Freedom of Thought & Script

be patient, for you have been patient

2011-10-15T22:00:00.000+06:00

In my two years of being a doctor, situations have arisen when I’ve felt frustrated with the tedious nature of our systems, angry at the selfish demands and desires of care-takers and care-givers respectively, and irritated at how naïve we are as a nation when it comes to pointing out problems and solving them — but I’ve never felt deceived by those for whom we sleep on broken sofas with our lights on — till this evening.

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demand & supply — a balance that is difficult to achieve

2010-10-11T07:12:00.014+06:00

Another Night in the Life of a Doctor

When you have one child to feed, you would not only feed him, but you would also tell him stories, give him hugs and kisses and tell him that he is the most precious thing you have got under the endless sky.

When you have two children to feed at the same time, you would feed them alright, and the stories would perhaps also be there, but the hugs and kisses would dwindle, although you don’t love them a least less than all the treasures in the heavens and the earth — it’s just too difficult to be feeding and hugging and kissing two babies at the same time.

When you have five children to feed at a time

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what's new, what became old

2010-07-17T23:39:00.001+06:00

Unintentionally, and rather imprudently, I’ve made A Fresh New Look more of an emotional expression than a technical article. So here I’m writing again about the technical changes in the site.

Apart from the changes in font, font colour, background picture in the new theme, there are a few more developments that have taken place. The overall 4-column outline with three sidebars has been retained (I have a lot of sidebar content, so I need three of them), but several items have been removed.

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a fresh new look

2010-07-10T20:55:00.001+06:00

At last, after months of wishing, whining, planning, trial and error, typing and retyping code dozens of times, Freedom of Thought & Script now has a fresh new look with a brand new theme. Praise be to Allah, the Giving, the Forgiving.

It was by no means an easy task, much less an easy decision. The Dots template that had decorated my blog ever since its inception in 1426 (2006) had become so familiar and soothing to my eyes that it was not easy to part with. Equally nostalgic was the change of font and font colour. From the time it came packed with Office 97, I have consistently used Verdana in all my writings, and olive as my font colour. In fact, there have been several times over the past few months when I abandoned the whole idea of refashioning the site at the time of choosing a new background picture, font and font colour. But the new must come, and the old must make way, as Jean-René Fourtou said in his farewell message when leaving Aventis, “Let the present embrace the past with its memories and the future with hope”.

I have of late been dazzled by the black text on white background on some sites, and began to like Georgia as a font. The stimulus to change was furthered by Google’s introduction of a new form of template designer that allows immense flexibility and provides endless options to choose from. I toyed with some of its features, and the never satisfied attraction to glamour and glaze got the better of me – the decision to switch over from layout templates to this new template designer was made.

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fail confirm, pass confirm

2010-01-19T18:35:00.006+06:00

MBBS is often none-too-affectionately expanded as “ma babar bekar shontan”. The meaning is no more clear to anyone than the fresh graduate. The poor fellow has just shifted his expenses from “baaper hotel” to intern’s allowance, and is already being buggered by the idea that this too would close in no more than 365 days. The “bekar” funded by parents would then become “bekar” funded by no one. Right at this point, another hotel, that goes by the name BCPS, jumps to the scene with a lucrative offer – add our four letters to your credentials and you’re king!

But this is no ordinary hotel. Unlike “baaper hotel” where the owner (i.e. father) could be satisfied with any good achievement, the authorities of this hotel not only want you to fulfill their mysteriously unknown requirements, but you would also have to do things exactly in their ways which they would never tell you, and say the secrets that they hide so-too-carefully in their hardened hearts. Until you are able to do that – and mark it the word is “until” and not “unless”, for no one does it until they have gone to this hotel several times and become acquainted with the flavour and taste of their dishes – you would have to console yourself with another equally affectionate expansion : fail confirm, pass surprise.

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a doctor in the crowd

2009-12-31T22:07:00.001+07:00

Praise be to Allah, Who has enabled us to face the challenges of our first few days of internship, Who has, by His Own Hands, gotten rid of the troubles of being a doctor that we ourselves could not have.

Peace and blessings be upon Muhammad the Messenger of Allah, who has set the most perfect example of being humane.

As I returned home at the end of my first week as a doctor (31 December 2009), I felt I could ward off all medical thoughts from my mind till the next week, but “does man have what he desires?” “Indeed Allah will test him with some fear . . .”

So it came to happen. I reached home just before Asr, showered rapidly and hurried to the mosque. As I entered, I saw what I have never seen before, I mean not in a mosque — a crowd standing in a circle. We have seen many such crowds on the streets, and the very formation of the crowd tells us that there is a distressed person at the centre of the circle. But in the mosque? I thought someone has died and has been brought to the mosque for janazah. But never have I seen people standing around the dead person like this — this part of expression of sorrow is usually done at home, before coming to the mosque. So what could it be?

