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Friday, September 28, 2007

More about Ramadan

Last night I went for iftar organised by DUIS, that's the dundee university islamic society. Before the iftar, we had a talk given by one of the brothers who talked about ramadan. Just to mention few things here...there are 3 levels of fasting which are 1) ordinary person fasting 2)VIP 3)VVIP. We can choose which level do we want to be. Just remember about this everytime we fast. Another thing he mentioned was that we are not fasting only from hunger and thirst. Always remember, we fast to fast our tongue, eyes, ears and other parts of body as well.

Here is an interesting article by Dr. Alhaqi Manta Dremmeh.

O ye who believe! Fasting is presribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may (learn) self restraint (taqwa). (Quran 2:183)

Muslim believe that the month of Ramadan is the holiest of the four holy months of the Islamic Lunarcalender and comes as the ninth month andthe fourth osthe five pillars of Islam. the month of Ramadan begins with the sighting of the new moon after which physically sound and healthy mature muslims will refrain from drinking, eating and any intimate contact between dwan and sunset. In addition to the physical aspects of Ramadan, it is a deeply spiritual exercise and development. It is the blessed month of compassion, forgiveness and freedom. During all months and in particular Ramadan, Muslims are taught to refrain from gossiping, lying, greed, slandering and denouncing someone behind their back. If anyone indulges in any of the above acts, all they will be attaining from their fast is hunger and thirst as in an authentic Hadith reported by the companion of the Prophet.

Apart from the medicinal benefits in detoxifying the body that some scholars associate with fasting inthis month, Ramadan fundamentally helps us develop spiritually and improve morally. Ramadan cleanses one from feelings of arrogance, egoism and jealousy. On the contrary, it enables one to reflect on the beauty of creation of the Almighty Allah SWT, His bounty and mercy upon us andimproves ones relations with others.

In essence, Ramadan inculcates in us patience, compassion and sense of sharing. It reminds us of the abject poverty that millions of people are under and the proactive role one should play in reducing poverty, illiteracy and inequities. Thus, Ramadan is one of spiritual journey, moral improvement and social responsibility.

Sadaqallah hul azim

Monday, September 24, 2007

Munchausen's Syndrome

It is defined as factitious disorder, or mental illness, in which a person repeatedly acts as if he or she has a physical or mental disorder when, in truth, they have caused the symptoms. This was named for Baron von Munchausen, an 18th century German officer who was known for embellishing the stories of his life and experiences—is the most severe type of factitious disorder.

Interesting..i thought this syndrome would never ever be diagnosed but today, I've seen a patient with this diagnosis. Before I continue, I better say sorry first to those non-medical people for again writing a medical post here...

So, this patient came in a wheelchair, with her husband I presume, telling the doctor that she couldn't swallow or take anything via her mouth. To cut the story short, she is here today to request an operation to reduce her gastro-oesophageal reflux! I have never seen an adult get this type of operation before, and I know those who get this must be very very very ill. This doctor turned down her request and she started to yell and say that she wanted a second opinion. She also do not want to see this doctor anymore. So the doctor happily discharge her from his clinic but this is not the end of story yet, when the doctor hand in to her the discharge form, which is instead towards her, he did it from her behind, she managed to take the form although she initially claimed that she is blind. FUNNY huh! . Later on, when we looked back at her previous records, she was being investigated for pseudo-seizures by the neurologist and have been changing GPs and hospital for number of times.

What am I going to say here is that these type of people should not be under NHS treatment. Orang2 di UK ni, diorg ni dapat benefit, macam zakat la jugak kalo kita nak kata dalam melayu, jadi ramai lah mereka ini yang berpura-pura sakit padahal tak pun, sihat walafiat je. Disebabkan diorg ni ada surat dari doktor sbb sakit2 tertentu, jadi mereka ni lebih rela pergi hospital setiap minggu walaupun duduk jauh sgt dari hospital daripada pergi bekerja. Sebabnya, diorg tau government akan bagi benefit yang banyak, cukup utk tampung hidup diorg malah siap boleh gi shopping lagi. Pelikkan ada jugak manusia camni.

Well, if we relate this back to Islam, sikap berpura-pura ini amalan syaitan. To be continued...

Alamak, da time utk berbuka la...

