Photo: Eid Gathering at Lakemba Mosque (Friday 20 March 2026).
Today, Friday 20 March 2026, marks the end of Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2026 (16 to 20 March) and the first day of Eid for most Muslim communities.
Before moving into the post-fast grind, Autistic Muslimahs (Muslim women) will need to navigate the intricacies of Eid and the various social and religious expectations.
But how do these women respond to the demands of the biggest celebration of the Islamic calendar?
People respond differently to this joyous occasion. Some mourn the passing of a blessed Ramadan and the spiritual discipline it allows. Others are glad to return to active caffeine-fuelled lifestyles. Still others feel overwhelm at having to transition from one routine to another.
The latter reaction may be common for Autistic Muslimahs who struggle with shifting from one way of being to another especially in the absence of the rigid structure that comes with the fasting lifestyle.
But before she can consider what a non-fasting day will look like for her, she needs to endure the day of Eid—an emotionally, socially and sensorily demanding event particularly with respect to the various recommended sunnan (Mohammad’s [s] ways).
Some of these sunnan include but are not limited to wearing new clothes, attending Eid gatherings, using a different route on returning from the mosque and greeting others joyfully.
If this Autistic Muslimah is a perfectionist like me, then she will insist on performing each of these recommendations faithfully despite personal cost to her emotional and physical wellbeing.
With an affinity for sameness and certainty, specific clothes are usually worn with regularity, the same roads taken, social gatherings avoided and non-verbal behaviour tightly monitored to convey normalcy to passersby—the antithesis to prophetic recommendations.
A perceived failure to comply with any of these may lead to feelings of inadequacy and spiritual deficiency. Bar a general exemption from participation based on medical and gender considerations, there are few healthful ways neurodivergent Muslimahs could employ to successfully integrate into the social fabric of the Muslim community.
This is a matter I have come up against and pondered many times.
Whilst Islamic jurisprudence affords dispensations from certain religious obligations based on illness and other circumstances, the current discourse does not allow for a nuanced interpretation and practical application of its rulings.
Aside from exemptions, solutions are not individually tailored to an Autistic Muslimah’s specific capacities and needs. Without considering a person-centred neuro-affirming approach, scholarly recommendations come across as ableist and exclusionary.
For as the common refrain in the autism discourse goes and which I have adapted here for relevance, “If you have met an Autistic Muslimah, you have met one Autistic Muslimah”. To this end, greater research is needed into better understanding the challenges and supports required by these women.
In the meantime, a reminder that Allah considers what is in our hearts in preference to our forms and that He is most beneficent to vulnerable individuals may help foster self-compassion and alleviate moral pain.
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