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criticially yours . . . a decision to make

2009-12-24T07:49:00.002+07:00

It's a Mercy from Allah that He has sent us not only into Muslim families but to families that are closely adherent to Islam, just as Prophets Ibraheem and Yusuf (a.s.) prayed, " . . . keep us in the company of the righteous" (26:83, 12:101).

And Allah likewise says, " . . . what an excellent companionship that is!" (4:69).

While reminding us of this immense blessing, Allah also says, "You are the best community among mankind, selected to encourage goodness and avert bad . . . " (3:110).

Allah also gives us the principles for this high profile job, "Call to the Path of your Lord with wisdom, admirable counseling, and utmost courtesy in argument" (16:125).

I’m writing to you to gather your opinion and understanding on the following issue so that we can avert the concerned sin in the proper way, wisely and respectfully, for Allah says, "I’ve honoured the children of Adam . . . " (17:70).

It’s being increasingly observed that children of highly religious families like us are not being able to abide by some of the top priority Guidelines from Allah, like the following.

· "Marry chaste women from among the believers and . . . maintain chastity; don’t commit adultery nor take them as girlfriends" (Surah Al-Ma'idah - 5:5).

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one in a thousand bad luck

2009-12-08T13:55:00.002+07:00

An Aeroflot Airbus is crushed into the ices of Siberia. There are no survivors.

Investigators are puzzled to hear the voices of children on the cockpit voice recorder (CVR). They are shocked to hear the children being allowed to operate the plane.

But are the teenagers of Captain Kudinski the only ones responsible for the crash?

Find it out here.

Full text . . .

what are good blogging tools?

2009-12-05T23:31:00.001+07:00

Here are some links to good blogging tools and how to create a blog.

http://www.webanswers.com/technology-computers/computer-terminology/how-do-i-set-up-a-blog-and-what-does-it-do-b3607e

http://tinyurl.com/utility-of-blog

http://tinyurl.com/good-blogging-tools

http://www.webanswers.com/misc/what-are-good-blogging-tools-796875

increase your blog backlinks on technorati

2009-12-01T12:49:00.000+07:00

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Copy the official list into a blog post of yours.

Add your link to the bottom of the list.

Comment HERE so that we can update the list with your link. Make sure to provide the URL of your new blog post.

Watch the backlinks to your blog increase dramatically via Technorati.

The sooner you join, the more backlinks you will recieve.

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the man and the machine

2009-11-20T14:41:00.001+07:00

Flying 41000 feet above the Pacific Ocean, a Chinese Boeing 737 loses its fourth engine. Right-left imbalance of engine power in the wings causes the plane to gradually bank to the right. Captain Ho is puzzled, and somewhat irritated. He tries to think of why his fourth engine is not working and why the autopilot is not being able to prevent the banking, and how to get out of the situation.

When he at last takes full control himself, the plane plunges into a nosedive towards the ocean. Amidst chaos in the cabin and confusion in the cockpit, the pilots make desperate attempts to keep the plane under their control. They’re inside a cloud, so they don’t know which way is up, down, right or left. As his heart races and his nerves heat up, the Captain hears the Flight Engineer cry out that all engines have now flamed out.

After a frantic fall at 1000 metres per minute, the plane comes out of the cloud only a few minutes before it would dive into the ocean if not brought under control. The pilots can now see the ocean; they can determine up, down, right and left; they straighten the plane, all engines regain power and they make a textbook emergency landing.

But what was it that actually went wrong? Was it that the fourth engine had not been properly overhauled? Or was it only because the Captain did not know that the autopilot of a 737 does not control the rudder?

Find it out here.

These are my own feelings after watching the “Panic Over The Pacific” episode of "Air Crash Investigation".

"Air Crash Investigation" is a National Geographic Channel documentary and is one of my favourite TV programs.

training syndrome

2009-11-04T12:53:00.003+07:00

Aerpuerto du Tenerife is shrouded in thick fog, when a PanAm jumbo jet follows a KLM jumbo jet onto the runway. The KLM has been instructed to taxi upto the end of the runway. The PanAm has been instructed to leave the runway at the 3rd exit.

The fog is thick; there is no ground radar; the ATC cannot see the planes and what they are doing.

Impatient to leave, the KLM captain releases the brakes and starts to run for takeoff. Blinded by the fog, the PanAm pilots cannot locate the 3rd exit and move forwards along the runway.

