[Document subtitle]

[DATE] [COMPANY NAME]

[Company address]

1

About me

ldquoThis book was written by this little weirdo on the lefthelliprdquo

I have been living with special needs for almost 30 years (I turn 30 in two months) let me throw

my two cents in and try to explain whatrsquos itrsquos like living with Special needs

Website httpsmeandmydisabilityyolasitecom

YouTube

httpswwwyoutubecomchannelUCbHcUL6gBR27avAmjIgxGtwview_as=subscriber

Contents

Introduction 2

Chapter One Birth 2

Chapter Two My parents 2

Chapter Three Being a muslim with Special needs 3

1

About me

ldquoThis book was written by this little weirdo on the lefthelliprdquo

I have been living with special needs for almost 30 years (I turn 30 in two months) let me throw

my two cents in and try to explain whatrsquos itrsquos like living with Special needs

Website httpsmeandmydisabilityyolasitecom

YouTube

httpswwwyoutubecomchannelUCbHcUL6gBR27avAmjIgxGtwview_as=subscriber

Contents

Introduction 2

Chapter One Birth 2

Chapter Two My parents 2

Chapter Three Being a muslim with Special needs 3

2

Introduction Have you ever wondered what it is like living with ldquoSpecial needsrdquo We living in a time where

we are bombarded with the superhero genrehellipAvengerrsquos endgame Spiderman Far from home

Crisis on Infinite earths all happening this yearhellipBut what makes a true superhero Is there a real

ldquoIron Manrdquo does he need to fly around in a suit (would be cool) There was once a comic book

writer named Dan White His daughter has disability (nowadays itrsquos better to use the word

ldquoSpecial needsrdquo so he created a comic where a group of kids (who all had special needs) and

their respective ldquodisabilityrdquo became like their superpower and got me thinking what if the world

saw a disability like a superpowerhellip

Chapter One Birth It was a Saturday afternoon when my mother gave birth to me What happen was as the doctors

took me out of the womb they took me out too slowly which resulted in me developing a clot in

my brain (always knew something wasnrsquot right upstairshellip) as a result of this my muscles didnrsquot

fully develop and therefore when I walk my legs are slightly bent and I have a speech

impediment (more on that laterhellip)

Chapter Two My parents As Muslims we are taught that can never repay our parents for all the sacrifices that they have

done for us Well in my casehellip I owe my parents the world I have two amazing parents My

mother gave up her world for me I couldnrsquot walk at all and I needed to go to physiotherapy My

father was working seven days a week and my mother couldnrsquot drive yet So my mother used to

catch a bus to take me for physiotherapy with my pram in one hand and me in the other and also

bringing my brother withhellip the sacrifices she made for me alone is unimaginable As a son I can

only ask that Allah grants her Jannat Love you mummyhellipBut it doesnrsquot end therehellip

Being a child with special needs I had to go to a ldquospecialrdquo school But if you look around

Johannesburg therersquos maybe two or threehellip So I went to Forest Town (primary School) and

Hope School (High school) hellipnow these are quite a drive from where I live so I used to catch a

school bus in the morningshellip540 am was my pickup time sometimes I read fajr on the bus Im

not sure what the ruling on what to do about the direction of the qibla in that situation I only

pray that Allah accepts my efforthellipNow my father used to wake me up for school I still

remember how he use to come to my bed and that soft ldquoMy Azzie time to wake uprdquo with so

much love and care As I woke up and got ready for school he used to iron my clothes and make

me breakfasthellipwhile everyone else in the house was still asleephellip Getting up this early isnrsquot easy

and one day I asked him ldquoDaddy canrsquot you drop me at school abit laterrdquo normally a father will

3

respond by saying ldquoIrsquom your father if I say you leaving this timehellip thatrsquos itrsquohellipbut my father

looked at me and said ldquoLook son how dark it is outsidehellipnow I want you to remember that this is

fajr timehellip and the muezzin has to wake up early to give that azaan for fajr Now when he gives

the azaan he doesnrsquot know how many people are going to come for the salaah it could by

hundreds could be ten could be him and the imam he doesnrsquot knowhellipbut he calls the azaan

anyway Just like Allah is going to reward him for his sacrifice HE is also going to reward us

tohellip Unfortunelyhellip one of mornings (two days before my birthday) after my father put me on

the bus And I left for school He went into the house and he had a heart- attack my family

rushed him to hospital but he passed away After this I was called in the vice principals office

we I was told what had happened May Allah grant him and all the mahroomeen Janaatual

firdous-Ameen

Chapter Three Being a muslim with Special needs As a kid I couldnrsquot go to a formal madrassah like other children as that time the madressahs said

that they would cope with a special needs child But being in a non-muslim school surrounded

by people from other religionrsquos I desperately wanted to learn about my deen The only form of

