither a

blessing nor a curse” ( p, 3). Clearly, disability is therefore accepted as an inevitable part

of the human condition. It is simply a fact of life, which has to be addressed appropriately

by the society of the day. One of the fundamentals propositions of Islam is to respect all

human life and to value the potential of every individual. Therefore, the Muslim

community as a whole is enjoined to accept all people, regardless of ability or disability.

As Muslims, we are required to support people with disabilities and to address their

needs. According to the interpretation of the Holy Qura’n:

Allah’s Message is a universal Message, from which no one is to be excluded,

rich or poor, old or young, great or lowly, learned or ignorant. If anyone had the

spiritual craving that needed satisfaction, he was to be given precedence if there

was to be any question of precedence at all. (p. 1898)

According to the Holy Qura’n, the word blindness has two meanings: first, losing

vision and inability to see as physically blind; and second, the loss of the mind, as in

ignorance, or when a person has a blind heart. Ibn Alkaim (1998) stated that the word

“blind” in the Arabic dictionary is defined as (a) losing vision, (b) inability to see, (c)

sightless, and (d) objects that are hidden from view. According to Ibn Mandhoor (1986)

in his book Lisan Ul-Arab (a famous Arabic dictionary), Arabs use the verb blind amiya

to refer to not seeing, or not being able to see. He mentioned that in the Holy Qura’n, the

passive voice of the verb blind amiya was used in at least nine verses to refer to the

inability to see in terms of the spiritual guidance. However, only three times the word

blind a’ma was used to refer to a person who has lost his or her eyesight.

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People who are blind are believed to sense beauty through touch, and they can

love. Love can be felt and expressed through three ways: vision, mind, and spirit or heart.

If we take away the vision part (33%), one-third of the feeling is lost, but the majority of

love is still present – sometimes ordinary people do not have that much (The Holy

Qura’n). Ibn Alkaim (1998) and Al-Jibaly (2003) both stated that the heart can be blind

when people physically see things, but they have no interpretation of what they saw. Also

they indicated that the heart can be deaf when people hear sounds, but they cannot

distinguish among them.

In the Holy Qura’n, Allah says, “It is no fault in the blind, nor in one born lame,

nor in one afflicted with illness, Nor in yourselves, that ye should eat in your own houses,

or those of your fathers, or your mothers” (Verse 61, Surah 24). Qutub (1980) and Ibn

Katheer (1971) stated that after these verses were revealed to Prophet Muhammed,

Muslims started to take the blind, the lame, and the ill who are poor to eat and socialize

with them in their own houses. As a result, individuals with disabilities or illnesses would

not be isolated from society, but rather would live life as normal as possible.

The major purpose of this paper is to describe how Islam approaches blind people

with justice, equality, independence, and full membership in society. Islam opens up

doors for the blind, which helps their voices to be heard and helps them to participate

socially, economically, and politically in their communities. Hopefully, this paper will

also help increase understanding between the two cultures, Arabic and American, in

terms of their attitudes toward people with disabilities, and especially among educators

who teach blind people. While many attitudes and philosophies towards persons with

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disabilities are shared by both cultures, some aspects of Islam beliefs may be unknown to

an American audience.

Historical Perspective

Alqurtuby (1997) stated that before Islam, blind people in the Arabian Peninsula

had been victimized, discriminated against, and marginalized by sighted people. This was

because of the contrived attitude that blind people were inferior. Due to the lack of values

and morals before Islam came to the Arabian Peninsula, Arab society had negative

attitudes towards all ill people and people with disabilities. They were considered

worthless and were always neglected, and interaction was avoided because there was a

fear of contagion.

Alqurtuby (1997) also mentioned that before Prophet Muhammed was sent, Arabs

would avoid eating with ill people, including the blind and the crippled. However, Arabs

were not the only nation with these horrific traditions. Lowenfeld (1973) and Ross (1951)

pointed out that other nations were just as horrific towards newborns with disabilities. For

example, according to Lowenfeld (1981):

Annihilation of blind and imperfect children was, for instance, practiced by the

Spartans who set them out in the wilderness of the Taygetus Mountains and left

them to starve; in Athens, they were put into clay vessels and left by the wayside;

and in Rome, baskets were sold on the market so that infirm children could be put

into them to be floated on the Tiber River in which they drowned. (pp. 129-130)

In early societies, people felt that the elderly and the disabled were worthless and

should be avoided. This increased feelings of isolation, and some people with disabilities

preferred death over living in pain and sadness. Because of society’s negative attitudes

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towards people with disabilities, they often developed attitudes of fear and anger towards

their societies and life in general (Lowenfeld, 1981; Ross, 1951).