Of about 550 people in both planes, only 60 survive. This has been mentioned to be the worst accident in the entire history of aviation.

But whose mistake was it actually? Is any single factor responsible, or are there multiple factors? And what is training syndrome anyway?

Here is the explanation.

"Collision on the Runway" is an episode of "Air Crash Investigation".

"Air Crash Investigation" is a National Geographic Channel documentary and is one of my favourite TV programs.

a journey by ambulance

2009-10-20T20:06:00.002+07:00

Of all the things that happen around us, the surest is death. Yet, of all the things we tend to keep out of our minds, topmost on the list is death.

One of my father's aunts (they used to call her Kaki Amma) died this Friday. Hers was an enviable death.

Only about a week earlier, she had come all the way from her third son's place in Rangpur because she wanted to "die in my eldest daughter's house". Hers was an enviable death, for the doctor attending to her was her very own granddaughter, and with repeated measurements of her blood pressure, she announced, "Eighty . . . " and she measured again, "Forty . . . Grandmother is dying this very moment . . . Prompt her with the kalema now!" Hers was an enviable death, for no one panicked at that announcement — someone softly whispered the kalema in her ear while someone else quietly read Surah Ya Seen, to relieve the pain of death. They saw her move her lips with the kalema, they saw her close her eyes and they saw her last breath as it left her. Hers was an enviably peaceful death.

May Allah have Mercy on her, and on her intelligent granddaughter too.

We prayed Janaza for her after Asr. The same ambulance that had, earlier in the morning, taken her to the hospital alive had also brought her back home dead. That same ambulance was now waiting to carry her on her last and longest journey — from home to graveyard, from here to Hereafter.

On impulse, my father and I jumped on to the ambulance and off we went on an unplanned journey, stopping only for a few minutes to collect a few clothes. Maghrib time was drawing near, and before we could suggest to our companions that we should stop for an obligatory prayer, the ambulance driver impressed me with his careful planning. He queued up for gas — after all, we were going on a long journey! I guess this is one of the many ways reserved up his sleeve in order to ensure that he does not miss a prayer and also not waste precious journey time, learned through his long years of experience while carrying different types of passengers.

Impressive as were my cousin (the doctor) and the driver, it was not the same with everyone. When we stopped at the gas station, we announced that we should make use of the time by praying an obligatory prayer. It seemed that two of our companions were moving with us in the direction of the mosque, but suddenly they crossed the street and went to the tea stall! I was stunned. Didn't these people, only an hour ago, pray Asr and Janaza? Didn't the idea of death make the slightest effect on their minds?

The same thing happened at the next prayer. Azan for Isha was called as we waited aimlessly for a ferry, and again we had no companions other than a few elderly relatives. The sons and daughters of the deceased were gossiping, having chanachur and jhal muri, standing right beside their mother lying still in a wooden box — her Record Book closed, except for what her children would do for her (Muslim-1631). Were it not for her life of piety and her success with her last words, she would be in trouble big time.

The environment inside the ambulance had not been different, either. At the beginning of the journey, my companions discussed about the need for ice to preserve the dead body till next morning. That was relevant. But after that, the conversation drifted off without an anchor or a rudder. They talked about how rainy it had been on a similar journey many years back, how many districts of Bangladesh they had visited for work or to see relatives, and they talked about a lot of many other things, except discussing what they could do that would benefit the dead.

It is unfortunate that we are too engrossed in this world to prepare for death. I remembered the time some ten years ago when we traveled a similar journey carrying the dead body of my own grandmother. Back then, we had recited different Surahs and tasbeeh all the way, not knowing that this is not the way of praying for the dead.

Respectful disposal of the dead body, in terms of washing, shrouding, praying and burying is an obligation on the Muslim community (fard kifaya). The basic principle is to bury the dead as soon as possible. The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) said, "Make haste with three things : to break your fast when the sun sets, to marry when you reach adulthood and to bury the dead" ( . . . ). That makes transferring the dead body a gross violation of an obligation.

There are two main things to do at the deathbed — to prompt the dying with the shahadah, by pronouncing it aloud (or whispering in the ear) and to recite Surah Ya Seen, as it relieves the pain of death ( . . . ).

When the person is dead, prompting is irrelevant, and recitation of Quran should stop, as the dead body is impure until washed, and it is not permissible to recite Quran or to keep or recite Quran beside the impure dead body. Reciting the Quran away from the dead body, or near the dead body after washing is not advised in any of the teachings of the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) and so is an innovation (bid'ah). The Prophet said, "Whoever introduces anything new in this matter of ours will have it rejected" ( . . . ).