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Selamat Datang Ramadan

Poster Doors Open Day Dundee Mosque.
Dapat juga menyumbang tenaga as a tour guide pada hari tu

Sudah terlalu lama rasanya saya tak menulis...asyik copy paste dari orang lain punya blog aje...hehe...dalam pada kemalasan saya itu, sempat saya mem'browse' beberapa blog sahabat yang telah lama saya tak kunjungi..hasilnya, dari seorang ke seorang sahabat yang lain...dan Alhamdullillah...ia tak sia-sia. Banyak ilmu-ilmu yang saya peroleh hasil daripada menghadap laptop sepanjang hari. Akan saya letakkan link-link blog tersebut apabila saya mendapat keizinan daripada empunya blog, InsyaAllah.

Ermm...sedar tak sedar, da setahun saya berada di bumi Dundee ini...tahun ni saya dah pun bergelar final year medical student, syukur pada Allah. Rasanya berat betul beban apabila berjaya mencapai gelaran ini. Adik-adik junior akan mula bertanya itu ini, minta nasihat dsb. Consultant-consultant pula akan mula letak high expectation. Yang paling menakutkan apabila patient2 sendiri da mula percaya pada kita. Sudah mula terasa tanggungjawab yang akan dipikul bila menjejakkan kaki ke alam pekerjaan nanti. Seperti kata Dekan pada hari pertama introduction haritu, dalam masa tak sampai 10 bulan, awak akan bergelar doktor. Pada masa tuh nanti, tanggungjawab yang dipegang memang berat. Jadi, bersiap sedialah dari sekarang, dari segi fizikal, mental mahupun spiritual. you are the doctor, you are the leader, you are the teacher.Sebagai bakal doktor muslim, kita mesti sedar akan tanggungjawab kita...kita ini hanya sebagai perantara Nya, yang akan membantu berusaha melindungi nyawa manusia di semua peringkat dan dalam semua keadaan, berusaha sedaya upaya menyelamatkan mereka daripada maut, penyakit, kesakitan dan kebimbangan (dipetik daripada Ikrar Pengamal Perubatan Muslim). Rasanya da melalut pulak, objektif asalnya nak bercerita pasal niat =) Ok, berbalik pada topik asal...


Alhamdullillah...sudah hampir 11 hari kita melalui ramadan pada tahun ini. Tak sangka masa berjalan begitu pantas, sangatlah ia mencemburui kita. Marilah kita sama-sama muhasabah diri kita semula...fikir-fikirkan...apa yang sudah kita buat sepanjang sepuluh sebelas hari ramadan yang lepas...ada tak kita bersedekah? bagaimana dengan puasa kita, pangkat berapakah puasa kita agaknya?pangkat orang2 kebanyakan kah?yang puasanya hanya mendapat letih dan dahaga. Sudah berapa juzuk da agaknya quran tu kita baca?atau sudah berapa helaian kah baru kita selak? pernah tak kita bangun solat malam untuk qiamulail? bagaimana pula dengan teraweh kita pada tahun ini?

Tak kesah la berapa banyak pun ibadat yang kita buat, yang penting niat kita mestila dibetulkan...Jikalau kita refer pada hadis2 pun, kebanyakannya akan menyebut tentang pentingnya niat sebagai hadis pertama. Apa yang saya nak utarakan di sini adalah perihal niat sebenarnya...beberapa hari lalu, salah seorang sahabat saya complaint pasal susahnya da masuk clinical year ni...tambah pulak buat surgical blok, bulan puasa lak tuh..."pagi2 pkol lapan da masuk, petang pulak lepas pukul lima baru ward round habis....ruginya buat blok ni masa bulan puasa! tak sempat nak beribadat langsung" Pada saya, niat kita yang penting di sini...saya ckp pada sahabat saya ni, ingatla bila kita pergi belajar, jumpa patient, buat ward round, ambil darah patient, niatkan untuk ibadat. Kita da pun pilih untuk masuk bidang ni, nak tak nak kita harus teruskan (walaupun mungkin ada yang berpendapat masih ada masa utk berpatah balik) ingat lah, tak elok kita mengomel masa sekarang ni...belum lagi bekerja...nanti da kerja, ntah dapat cuti ntah tidak, ntah-ntah kena lak on call beberapa kali masa ramadan....mungkin ini praktis yang baik....yang penting betulkan niat kita....saya sedar ada jugak kawan-kawan saya yang mungkin rasa saya ni terlalu taksub pada pelajaran ...takde nak join program2 sangat...saya kalo org da cakap macam tuh, saya dengar je la..mungkin benar kata org, kita kena la jugak ambil iktibar dari apa yang org ckp...kita cuba buat yang terbaek, ye tak? tapi last sekali kita serahkan segalanya pada Allah (taknak komen byk sgt pasal ni)