Alqurtubi (1997) stated that when Islam arrived, it corrected the wrong path that

humans were taking and showed them the right path to follow. Prophet Muhammed was

able to instill good values and morals in people and removed that which was bad. People

with disabilities were given rights and privileges, including the right to a normal life just

like anyone else. Prophet Muhammed encouraged people to interact with ill people and

people with disabilities by telling everyone not to be afraid of catching an illness from

them.. Kirtley (1975) stated, “In early Islamic countries, that state of the blind was

somewhat more satisfactory than in Europe” (p. 8). According to Ross (1951):

When Mahomet [Muhammed] stirred up Arabia in the seventh century a wave of

enlightenment washed around the blind, with far-reaching effects. Most of the

medical lore of the ancient world had been lost or destroyed during the early

Christian era. But the Arabian renaissance flashed light on the treatment of eye

diseases-a subject that had fallen into neglect with the rise and fall of empires. (p.

29)

Lowenfeld (1975) indicated that the first hospital ever built for people who were

blind was located near Cyr in Syria. Rose (1951) pointed out that the Arabians opened the

first hospitals in Damascus and Cairo along with rooms for lecturing; and Muslims in

Spain brought the sciences from Baghdad. Rose gave credit to the gifted Arabian

scientists that studied eye diseases during the eighth century. In 1497, Isa Ibn Ali

published the famous book on ophthalmology in Venice called Memoranda for Eye

Doctors.

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Blindness In Islam

Rose (1951) indicated that Egypt is the “country of the blind,” because it was the

first county to prepare blind people or adults to become scholars with a means for earning

a living. According to Kirtley (1975), Farrell (1956), and Ross (1951), the first university

established for people who were blind was the University of Al-azhar in Cairo in 970,

where the courses lasted twelve years and the way of teaching was recitation. Almusa

(1992) stated that this initiative allowed blind people to study with their peers and had

great effects on the lives of people who were blind and their peers as well. In fact, Al-

Zhar University became a model for other Islamic countries throughout history and is still

in operation today.

Almusa (1992) stated that the principle of equality between people is a highly

valued principle that all humans strive to accomplish. When humans were unable to

accomplish this equality before Islam, Allah brought the Islamic religion, which

considers equality between people one of its most important aspects. Equality in Islam is

not based on wealth, ethnicity, gender, or physical, emotional, or mental abilities. Instead,

it is based on worshiping Allah. The guidelines for interaction between different social

groups including people with disabilities are modern methods governed by the true

understanding of the potentials and abilities of each group and by mutual respect.

Islam guarantees a suitable environment for people with disabilities. In this

environment, they are able to take advantage of their abilities in order to achieve their

goals. In the eyes of Islam, a person with a disability is a human with a normal rights first

and a person with a disability second. The disabled person is a person who has

responsibilities just like any other person in the society (Almusa, 1992).

Social Life

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Blindness In Islam

Before Islam, people with disabilities felt different than normal people. They felt

left out of the society because of their disabilities and this affected their lives. They used

to live in dark shells surrounded by sadness. They felt that there was a huge gap between

them and their societies (Fahmi, 1998). Fahmi stated that the society also had different

attitudes towards people with disabilities. It treated them differently than normal people.

Before Islam, society felt that people with disabilities were burdens, thus isolating them

further.

In Islam, having a disability does not mean that the person is not an active

member of society. Many people with disabilities have contributed more to our society

than have most normal people (Almusa, 1992). The author stated that one of the

characteristics of the Islamic society is its positive point of view towards people with

disabilities; Islam gives people with disabilities equal rights and allows them to be active

members of society. People with disabilities have been given these rights in order to go

beyond shame, so they can feel that they are capable of being themselves and moving on

to be effective people in society.

Prophet Muhammed changed the lives of people with disabilities by

implementing good values and morals and by valuing each person’s life as being as

important as everyone else’s. First, the Prophet taught that there were no stigmas or bad

attitudes not just for people with disabilities, but also for people with diseases in general.

The Prophet emphasized that sickness itself cannot affect you if you have good beliefs.

Second, the Prophet asks people to interact with people with disabilities and those who

have illnesses. Finally, the Prophet gave people with disabilities the confidence to be

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themselves, by being among those people who were very close to the Prophet; so they,

too, were eating and socializing with people without disabilities (Almusa, 1992).

The Prophet also mentioned that Allah would reward those persons who were ill

and living with disabilities. He mentioned that every time a Muslim becomes ill or is

even hurt by a simple thorn, he or she will have his/her sins erased. Prophet Muhammed

gave people with disabilities a higher self-esteem and erased the sadness and misery they

used to live in, and this in turn helped them to interact easily with other people in the

society (Alnawawi, 1996).