What we should rather do at this time is recite the different duas that have been taught to us by the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him). The dua recited in the Janaza prayer is one of the most important in this regard. The meaning of that dua is : "O Allah! Forgive our living and our dead, our present and our absent, our young and our old, our men and our women. O Allah! Keep upon Islam those of us that You keep alive, and take back upon Faith those of us that You take back."

There are other duas recorded in the books of Hadith, such as : "O Allah! Forgive them and have Mercy upon them, forgive them and be Forgiving to them, and shower Your Kindness upon them, and widen their graves, and bathe them in water, snow and ice, and separate them from sin and bad records just as You separate the brightness of the dawn from the darkness of the night."

We can also recite this dua, the meaning of which is, "O Allah! Reward them excellently for their good deeds, and with Mercy and Forgiveness for their wrongdoings," or this dua, "O Allah! Include their graves as gardens among the Gardens of Paradise and not as hollows among the Hollows of the Fire of Hell."

We can learn these duas and the other duas for the dead from dua books like Hisnul Muslim, or straight from the main books of Hadith like Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmizi, Nasai, Abu-Daood, etc.

We can add to the list the many duas that are taught in the Quran, such as, "Our Lord! Forgive us and our parents and the believers on the Day of Accounts" (14:41), or this one, "Lord! Forgive, and be Merciful — You are the Highest in Mercy!" (23:118).

We can also recite this dua : "Our Lord! Forgive our sins, wipe out our misdeeds and take us back among the successful" (3:193).

Prophet Nooh (peace be upon him) prayed, "Lord! Forgive me and my parents and members of my household who are believers and believing men and believing women . . ." (71:28).

Allah teaches us to pray, "Our Lord! Don't seize us if we have forgotten or erred . . Forgive us, be Forgiving for us, have Mercy on us — You are our protector . . ." (2:285-286).

When our ferry arrived at the other side of the river, it was 11 o'clock and within another one and a half hours, we arrived at our village. The next morning, we prayed Fajr and our village relatives prayed Janaza for their dead aunt. It was good that the village Imam avoided the innovated act of making a combined dua after the Janaza, rather they followed the sunnah — making dua, facing the Qibla (and not the grave), after the burial was over. It would have been even better, an even closer adherence to the sunnah of the Prophet, if water was sprinkled on the grave just after burial and the dua after burial was made individually by each person rather than all together — the Imam saying the dua and everyone else saying amen.

It has been said : "The grave is the first station of the Hereafter — whoever manages well in the grave will manage well the rest." Visiting the grave is meant to remind us of our own death the warrant for which has been Signed, and of our own grave.

The Prophet said, "Make use of certain things before certain other things arrive — of life before death, of youth before old age, of wealth before poverty, of this world before the Hereafter . . ."

And Allah is the Source of strength for doing good and warding off evil.

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.

viva

2009-10-08T21:05:00.000+07:00

Continued from : The Dash at Eye & ENT

Viva exams are what make medical school vivid, for they form the stage where the most hilarious acts take place. Examiners, I am sure, have a different perspective, but from the students' point of view, exams mean "All The World's A Stage" . . .

the dash at Eye & ENT

2009-10-08T20:59:00.002+07:00

Continued from : MCQ

Eye & ENT Written

By the end of General Surgery, we were drained down to the stage where mobile phones say "low battery". We knew that Eye & ENT were basically the size of two separate exams and that one and a half days were grossly insufficient — any one of them could take that time to revise completely. But there was no way we could stand straight any longer, much less to study and memorise, and the entire hostel drifted off into perhaps the most peaceful and relaxing sleep in five years. It was the afternoon of Sunday the 12th of July, 2009.

When we woke up, we were still not in a position to study, but we knew we had to. The surge of hormones, as I said, does not occur before the night before the exam, and the familiar relentless energy of some students that had always driven others to their books was also not seen around.

Our minds said we must study, our nerves were irritated, but we could not get our bodies and brains to study more than a few chapters — nowhere near to enough, much less satisfactory.

The same thing happened next morning, and I could not keep myself erect after prayers, and had to go back to bed.

By the time I finally woke up and finished a hasty breakfast, it was already 10 AM — exactly 24 hours to go. But the sleep at night and the previous afternoon had refreshed us sufficiently, and we were able to put a show that was staged seldom before. From 10 AM on Monday the 13th till going for the exam at 10 AM on Tuesday the 14th, we studied continuously, taking breaks only for meals and prayers. Some did not sleep at all — others napped for only an hour or two.

Eye & ENT Viva

The dash was similarly repeated for the viva . . .

