"Let's have some fun"

bismillahirrahmanirrahim

assalamualaikum.
today i had a quizmania for my cardiovascular medicine and respiratory medicine subjects. the questions were undeniably quite challenging. it's more like a game where we answer questions in groups and the students were also asked to dress up. yup, there were all having fun. fun that allow a male to become a female.

do we need fun in life?
do we really need it to have a content life or is it just a blindly accepted dogma? for most people, fun is important to ease their stress or problems. for me, i dont have much fun but i do have a content heart. i dont need fun to help me coping with my life. for fun means He is in the second place in our heart. i find happiness and tranquility in remembering Him.

الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُمْ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ أَلاَ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

Those who believed and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah. Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest. (13:28)

i may not laugh while others are laughing their lungs out at some jokes for i dont want to cry on the Day of Resurrection. life is just too short to fill it with things that wont contribute to our Hereafter. i dont want to ask myself "what have i done in my life?" when i'm facing my agonizing moments of death. i dont mind if others regard me as a serious and restless person as for me, a muslim does have a peaceful heart, but not a peaceful mind. a muslim's mind should always ponder and think. never stop thinking. for mind that distinguishes us from animal beings.

إِنَّ فِى خَلْقِ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ وَاخْتِلَـفِ الَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ لاّيَـتٍ لاٌّوْلِى الاٌّلْبَـبِ
Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the Earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding. (3:190)

yes, call me a workaholic. and my profession is to be always closer to Him and collecting my deeds for my Hereafter. that's my permanent profession till my last breath.

وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَزِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَـمَةِ فَلاَ تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئاً وَإِن كَانَ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِّنْ خَرْدَلٍ أَتَيْنَا بِهَا وَكَفَى بِنَا حَـسِبِينَ

And We shall set up Balances of justice on the Day of Resurrection, then none will be dealt with unjustly in anything. And if there be the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it. And sufficient are We to take account (21:47)


وَكُلَّ إِنْسَـنٍ أَلْزَمْنَـهُ طَـئِرَهُ فِى عُنُقِهِ وَنُخْرِجُ لَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَـمَةِ كِتَابًا يَلْقَـهُ مَنْشُوراً - اقْرَأْ كَتَـبَكَ كَفَى بِنَفْسِكَ الْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكَ حَسِيبًا
And We have fastened every man's Ta'irah (deeds) to his neck, and on the Day of Resurrection, We shall bring out for him a Book which he will find wide open. It will be said to him: "Read your Book. You yourself are sufficient as a reckoner against you this Day" (17:13-14)

salam.

let Him be the first

bismillahirrahmanirrahim

either you are happy or sad,
let Him be the first that you turn to.
be it such a wonderful day with bright sunshine,
let Him be the first that you praise to.
even if you feel like being in a narrow space, suffocated with everything,
let Him be the first to listen to your grievance.
even if you feel like everything seems so endlessly,
let Him be the first to see your tired face.
even if you feel like everything feels so heavy and unbearable,
let Him be the first to see your tears.

for He is the only one that will relieve your tiredness.
He's the only one that will wipe away your tears.
He's the only one that will light up your journey.
He's the only one that will give you strength to move on.
He's the only one that will forgive you.


for He could do anything, let Him be the first
in anything in your life.

وَللَّهِ غَيْبُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ وَإِلَيْهِ يُرْجَعُ الاٌّمْرُ كُلُّهُ فَاعْبُدْهُ
وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِغَـفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

And to Allah belongs the Ghayb of the heavens and the earth, and to Him return all affairs (for decision). So worship Him and put your trust in Him. And your Lord is not unaware of what you (people) do. (11:123)

Medicine & Islam : an integration

bismillahirrahmanirrahim

salam. the past few years had been wonderful to me. alhamdulillah. i'd got the chance to study medicine in overseas, it's something that i really wish for though i dont really know why. at the sametime, He'd given me the chance to know Islam deeper. to understand it with my heart. sometimes, i could felt as if i'm more eager to to learn islam rather than to study medicine. then these questions appear, "what am i doing here for the next 5 years?" "why do i limit myself to treat people's body while what i really want to do is to change others' thinking?"

i've always looked at medicine and islam as two different areas. separated. are there really no crossing lines between them?

what do we have in common?
be it a patient with myocardial infarction, a doctor, an ustaz or even an indigenous person, they all have one thing in common. they've got their minds. their way of thinking. their own perspective towards things/events around them. what distinguishes a muslim and a non-muslim is their insights into life. insights of a muslim are always parallel with what Allah wants.