Islamic education my parents were able to give me at the time was by sending me to kholvald

house to learn from my grandfather He was in his sixties maybe seventies at the time I donrsquot

actually know how old he was because when I asked him ldquoPapa how old are yourdquo the number

would change and decrease every time I was so confused that I even went back to my parents

and said ldquoMummy Daddy Paparsquos getting youngerrdquo hellip But being so elderly he taught me what

he could and he was my first ustaad I even managed to rope in two of my cousins in our little

madrassahhellipMay Allah grant my papa Janatual Firdous and fill his qabr with noor Ameenhellip

I eventually did get accepted into a formal maddressah Maddressah Islamia Betrams hellip But I

was thirteen at the time and only knew a few surahs and duas It was decided by the principal at

the time that it would be best if I was put in class twohellipso I was thirteen and in class two My

brother who is six years younger than me was placed an in one grade below me so I was like

crap I better not failhellip But I had excellent ustaads throught the years and developed a bond with

each of themhellip this happened between 2002 ndash 2007 I left to complete matric the following year

but one of my moulanarsquos came to my house and said ldquoyou canrsquot leaverdquohellip I explained to him my

situation because being in matric you had to stay after school for extra lessonshellip and he said to

me ldquook then why donrsquot you come to my house for night classesrdquo and I didhellipI matriculated went

to varsity and worked a few yearshellipbut I always had a desire in my heart to become a hafizhellipbut

the timing was never righthellipUntilhelliplast year when I had to leave my job and my mother told me

that ldquo this is you opportunity you always wanted to do hifz go for ithellip and that where I am at

the moment I do intend to start my own Software Development company one day and currently

trying to learn as much as I can but Irsquom more focused on my hifz My moulana listened to me

4

reading and because I have a speech impediment He explained to me that when reciting the

Quran we have to be very careful because if you make one mistake you can change the whole

meaning and this is sinful thatrsquos why people have to understand me when I read which is

sometimes difficult for me because when I talk and I hear what Im saying Allah made it such

that I donrsquot hear my impediment at all So I forget I have a speech impediment(so when I hear

myself its sounds like sudais Zayed Attiyah or Abdullah Musa meanwhilehellip) so I started

recording myself and listening to it to see ok that where I can Improvehellip

What I aspire to read like

YouTube Sheik Abdullah Musa(Awaz)

3

respond by saying ldquoIrsquom your father if I say you leaving this timehellip thatrsquos itrsquohellipbut my father

looked at me and said ldquoLook son how dark it is outsidehellipnow I want you to remember that this is

fajr timehellip and the muezzin has to wake up early to give that azaan for fajr Now when he gives

the azaan he doesnrsquot know how many people are going to come for the salaah it could by

hundreds could be ten could be him and the imam he doesnrsquot knowhellipbut he calls the azaan

anyway Just like Allah is going to reward him for his sacrifice HE is also going to reward us

tohellip Unfortunelyhellip one of mornings (two days before my birthday) after my father put me on

the bus And I left for school He went into the house and he had a heart- attack my family

rushed him to hospital but he passed away After this I was called in the vice principals office

we I was told what had happened May Allah grant him and all the mahroomeen Janaatual

firdous-Ameen

Chapter Three Being a muslim with Special needs As a kid I couldnrsquot go to a formal madrassah like other children as that time the madressahs said

that they would cope with a special needs child But being in a non-muslim school surrounded

by people from other religionrsquos I desperately wanted to learn about my deen The only form of

Islamic education my parents were able to give me at the time was by sending me to kholvald

house to learn from my grandfather He was in his sixties maybe seventies at the time I donrsquot

actually know how old he was because when I asked him ldquoPapa how old are yourdquo the number

would change and decrease every time I was so confused that I even went back to my parents

and said ldquoMummy Daddy Paparsquos getting youngerrdquo hellip But being so elderly he taught me what

he could and he was my first ustaad I even managed to rope in two of my cousins in our little

madrassahhellipMay Allah grant my papa Janatual Firdous and fill his qabr with noor Ameenhellip

I eventually did get accepted into a formal maddressah Maddressah Islamia Betrams hellip But I

was thirteen at the time and only knew a few surahs and duas It was decided by the principal at

the time that it would be best if I was put in class twohellipso I was thirteen and in class two My

brother who is six years younger than me was placed an in one grade below me so I was like

crap I better not failhellip But I had excellent ustaads throught the years and developed a bond with

each of themhellip this happened between 2002 ndash 2007 I left to complete matric the following year

but one of my moulanarsquos came to my house and said ldquoyou canrsquot leaverdquohellip I explained to him my

situation because being in matric you had to stay after school for extra lessonshellip and he said to

me ldquook then why donrsquot you come to my house for night classesrdquo and I didhellipI matriculated went

to varsity and worked a few yearshellipbut I always had a desire in my heart to become a hafizhellipbut

the timing was never righthellipUntilhelliplast year when I had to leave my job and my mother told me

that ldquo this is you opportunity you always wanted to do hifz go for ithellip and that where I am at

the moment I do intend to start my own Software Development company one day and currently

trying to learn as much as I can but Irsquom more focused on my hifz My moulana listened to me