Continued in : Viva

MCQ

2009-10-08T17:32:00.001+07:00

Continued from : The Exams That Were

Another new issue and in a way a new trouble was the OMR sheet for MCQ. Three-fourths of the sheet were occupied by unnecessary information like Name of Medical College (though everyone belongs to the same University), exam session and subject (imagine 1st Prof examinees appearing Medicine or Final Prof students appearing Community Medicine!). The list of medical colleges was an entire mess. The names are conventionally always written in a sequence, arbitrarily chosen for the the Admission Test, and we blindly know that SSMC is in no. 2 just after DMC, but it was not there! We tried to look in alphabetical order but there was no order! Then we tried to visually locate the name "Sir Salimullah Medical College", and there were students who had to seek the invigilators' help — and they also ran through the same sequence of confusion.

Instructions were unclear as to how students with three-digit numbers should fill up the four or five circles for roll and registration numbers, and whether the MCQ question must be returned or retained with the students. All of these problems were only second order, the more significant problem was the reduction of the time for the written paper due to the extra time given to fill in the MCQ circles. At the end of the day, at least one of our students was reported to have her MCQ sheet rejected by the OMR machine because of a roll number error.

Continued in : The Dash at Eye & ENT

the exams that were

2009-10-08T17:05:00.002+07:00

Continued from : Exams, Ramadan, Eid, Thereafter . . . and Hereafter

Exams are stressful, and exam at medical school is only a little less than torture in police custody. The exam period at medical school consists of two phases — written, followed by oral, clinical and / or practical. The written exams come first, with one on each alternate day, and are thus completed in just about two weeks. Then there is a delay of about a week before the next phase can start. This takes a longer time, as only about 15 students are examined each day, and only two departments can run their exams at a time. Thus, although the written exams (sometimes called the 'trauma phase') are over in a flash, the oral and practicals ('torture phase') take 6 — 8 weeks.

Written Exams

The day I returned home at last, it was the first of Ramadan, and just less than 2 months after the written exams. I found I had forgotten all about them. Now, when I am writing this yet another month later, I can only faintly remember our 24-hour dash at Eye & ENT, and, in general the surge of hormones that occurred only on the night before the exam, which cannot be initiated, even with the greatest efforts, a little earlier, and therefore, the relative inactivity just after an exam upto the evening before the next exams.

Our written exams began on the 2nd of July, and all I remember about Medicine Paper I is that at the end of an incomprehensible exam (as to whether it was good or bad), when I wrote down a mental calculation of expected marks, Banna sitting right behind me exclaimed, "That's a pass!" He has always been an inspiring presence, and his words brought a relieved smile on my face.

I cannot remember much about Paediatrics, Obstetrics, etc.

We were perhaps the only batch in several years who broke the typical sequence : Medicine, Surgery, Gynae. This was by the cunning of our Head of Surgery, who is also the Dean of the Medical Faculty, so that we could have two days to revise General Surgery, instead of one.

Invigilators

Much unlike our 1st and 2nd Prof, invigilators this time were trying to harass our students from the first of the exams. They revved up against our relatively polite teachers of Gynaecology and by the time it was Surgery, their ill-behaviour reached its peak.

Mobile phones were seized (although we had carried our silenced phones all through, starting from 1st Prof), answer scripts were thrown in the face of students and on the floor, and at last question papers were seized because students had ticked which questions they had completed answering.

Continued in : MCQ

exams, ramadan, eid, and thereafter . . . and Hereafter

2009-10-08T16:29:00.003+07:00

It was perhaps a blessing that the exams smoothed into Ramadan. Although studying is the worst thing to have to fit in with fasting and taraweeh, I still think it could not be better in any other way.

Students spend exam time planning for thereafter. The plans usually consist of recovering the sleep debt, friends, movies, hangouts, dates, chats and in general avoiding studies and regulations at all costs. The plans this year did not differ much except for the addition of a long list of expensive shopping, but perhaps also included fasting, taraweeh, sehri and iftar and in general the obligatory prayers. The fresh graduates freed themselves from studies and immediately found relax and comfort at hand, for Allah says, "Verily the heart finds rest in the remembrance of Allah" (13:28).

The transition of exams into Ramadan resulted in a vacation that was not only free from studies but also introduced a set of activities that gave some sort of a shape to the vacation. This made it very much unlike most other vacations, where the only relaxing activity was sleep and all the others (hangouts, movies, etc) were energy-intensive ones chosen more to kill time and spend energy than to actually enjoy the burden-free moments.

Continued in : The Exams That Were

tolerance

2009-10-01T19:28:00.000+07:00

If there is someone who believes 2+2=3 or someone who believes 2+2=5, I see no reason to consider them bad. Rather, I take it that it is my duty and your duty to help them understand that 2+2 can be nothing other than 4. For we know God is Real, and reality cannot vary "from person to person".