the black death: an example
in the first week of my 1st year, i'd learnt about the popular plaque outbreak (ie the black death)
which ravaged Europe around 14th century. about one-third (around 25million) of the European population died during the outbreak. weirdly enough, it did not spread to the middle east area. why? it's because the difference in europeans and muslims perspectives towards cleanliness. europeans at that time could careless about it while muslims were really particular regarding cleanliness as it is also a part of one's faith towards Allah SWT. and who says medicine and islam have no common ground?

way of thinking: a wider aspect
having said that, there is a hidden relation between islam and medicine. apart from that, always bear in mind that medicine may be all about health but health is not all about one's physiological function. health also comprises the psychological aspect of a person.

during my Rural, Remote & Indigenous Health class last week, i had been given the chance to watch a thoughtful video title 'crossing the line'. it was about 2 medical students doing their placements in an indigenous community which has high rates of suicides and alcoholic violence. from my observation, suicides and alcohol are seen as simple getaways from their daily stress and problems. they see those things as quick escapades without realizing their traumatising aftermaths to their families and the community. not to mention their health-compromising behaviours (ie behaviours that worse their already worsen health).

feedbacks from others regarding the vid were all about the clinical aspects of handling such community. ranging from clinical skills to be used when communicating with indigenous people to clinical management of certain disease. yes, they are all important but for me, medicine is beyond that.

for us to change somebody's behaviour, we need to twist their way of thinking first. their ways of looking at lives. only by understanding their current frame of mind, we can adjust it and assimilate our ideas of islam into their minds. it's all about minds for minds determine one's actions.

i view the community as a group of people who is trapped in an enclosed space with no way out. everything around them seems so dark. their life no longer seems valuable and meaningful. they need something to fill their empty heart. the shine of islam is all they need. the light of hopes that will make them to really appreciate their lives.

and medicine is just the perfect platform that will open up a wide and broad path for me to reach them. there are more than just crossing lines between islam and medicine. they are always parallel and side by side with each other. may He always guide all of us. insyaAllah. amin.

a painful sacrifice

assalamulaikum.
while having a small picnic by the Pelican Beach at Goldcoast on a beautiful evening, Kak iman started our discussion by telling us about ukhuwah. the lowest level of an ukhuwah is to love our friends for who they are (ie berlapang dada). and the highest level of ukhuwah is to put others first before yourselves (ie ithar).

at first, i dont really feel its significance until i'd experienced it by myself. until i have to sacrifice something that i really wanted and worked hard for. something that could cost me perhaps a medical degree and time to be spent with my family. everytime i thought about it, i felt like a sharp blade stabbing my chest. painful. but i chose it that way. i want my friends to have it as i believe He has something better for me. and indeed He has.

and now, alhamdulillah, by sacrificing that something, i have gained loads of other things. He has given me the chance to have a road trip with my juniors. insyaAllah i'll give my best in my very first self-arranged jaulah.

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ هَلْ أَدُلُّكمْ عَلَى تِجَـرَةٍ تُنجِيكُم مِّنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ - تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ
وَتُجَـهِدُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِأَمْوَلِكُمْ وَأَنفُسِكُمْ ذَلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

"O you who believe! Shall I guide you to a trade that will save you from a painful torment. That you believe in Allah and His Messenger, and that you strive hard and fight in the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives, that will be better for you, if you but know!" (61:10)

i'd realized that once you sacrifice something that you really wish to have, He'll open the doors to many other things. things that you cant possibly think of. things that could change your tears to a wide grin :-D

i felt the meaning of ithar as well as understood why it is the peak of an ukhuwwah. it's undeniably a painful sacrifice but with compliments of greater opportunities. insyaAllah.
let's ithar, my friends ^_^

إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَلَهُمْ بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الّجَنَّةَ يُقَـتِلُونَ فِى
سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَيَقْتُلُونَ وَيُقْتَلُونَ وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّا فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالإِنجِيلِ وَالْقُرْءانِ وَمَنْ أَوْفَى بِعَهْدِهِ
مِنَ اللَّهِ فَاسْتَبْشِرُواْ بِبَيْعِكُمُ الَّذِى بَايَعْتُمْ بِهِ وَذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ
"Verily, Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and their properties for (the price) that theirs shall be the Paradise. They fight in Allah's cause, so they kill and are killed. It is a promise in truth which is binding on Him in the Tawrah and the Injil and the Qur'an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah Then rejoice in the bargain which you have concluded. That is the supreme success" (9:111)