Abu Hurira, a companion of the Prophet, narrated that a man who was blind came

to the Prophet and said, “Oh Prophet of Allah, there is no one who can guide me to the

Masjed [the mosque] and I need permission to pray at home.” The Prophet gave him

permission and the blind man went away. Then the Prophet called the blind man and

asked him, “Do you hear the call for prayer?” The blind man said, “Yes.” The Prophet

said, “Then, answer the call.” This is interpreted to mean that at the mosque, the blind

man can socialize and interact with other people by coming to the Masjed five times a

day (Alnawawi, 1996).

Fahmi (1998) indicated that the Islamic society is known for its positive attitude

towards people with disabilities. It provides them with people who help with

transportation and also builds treatment facilities. During the sixth and seventh centuries,

Islamic Caliphs (leaders), such as Omer Ibn Alkhattab (634–644), Abdulmalik Ibn

Marwan (685-705), and Omer Ibn Abdulaziz (717-720), gave special attention to ill

people and those with disabilities, including providing social services. Fahmi (1998)

pointed out that Omar Ibn Abdulaziz provided services to all people with disabilities at

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that time. He provided assistance for every blind person and a servant for every

physically disabled person. Among the rights that Islam gives to the blind is that they can

participate in the same social activities with family and relatives without feeling different.

Blindness and Creativity

Many Muslim scholars whom influenced the lives of sighted people were blind

(Alshaya, 1999; Ibn Alkhim, 1998; Almusa, 1992; Ibn Katheer, 1971). Al-Jibaly (2003)

stated that losing vision does not mean the end of a person’s life and becoming hopeless

or desperate; instead, it means developing the remaining senses that may compensate for

the loss of vision. The word blind in the Arabic language has been related to creativity in

such a way that the first impressions of people who are blind are of creativity rather than

an inability to see. Most blind people are believed to have special gifts and talents that

most ordinary people do not have. Under this belief, it is rare to find a blind person who

is not clever, and almost always every blind person is talented because his mind and heart

come together to compensate for the loss of vision.

Anas Ibn Malik narrated that Prophet Muhammed said that, “if I [Allah] test my

slave in his/her lovers [eyes] and he/she was patient I will enter him/her into paradise”

(Alnawawi, 1996). This is a big emotional reward for people born blind and those

adventitiously blinded. As the Prophet Muhammed once said, “No one has ever been

awarded a bounty better than patience and submission.” As Muslims, if we have been

tested by losing our eyesight, Allah will give us something else that substitutes for the

inability to see, such as self-sufficiency or self-satisfaction. Therefore, it is not necessary

to focus on people’s deficiencies, but we can move on and focus on people’s gifts and

talents instead. People who are blind are encouraged to confront their disabilities and to

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be an active member of society. We believe that if Allah takes away something from us,

He will give us other things that are sometimes better.

The Case of Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktoom

In the Holy Qura’n, the story of Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktoom was described in

the first sixteen verses of Sura [Chapter] Abasa. He is one of the Prophet Muhammed’s

companions who was born blind. Qutub (1980) stated that one day, Abdullah Ibn Umm

Maktoom came to Prophet Muhammed and asked him to read a verse from the Qur'an.

He said, “O messenger of Allah, teach me from what Allah has taught you.” The Prophet

frowned and turned away from him. He turned his attention instead to the prestigious

group of Quraysh (the same tribe of the Prophet Muhammed), hoping that they would

become Muslims and that by their acceptance of Islam they would bring greatness to the

religion of Allah and strengthen his mission. As soon as he had finished speaking to them

and had left their company, Prophet suddenly felt partially blinded and his head began to

throb violently. At this point the following revelation came to him:

He [The Prophet] frowned and turned away when the blind man approached him!

Yet for all you knew, [O Muhammad], he might perhaps have grown in purity or

have been reminded [of the Truth], and helped by this reminder. Now as for him

who believes himself to be self-sufficient – to him you gave your whole attention,

although you are not accountable for his failure to attain to purity. But as for him

who came unto you full of eagerness and in awe [of God], him did you disregard.

Nay, verily, this is but a reminder and so, whoever is willing may remember Him

in the light of His revelations blest with dignity, lofty and pure, borne by the

hands of messengers, noble and most virtuous. (Verse 1-16, Surah 80).