And God teaches : "Call to the Path of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching and argue with them most courteously" (Quran 16:125). And God taught Moses : "Go to the Pharaoh for verily he's crossed limits. And speak to him politely so that he takes the Warning and fears God." (Quran 20:43-44).

What if we "let them be"? Well someday they will take from me 2 and 2 and give me back 3 and expect me not to "hurt his belief" by asking for 4, or someday someone will give me 2 and 2 and expect me to honour their "different opinion" by giving them back 5.

Jesus says in the Bible, "Speak the truth and truth shall feed you" and "Take ye the sword and go and fight for truth".

This was my answer to a question on Yahoo! Answers. It was chosen by the asker as the Best Answer among a total of 7 answers.

The question was :

Do you think if someone believes in a different religion than you then they are considered wrong or a bad person?

This is simply a question of curiousity but if you say yes to this then plz explain why you think this way.

banna

2009-09-29T22:11:00.000+07:00

Mahmudul Hasan Banna is one of our jolliest friends at medical college. He has the broadest of smiles I have seen, and one that radiates liveliness and an eagerness to do good.

Over the last several years, I have seen him to be compassionate to the helpless, sincere to his family and honest and open in expressing his feelings.

Banna is presently struggling to make two ends of his openness meet — let us all give him courage.

the Moon that has been split

2009-09-20T15:50:00.004+07:00

"Doomsday has drawn closer – and the Moon has been split" (Quran 54:1).

That was more than 1400 years ago. Today, almost one and a half millennium later, there are still many who ask the question, "When will this promise happen?" (36:48). They ignorantly fail to recognise the numerous marvels of nature that unmistakable speak of their Great Originator. "Whenever they see a Sign, they turn away and say : This is transient magic" (54:2). Equally unaware are they of the many other signs of Doomsday drawing near. Theirs is an unfortunate oblivion.

Nothing, however, can be comparably unfortunate or painful, nor more serious or critical than the failure of the people very closely attached to Religion to realise that many of us have rather inadvertently become part of one very grave matter that constitutes an irrevocable step towards Doomsday – one that we have been repeatedly and direly warned against – for the Moon that was split more than 1400 years has now apparently split the Muslim opinion into more than one fragment.

It is regretful that Muslims have drifted away from Allah's warning and forgotten His mercy – "Grasp together the Anchor of Allah, and do not be divided. And keep in mind Allah's favour on you, for you were enemies and He united your hearts and made you brothers, by His Mercy – you were on the edge of the pit of fire; Allah saved you from it" (3:101-2).

The word islam is derived from the root word salam, meaning peace, and from the root word silm, meaning submission. Thus, Islam means peace acquired by submitting to Allah. Islam teaches that peace can only be achieved by submitting our selves and our will to the One Divine Self and His Divine Will.

Allah says :
"Praise be to Allah, Who has revealed to His slave the Scripture, and has made it free of crookedness" (18:1).
" . . . He has responded to you, and has made the Path free of crookedness . . . " (22:78).
"There is no crookedness in what Allah has made obligatory on the Prophet . . . " (33:38).

Allah takes pride in saying that His Will, to which we must submit has no complexities or crookedness in it. And Allah gives us the glad tidings that His Will is straightforward, clear-cut and easy to carry out. Allah says :
"This is the Path to Me – straight" (15:41).
"He it is Who has revealed to you the Scripture with verses that are clear in meaning, forming the bulk of the Book . . . " (3:7).
" . . . Allah intends to make it easy for you; Allah does not intend to make it hard for you . . . " (2:185).

Allah further assures His slaves that He has made none of His Will burdensome upon them : "On no soul does Allah place a burden that it cannot bear . . . " (2:286).

Allah says in Surah Al-Baqarah : "They ask you concerning the New Moon. Say : They are signs to mark fixed periods of time . . . " (2:189).

Allah says : " . . . He created the Sun, the Moon and the stars — all are under His Command . . . " (7:54).
"And the Moon — We have measured for her fixed stages to traverse . . . " (36:39, 10:5)
" . . . He has subjected the Sun and the Moon to His Law — each running its course for a term appointed . . . " (13:2, 31:29, 35:13, 39:5, 55:5).

The Sun, the Moon, the planets and galaxies and their calculated movements are all the credit of no one other than Allah, and benefit shall be derived from them according to no one's will except Allah's.

And Allah says : " . . . Bow not to the Sun nor the Moon, but bow to Allah who created them . . . " (41:37).

