SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF DISABILITY FIQH: THE ROLE OF ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS EXTENSION WORKERS IN SHAPING THE WORSHIP UNDERSTANDING OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24260/jtsmg386Keywords:
social construction, disability fiqh, Islamic religious extension workersAbstract
Purpose: This study examines how disability fiqh is socially constructed and how Islamic religious extension workers (penyuluh agama Islam) shape the worship understanding of persons with disabilities in the only inclusive housing complex for persons with disabilities in Trenggalek Regency, Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative case study was conducted at the Inclusive Housing of Banaran Village, Tugu District, using in-depth interviews, participatory observation and documentation. Informants were selected purposively from residents with deaf, low-vision and physical disabilities, extension workers and surrounding community members. Data were analysed thematically through Miles and Huberman’s interactive model, and validity was maintained through source and technique triangulation. Berger and Luckmann’s social construction theory was combined with an inclusive disability fiqh perspective. Findings: Worship understanding is not derived mechanically from normative texts; it is formed through negotiation, adaptation and dialogue in a specific social setting. Extension workers act as agents of social construction who perform preventive, corrective, preservative and developmental functions and operate as facilitators, mediators and role models. Residents adapt along three interrelated dimensions (practice, understanding and environment) and through three stages (doubt, strategy determination and adaptation). Persons with disabilities emerge as active subjects, not merely objects, of fiqh provisions. Research limitations/implications: The single-case design restricts statistical generalisation, so transferability rests on thick description of a purpose-built community. Practical implications: Disability-awareness training for religious service personnel and equal dialogue among scholars, extension workers, academics and persons with disabilities are essential for inclusive religious services. Originality/value: The study treats lived experience as a legitimate source of knowledge in fiqh formation and proposes an inductive model of contextual disability fiqh grounded in an inclusion-by-design community.
References
Ault, M. J., Slocum, V., Collins, B. C., Leahy, M. M., & Miller, V. P. (2023). Perceptions of faith leaders on the inclusion and participation of individuals with disabilities in their communities. Journal of Disability & Religion, 27(1), 138–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2021.1932691
Bazna, M. S., & Hatab, T. A. (2005). Disability in the Qur’an: The Islamic alternative to defining, viewing, and relating to disability. Journal of Religion, Disability & Health, 9(1), 5–27.
Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (1966). The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. Anchor Books.
Billah, M., Gassing, A. Q., Bakry, M., Kurniati, K., Haddade, A. W., Syamsuddin, D., Ahmad, L. O. I., & Harakan, A. (2025). Islamic law perspectives and social experiences on stigma toward disabled people in Indonesia. Frontiers in Sociology, 10, Article 1479243. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1479243
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis? Qualitative Research in Psychology, 18(3), 328–352. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1769238
Departemen Agama Republik Indonesia. (2005). Al-Qur’an dan terjemahannya. Diponegoro.
Garuda Kemdiktisaintek. (2025). Strategi penyuluh agama dalam pendampingan keluarga dengan anggota disabilitas di Wonosobo. [complete author, journal and volume details]
Ghaly, M. (2009). Islam and disability: Perspectives in theology and jurisprudence. Routledge. [verify publication year]
Ghaly, M. (2019). The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Islamic tradition: The question of legal capacity in focus. Journal of Disability & Religion, 23(3), 251–278.
Hennink, M., & Kaiser, B. N. (2022). Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research: A systematic review of empirical tests. Social Science & Medicine, 292, Article 114523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114523
Jurnal Maalim. (2024). Penerapan praktik ibadah salat anak penyandang disabilitas rungu di SLB Negeri Banyuates Bangkalan. [complete author and volume details]
Kementerian Agama Republik Indonesia. (2019). Fikih penguatan penyandang disabilitas. Kementerian Agama RI.
Lahitani, K. A. J., Prasetyo, F. A., & Mayangsari, W. (2025). Proses adaptasi penyandang disabilitas dengan masyarakat di Perumahan Inklusi Kabupaten Trenggalek. Jurnal Intervensi Sosial dan Pembangunan (JISP), 6(1), 14–24.
Lawson, A., & Beckett, A. E. (2021). The social and human rights models of disability: Towards a complementarity thesis. The International Journal of Human Rights, 25(2), 348–379. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2020.1783533
Maftuhin, A. (2021). Mosques for all: Nahdlatul Ulama and the promotion of the rights of people with disabilities. Journal of Indonesian Islam, 15(2), 247–270. https://doi.org/10.15642/JIIS.2021.15.2.247-270
Maftuhin, A. (2023). Disability and Islamic law in Indonesia: Beyond the rukhṣah. Studia Islamika, 30(3), 495–524. https://doi.org/10.36712/sdi.v30i3.35011
Maftuhin, A. (2024). Islamic law, disability, and women in Indonesia: The cases of Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah. Journal of Disability & Religion, 28(1), 13–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2023.2255860
Maftuhin, A., & Muflihati, A. (2022). The Fikih Difabel of Muhammadiyah: Context, content, and aspiration to an inclusive Islam. Indonesian Journal of Islam and Muslim Societies, 12(2), 341–367. https://doi.org/10.18326/ijims.v12i2.341-367
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Sage.
Othman, E., Ong, L. Z., Omar, I. A., Bekhet, A. K., & Najeeb, J. (2022). Experiences of Muslim mothers of children with disabilities: A qualitative study. Journal of Disability & Religion, 26(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2021.1911734
Pangestu, M. K., & Sihab, W. (2026). Telaah perspektif teologis dan yuridis Islam tentang disabilitas: Dalam buku Islam and Disability karya Mohammed Ghaly. Jurnal Karakter, 3(1), 1–15.
Rispler-Chaim, V. (2007). Disability in Islamic law. Springer.
Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (4th ed.). Sage.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Hayinun Nafsiyah, Nita Agustina Nurlaila Eka Erfiana
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
