The terms ashab al-'ahat ("owners" of impairments) or mu'awwaqun (physically or mentally challenged) or 'ajaza (disabled) are all used in Arabic today, by lay and jurists alike, to designate people with disabilities in general. However, in classical Islamic law, which was derived by Muslim jurists from the Qur'an and the Hadith, and culminated in a large number of legal (fiqh) books from the 8th century CE to the pre-modern era, these terms were hardly ever used. In classical sources one may find terms such as ashab a'dhar (people with excuses - in regard to religious duties) and ashab al-bala' (people with afflictions), but not in reference to all people with disabilities. Generally, the fiqh books refer only to certain disabilities that are mentioned by name, and they are discussed by the jurists only in a narrow particular context. People with disabilities are not viewed in classical law compilations as a homogeneous collective with certain rights or duties, but as sufferers from one or several disabilities (deafness, blindness, a certain mental disorder, senility, infertility, leprosy, etc.). Furthermore the deaf, the dumb, the leper, etc., are mentioned in the legal literature only when their disability hinders their performing a religious duty or engaging a certain social/economic human conduct. From the dictates of Islamic law, it is evident that people with disabilities were not looked down upon, and not accused of misbehavior which caused their handicap, nor were they social outcasts. All in all, Islamic law is tolerant of people with disabilities, but from social and historical studies we learn that this has not always been the case in reality. Therefore, my proposed paper will first handle the terminology, the disabilities that are specified in the legal compilations, and why them in particular (relying on a wide selection of fiqh literature and contemporary fatwas). Disability in Islamic Law (2007) and Islam and Disability (2010) have been the pioneer books on the subject, and they will be used as background material. Then I will refer to certain historical studies that support, and others that deny the general tolerant attitude to people with disabilities as manifested in Islamic law. Finally I will attempt concluding, whether in the case of people with disabilities, the law reflected social norms, or was only sketching a utopia.