Allah has decreed upon the Sun and the Moon their purpose, and has affirmed their obedience to His Decree. Allah says : "He has subjected to you the Sun and the Moon, diligently pursuing their courses . . . " (14:33, 16:12).
"The Sun cannot overtake the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day . . . " (36:40).
"Don't you see that to Allah bow down all that is in the Heavens and on the Earth — the Sun, the Moon, the stars, the hills, the trees, the animals and a great number among mankind? . . . " (22:18).

How disgraceful it would be, if humans, the best of creation (95:4), Allah's representative on Earth (2:30), violate the Divine Will of Allah which even the Sun and the Moon obey in every detail?

And Allah has decreed that His Will be elaborated, explained, understood and practised in accordance with the model set up by the Prophet, peace be upon him.

Allah says :

"You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah the best model for any one whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day . . . " (33:21).

" . . . Take what the Messenger assigns for you, and turn away from what he withholds from you, and fear Allah, for Allah is strict in taking account" (59:7).

"No — by the Lord — they are not believers until they make you the decision-maker in all their affairs, and have no resistance in their minds against your decisions but accept them with the fullest conviction" (4:65).

" . . . If anyone contends against Allah and His Messenger, Allah is strict in punishment" (8:13).

And Allah assures that the Prophet never speaks of his will but only speaks of the Will of Allah. "Nor does he say anything of his own, except Revelation that is Inspired into him" (53:3-3). Indeed, this was one of the identifying points given to previous nations by which they could recognise the Last Prophet. "I will raise for them a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee (Moses), and I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." (Book of Deuteronomy 18:18)

Allah says : "I have not created the heavens and earth without purpose" (Quran 15:85, 16:3, 44:39, 45:22, 46:3).

The purpose of creating humans is known to all : "I have created humans and jinn only to worship Me" (51:56).

What is the purpose of the Moon? Allah says :
"They ask you concerning the New Moon. Say : They are signs to mark fixed periods of time . . . " (2:189).
" . . . He has made the night for rest, and the Sun and Moon for the reckoning of time . . . " (6:96)
"It is He Who has made the Sun to be a shining glory and the Moon to be a light, and measured out stages for her, that you may know the number of years and the count of time. Allah did not create them without purpose. Thus does He explain His Signs in detail for those who would understand" (10:5).

Allah tells us through His Book that the Moon is for counting the month and gives us through His Messenger a detailed set of instructions as to how to carry out this Divine Will.

[ONE]
Narrated by Abd-Allah Ibn-Umar : The Prophet said, "The month can be thus and thus," showing his fingers of both hands, indicating 29 and 30 days.
[Authenticated by Bukhari in Saheeh — Volume 3 Book 31 Hadith No. 132 and by Muslim in Saheeh — Book 6 Hadith No. 2371].

The same was narrated by Ubayd-Allah, and authenticated by Muslim in Saheeh — Book 6 Hadith No. 2366.

[TWO]
Narrated by Aysha : The Messenger of Allah counted the days of Shaban more carefully than other months . . .
[Authenticated by Abu-Daood in Sunan — Book 13 Hadith No. 2318].

The Prophet said, "Count the days of Shaban for the sake of Ramadan."
[Authenticated by Tirmidhi in Jami — Hadith No. 678]

[THREE]
The Prophet said, "Start fasting when you see it, and stop fasting when you see it, and if the sky is overcast, then complete the month."
[Bukhari 3.31.124 (Abd-Allah Ibn-Umar), 3.31.133 (Abu-Hurayra); Muslim 6/2364, 2368, 2369 (Abd-Allah Ibn-Umar), 2365 (Ubayd-Allah), 2378, 2379, 2380, 2381 (Abu-Hurayra)]

[FOUR]
The Prophet said, "We are an unlettered nation; we neither write nor calculate — for us the month is thus and thus," indicating with his fingers of both hands 29 and 30.
[Bukhari 3.31.137 (Abd-Allah Ibn-Umar); Muslim 6/2376 (Abd-Allah Ibn-Umar)]

[FIVE]
The Prophet said, "The month may be 29 days, but do not fast until you see it, and do not break your fast until you see it. If the weather is cloudy, calculate 30 days."
[Bukhari 3.31.130 and 131 (Abd-Allah Ibn-Umar); Muslim 6/2363, 2367, 2370 (Abd-Allah Ibn-Umar); Abu-Daood 13/2312 (Abd-Allah Ibn-Umar); Malik in Muatta — Book 18 Section 1 Hadith Nos. 1 and 2 (Abd-Allah Ibn-Umar) and 3 (Abd-Allah Ibn-Abbas)]

