Family

April is World Autism Month and National Autism Acceptance Month. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that affects communication, behavior, and social interaction.

When Noah was little, I sensed that his development was unfolding differently. Even from the very beginning, there was a quiet difference I couldn’t quite explain.

This summer our (my two youngest and I) journey to understanding collective suffering began with: oppression is not confined to one people or one moment in history. It is a pattern—repeated, documented, and carried across generations.

Nakiyah had always loved how Ahoskie, North Carolina, felt at dusk. Cicadas tuned their small fiddles, and the world seemed to hum like a living drum. On those evenings, the porch at her grandparents’ house became a tiny planet. A dented kettle hissed on the stove.

It was narrated from Salamah bin ‘Ubaidullah bin Mihsan Al-Ansari that his father said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Whoever among you wakes up physically healthy, feeling safe and secure within himself, with food for the day, it is as if he acquired the whole world.’

Anas reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said in his illness before he passed away, “Your family relations! Your family relations!”

Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 463