The Mancunian Way: ‘As a Muslim you’re told we don’t do this, but I had to’
manchestereveningnews.co.ukWhen his daughter Diyanah was born with devastating kidney failure requiring 24/7 care, Azizur Rahman made sacrifice after sacrifice to make sure she had everything she needed.
But as the family faced going in and out of hospital, and Diyanah endured gruelling treatment, her loving dad took those sacrifices one step further.
Realising she would need a new kidney, he decided to donate his own. But as Muslim that presented him with a dilemma. “As a child you’re told by your elders that we don’t do this sort of thing,” said Azizur. “The line most people stick by is that we must look after our own bodies as they are given to us by God and we don’t have a right to take it apart. “Once people knew I was planning to donate to Diyanah, they would ask me about it and say ‘are you sure?’, ‘you do know you’re not allowed to donate your organ’ - even my dad said maybe we should wait.
I did my own research into what my religion would allow and it’s funny, it’s the exact opposite of those misconceptions. “The Quran says: 'If anyone saves a life, it is as if he saves the lives of all humankind'.
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