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According to Bazna and Hatab (2003):

[The] initial reading of these verses indicated that people with disabilities are to

be treated with full regard and to have the same subject-to-subject relations that

are granted to the non-disabled. . . . The above stated examples comprise Islam’s

position and attitude towards evaluating mankind: the real merit of people lies in

the degree with which they seek the truth. (p. 11)

These are the sixteen verses that were revealed to the Prophet about the blind

Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktoom that have continued to be recited from that time until today

and will be into the future. This incident was only a passing incident, but after explaining

the eternal principles of revelation, the Sura recapitulates the Mercies of Allah to a man,

and the consequences of a good or a wicked life here. From that day the Prophet did not

cease to be generous to Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktoom, to ask him about his affairs, to

fulfill his needs and take him into his council whenever he approached (The Holy

Qura’n). According to the interpretation of the Holy Qura’n:

It may be that the poor blind man might, on account of his will to learn, be more

likely to grow in his own spiritual development or to profit by any lessons taught

to him even in report than a self-sufficient leader. In fact, it was so. For the blind

man became a true and sincere Muslim and lived to become a governor of

Madinah [a second Holy city for Muslims in northwest Saudi Arabia]. (p.1897)

When the Quraysh intensified their persecution of the Prophet and those who

followed him, Allah gave His Prophet and his companions permission to emigrate to Al-

Madinah. Abdullah’s response was prompt. He and Mus'ab Ibn Umayr were the first of

the Companions to reach Al- Madinah. As soon as they reached it, they began discussing

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with the people, reading the Qura'n to them and teaching them the religion of Allah.

When the Prophet arrived in Al- Madinah, he appointed Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktoom to

be muadh-dhin calling for the prayers for the Muslims, proclaiming the Oneness of Allah

five times a day, calling man to the best of actions and summoning them to success. One

of the responsibilities that the Prophet placed on Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktoom was to put

him in charge of Al-Madinah in his absence. This was done more than ten times (Bazna

and Hatab, 2003).

Bazna and Hatab (2003) indicated that Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktum was among

those Muslims who came from different places to participate in the battle of Al-

Qadisiyyah. When the army reached Al-Qadisiyyah, Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktum was

prominent, wearing a coat of armor and fully prepared to participate. According to Bazna

and Hatab (2003):

In spite of being excused from fighting, Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktum was not

content with staying among those who remained at home while others had to

fight. He fixed a role for himself on the battlefield saying: “Place me between two

rows and give me the standard. I will carry it for you and protect it, for I am blind

and cannot run away.” He took part in several battles before he was killed on the

battlefield clutching the flag of the Muslims. (p, 13)

This story of Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktum is included here to illustrate the

importance of blind individuals to Muslims and how they live with their families as

members of their communities. It also demonstrates that blind individuals contribute to

their communities in an equal way, giving to and receiving from society. This story

brings out three important points. First, it illustrates the value of forbearance on the part

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of the person with the disability. More important, it affirms the right of individuals to

draw attention to their special needs and to speak out for their rights as a matter of social

justice. Finally, the story points to the important role of advocacy and the support that the

wider community is expected to provide to the blind individual.

Conclusion

As stated before, in Islamic societies, after the Prophet Muhammed came to the

Arabian Peninsula and until now, blind people have not only overcome their disabilities

but they have become a source of knowledge. Most of them became famous scholars by

memorizing the Holy Qura’n and interpreting the Sunnah (the life of Prophet

Muhammed), because they emphasize the universality of language and religions

constructed from the perceptions of five senses and the representative function of

language itself as well.

The Islamic religion has instilled in all of its followers the highest principles and

the best values and morals. These values and principles guarantee that the blind will be

able to succeed not only in their school life with others as normal people, but also in their

life in general. The Muslim community is always looking beyond how blind people learn

and socialize, to how they can become leaders to lead sighted people as well as

themselves.

Prophet Muhammed was the first advocate of people with disabilities when he

called for inclusion of all people rich or poor, old or young, literate or illiterate, normal or

disabled as part of the community and valued their individualities. As a leader, Prophet

Muhammed educated his people about the importance of accepting people with

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disabilities and addressing their needs. Indeed, he appreciated their gifts, talents, and

leadership abilities.

In Islam, people with disabilities, especially those who are blind, become great

scholars and leaders. Their leadership roles are always beneficial to their communities,

because their societies acknowledge that their contributions have changed lives.

However, a leading Muslim judge in Spain in the twelfth century, Ibn Hazam, advocated

that disability would not be an impediment to becoming a leader. In fact, the history of

Islam is full of people who overcame their disabilities and served their communities

competently. A well-known case is the man to whom Prophet Muhammed delegated

responsibility in his absence for governing the city of Al-Madinah. This man is Abdullah

Ibn Umm Maktum, and he was legally blind.

Muslims are neighbors, colleagues, and fellow citizens of Americans.

Understanding Islam and Muslims in the United States cannot be achieved in ignorance,

but can be promoted through knowledge and the understanding that grows from that

knowledge. So, I am hoping that this paper will help to increase, first, the understanding

of American people of Muslims’ attitudes toward people with disabilities and those who

are blind. Second, I hope this paper has increased the understanding of American people

of the Muslim culture and the important events that occur in the US and abroad. Finally, I

will be grateful to provide any further information about blindness in Islam or other

issues related to Islam and Muslims in general.

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