Kesimpulan yang saya nak bawa di sini...walaupun kita tak sempat nak beribadat pada bulan ramadan kali ini,ingatlah, apabila kita buat sesuatu kerja itu, niatkannya sebagai ibadat..sememangnya, kalau ada masa lapang, penuhilah ia dengan bacaan Al-Quran dan seumpama dengannya...

Semoga Ramadan tahun ini akan lebih baik dari tahun sebelumnya...InsyaAllah

What is Atheism?

This article is a copy from my friend, encik Jeghi. Link http://azrifickry.blogspot.com/

Few friends have been asking what is atheism. Defined by Wikepedia Atheism, as a philosophical view, is the position that either affirms the nonexistence of gods[1] or rejects theism. In simpler words, they believe in nothing.

All of us, regardless of what religion you might embrace, have always been bombarded with questions ,
-who created us
-why do we live, grow up and eventually die?
-if God does exist, where is He?

We the Muslims believe in Allah the Almighty as the One and Only. 25% of the world population are Muslims. The rest, the emptiness in their restless hearts made them began to look for the answers for the above questions, which unfortunately had lead them to create God in thousands of forms. The rest here includes those those who do not believe in God, but still they believe in something though they never portray it. Some believe God presented in a human form, God has son and endless other forms which of course are ridiculous.As said by Dr Asri(Minda Mufti)

Hingga mereka yang mendakwa tidak mempercayai Tuhan dan bebas dari sebarang peraturan manusia pun, mereka tetap menjadi hamba nafsu dan pemikiran sesat yang akhirnya merobohkan nilai keinsanan mereka yang sebenar.

Islam, what differentiates it to other religions is Islam is a complete way of life. Comparatively, other religions they stress only/mostly the spiritual side of a human being. Therefore, we see them going to their so-called holy places at one time and the rest of the week they live as if they will never die, taking alchohol and practising free sex for instance. Islam is different, it is a system that covers from the very basic life chores up to the rules and laws of a country.

Yes, the non-Muslims might be laughing at us now. The Malay's saying ' cakap tak serupa bikin' is perhaps not far from being true. Islam as proven by history reached the top of the world when It was truly practiced by the Muslims. I'm urging my fellow Muslims, as stated in the Quran,

24. Maka apakah mereka tidak memperhatikan Al Quran ataukah hati mereka terkunci?

25. Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang kembali ke belakang (kepada kekafiran) sesudah petunjuk itu jelas bagi mereka, syaitan telah menjadikan mereka mudah (berbuat dosa) dan memanjangkan angan-angan mereka.

33. Hai orang-orang yang beriman, taatilah Allah dan taatilah Rasul dan janganlah kamu merusakkan (pahala) amal-amalmu. Surah Muhammad 24,25,33

to question where is God, why is the world unfair and why your loved ones die of cancer and others that deserve to die(subjective) live happily in this world is part of human nature. Islam has set the path, yet this path seems so blur to us because of our laziness in seeking it.

4. Katakanlah: "Terangkanlah kepadaku tentang apa yang kamu sembah selain Allah; perlihatkan kepada-Ku apakah yang telah mereka ciptakan dari bumi ini atau adakah mereka berserikat (dengan Allah) dalam (penciptaan) langit? Bawalah kepada-Ku Kitab yang sebelum (Al Quran) ini atau peninggalan dari pengetahuan (orang-orang dahulu), jika kamu adalah orang-orang yang benar" Al-Ahqaaf, ayat 4

On another heavy note, I would like a heavy penalty/punishment to be sentenced to the rapist of Nurin. A death sentence would be the preferred option to most of us(i guess). You are a sick animal! Even an animal would never do that!

Mari kita bersama-sama sedekahkan Al-Fatihah buat adik Nurin kita...Al-Fatihah