Narrated by Hudhayfah : The Prophet said, "Do not fast until you see the Moon or complete 30 days, then fast until you see the Moon or complete 30 days."
[Abu-Daood 13/2319]

[SIX]
Narrated by Abd-Allah Ibn-Umar from Husayn Ibn-Harith : The Prophet of Allah took a pledge from us that we should perform the rites of hajj after we see the Moon . . .
[Abu-Daood 13/2331]

[SEVEN]
Narrated by Abd-Allah Ibn-Umar : The people looked for the Moon, and I informed the Prophet that I had seen it. He fasted and told the people to fast.
[Abu-Daood 13/2335]

A Bedouin came to the Prophet and testified that he had seen the Moon . . . The Prophet told Bilal to announce that the people must fast from the next day.
[Abu-Daood 13/2333 (Abd-Allah Ibn-Abbas), 2334 (Ikrimah)]

[EIGHT]
The Prophet said, "The end of Ramadan is on the day you end it, and the sacrifice is on the day you sacrifice . . . "
[Abu-Daood 13/2317 (Abu-Hurayra)]

[NINE]
Kurayb reported that Umm-Fadl sent Fadl Ibn-Abbas to Muawiya in Syria . . . It was in Syria that . . . Fadl saw the Moon of Ramadan on a Friday night. He then came back to Madinah at the end of the month. Abd-Allah Ibn-Abbas asked him, "When did you see it?" Fadl replied, "On Friday night." He said, "Did you see it yourself?" Fadl said, "Yes, and the people also saw it and they started fasting and Muawiya also started fasting." Abd-Allah said, "But we saw it on Saturday night, so we should continue to fast till we complete 30 days or see it." Fadl said, "Is the sighting of Muawiya not valid for you?" He said, "No. This is how the Messenger of Allah has commanded us."
[Muslim 6/2391]

Reported by Abul-Bakhtari : We went out to perform Umra and . . . we tried to see the New Moon. Some of the people said it was three nights old and some said it was two nights old. We then met Abd-Allah Ibn-Abbas and told him . . . He asked on which night we had seen it. We told him that we had seen it on such and such night. He said that the Prophet had said, "Verily it is Allah Who deferred it till the time it was seen, so the month is to be counted from the night you saw it."
[Muslim 6/2392]

Narrated by Yahya from Malik : Once in the time of Uthman, the Moon was seen in the afternoon, and Uthman did not break the fast until evening had come and the Sun had set. Yahya said that Malik had said, " . . . This is because it is actually the Moon of the night that is coming." . . .
[Muatta 18.1.4]

These are some of the expressions of the Divine Will on the issue of sighting the New Moon and starting a month. Whatever we do must conform to every point of the Divine Will, without violating a single, for Allah orders us to submit to Him completely.

And Allah decrees that Muslims must remain united, and must continue to submit to Him and turn to Him in every matter till the day we meet Him. "Grasp together the Anchor of Allah, and do not be divided." (3:101)

To Allah belong the Dominions of the heavens and the earth, and to Him is the return of all.

May Allah shower peace and blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad, the Last of Prophets, and on his family members and companions.

And for Allah be all praise.

Published on the eve of Eid Al-Fitr, 1430.

welcome to my site

2009-09-14T01:38:00.009+07:00

My site is a compilation of myself - what I am, what I think, how I feel, what I have learned and what I would like to help or motivate others to learn or think. The academic content of this site are my very own notes that I prepared in various classes over the years. Where I did not have a note of my own, I have avoided those chapters here.

Apart from that, there are content of the more "personal" type, consisting of my thoughts, ideas or feelings. In all cases, I have tried to make this site MY site, with material that are my very own.

Things that are not 'mine' in that sense but nonetheless form the foundations of my philosophy or vision of life are presented in boxes in the sidebar and elsewhere. I would very much want my visitors to read the boxes and ponder over their message.

Surgery

2008-10-04T17:14:00.001+06:00

Under Construction

Medicine

2008-10-04T17:13:00.001+06:00

Under Construction

wake up! don't you sleep any more!

2008-07-29T00:37:00.001+06:00

The alarm clock of my new mobile phone is becoming an intense irritation for its unchangeable settings.

Firstly, the alarm tone starts ringing at a low volume and becomes louder progressively. Most of the time, I wake up at the low volumes and although I know that it would soon be loud enough to wake people in other rooms, the first feeling that I get every time is, "Is this an alarm clock or a kids' musical letter box? Can't it ring louder?"

Secondly, its snooze time is fixed at ten minutes, which means that I have to set it 20 minutes before the intended time so that I can snooze it at least twice before really wake up.