4

reading and because I have a speech impediment He explained to me that when reciting the

Quran we have to be very careful because if you make one mistake you can change the whole

meaning and this is sinful thatrsquos why people have to understand me when I read which is

sometimes difficult for me because when I talk and I hear what Im saying Allah made it such

that I donrsquot hear my impediment at all So I forget I have a speech impediment(so when I hear

myself its sounds like sudais Zayed Attiyah or Abdullah Musa meanwhilehellip) so I started

recording myself and listening to it to see ok that where I can Improvehellip

What I aspire to read like

YouTube Sheik Abdullah Musa(Awaz)

4

reading and because I have a speech impediment He explained to me that when reciting the

Quran we have to be very careful because if you make one mistake you can change the whole

meaning and this is sinful thatrsquos why people have to understand me when I read which is

sometimes difficult for me because when I talk and I hear what Im saying Allah made it such

that I donrsquot hear my impediment at all So I forget I have a speech impediment(so when I hear

myself its sounds like sudais Zayed Attiyah or Abdullah Musa meanwhilehellip) so I started

recording myself and listening to it to see ok that where I can Improvehellip

What I aspire to read like

YouTube Sheik Abdullah Musa(Awaz)

5

YouTube Sheikh Zayed Attiyah

6

Vs what I actually sound like

YouTube Azhar Hadjee

Chapter Four My quest on finding my better half

As writing this I turn thirty in two months inshallah And I think itrsquos about timehellipPeople who

know me also know that therersquos nothing more I want in this world more than finding a beautiful

wifehellip

The idea of some pretty girl (obviously shersquos pretty) loving me warms my heart Unfortunely we

have been unsuccessful this far in finding my queen I was kind of ldquoengagedrdquo but those little

weirdos broke it off over something stupidhellip then they came back and broke it off againhellip and

then they came back and you knowhellip Yeah I look like a complete idiot by giving them so many

changes but I believe in giving people second chances and really thought those little weirdos

would stop screwing me overhellip

7

Nonetheless I still havenrsquot given up hope that ldquoShersquosrdquo out there somewherehellipAs writing this I

have only been taken around to see ldquodisabled girlsrdquo and the last one I saw was five years

agohellipLiving with special needs people forget one thing ndash you still a man you still have needs

desires goals hopes dreams like any other man my agehellip

And itrsquos tough because what do you do If you met me then you notice at first Irsquom a little shy

and quiet I have to ldquowarm uprdquo to somebody then I can be friendly And honestly I think from an

Islamic point of view thatrsquos a good thinghellipbecause it maybe indicates you have some level of

hayahellipthat girl I was engaged to the last time I saw her we in the househellip alonehellip I never ever

gave her a hughellip yeah Im almost 30 and donrsquot know what a kiss feels likehellipAnd itrsquos hard

because what do you do You not making ldquothe runsrdquo like everyone else is you can talk to a girl

yourself because A you shy B itrsquos hard to charm a girl with a speech impedimenthellip

YouTube Azhar Hadjee

8

See I can help her around the househellip

I went to watch Captain Marvel alone and while walking through the mall I passed by the ice

skating ring I thought to myself how fun it would be if there was a girl we could gohellip yes I

probably fall on my face but she looks at me and be proud of me trying Why not let ldquoSpecial

needsrdquo people go see ldquonormalrdquo people we not losing anything but our pride by letting this

happen And this year alone I have seen how kind loving our community can be to people with

special needs I attended a sports day for people with special needs hosted by Miles of Smiles

and being there seeing what people are willing to do for someone like me without asking

nothing from me except my duas is heartwarming And it makes me realize that people are kind

and loving towards people with special needs Muhsen based in the US helps people with special

needs And they have put together a series on YouTube called ldquoMarriage and Disabilitiesrdquo hellipitrsquos

worth the watch

9

So if you reading this and you know someone that has special needs that wants to get married

Firstly take them out for a milkshakehellip and then talk to them about ithellip

As writing this (14 June 2019) Im still doing hifz and I just got word that I have been accepted

into the Google Africa certification programhellip And these little weirdos still want to take me to

see strictly ldquoDisabledrdquo girlshellipInshallah Im going to win the heart of a normal girlhellip

Ameenhellip

10