I knew this time would come. As you can tell, the blogs have dried up recently and although I've been keen to type, I just haven't had the time. This ePortfolio and nMRCGP is taking up a lot of my time. I think I better put a pause on the blog for the time being. I have exams at the end of January/beginning of February, so until then I'm going to take a break from the blogging. Inshallah, provided I pass the exams I'll be back to my blogging best sometime in February.
In the meantime if anyone would like to type a blog of their own for this site then please get in touch through the comments section and I'll be glad to post their blog at any time.
So, until February this is me officially signing out.
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Jack's back
Finally tonight after over 18 months, Jack Bauer makes a much welcome, much awaited, much overdue return to our screens for a 2-hour special 24 TV-movie tonight; 24:Redemption. The movie acts as a setup for season 7 which will return in January, 2 years after season 6 started. The delay was due to the writer's strike which crippled Hollywood earlier this year with 24 being the biggest casualty. Thankfully the wait is over: Jack's back.
You may remember in my last blogging stint, I typed at length about the brilliance of 24 and Jack Bauer here and here as I welcomed the start of season 6. That was a big disappointment. Us 24 fans are used to the plot holes, the ridiculous CTU politics or the miraculous abilities of Jack Bauer but season 6 was just a big disappointment, especially following on from the critically acclaimed season 5 (with Logan et al). We last left Jack staring into the distance standing on top of a cliff having said goodbye to his true love Audrey Raines. That was 18 months ago. It's been quite a wait.
The movie, filmed in Africa, is set in a fictional country, Sangala where Jack has gone to seek solace and to just get away from it all. Obviously, trouble follows Jack wherever he goes, regardless of the country and it's not long before things get out of hand. Simultaneously, back in Washington D.C. the new female President (blatantly cast by the producers because they thought Hiliary Clinton was going to be running) is being inaugurated and having to deal with the same crisis in Sangala.
Hopefully the 18 month break means the writers have had plenty of time to make sure the story lines and plots develop properly and we don't have any jumps or twists that make no sense. After the disappointment of season 6 and the long gap between that and season 7, I simply can't wait for the return of our favourite anti-hero - Jack Bauer. Thanks to Sky's affiliation with FOX, UK viewers will be able to watch the movie tonight on Sky 1 at 10pm. Even if you haven't watched 24 before, watch the movie to introduce yourself to Jack Bauer, you don't need any back history to be able to understand what's going on, and hopefully the movie will wet your appetite - there's still plenty of time to watch seasons 1-6 before season 7 starts in January. In fact I envy those who haven't watched 24 and are able to watch 6 seasons back-to-back, I'm definitely going to do that one day.
Before I finish, I just want to say thanks to the person who left a comment on my previous post, providing a link for the list of 100 blog topics - there were certainly a few headings which I will be discussing in due course.
Let me know what you think of the 24 movie tonight. Remember, you don't have to be a die-hard fan. Just watch the movie as an introduction into 24 - I won't be surprised if you're left wanting more.
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
You may remember in my last blogging stint, I typed at length about the brilliance of 24 and Jack Bauer here and here as I welcomed the start of season 6. That was a big disappointment. Us 24 fans are used to the plot holes, the ridiculous CTU politics or the miraculous abilities of Jack Bauer but season 6 was just a big disappointment, especially following on from the critically acclaimed season 5 (with Logan et al). We last left Jack staring into the distance standing on top of a cliff having said goodbye to his true love Audrey Raines. That was 18 months ago. It's been quite a wait.
The movie, filmed in Africa, is set in a fictional country, Sangala where Jack has gone to seek solace and to just get away from it all. Obviously, trouble follows Jack wherever he goes, regardless of the country and it's not long before things get out of hand. Simultaneously, back in Washington D.C. the new female President (blatantly cast by the producers because they thought Hiliary Clinton was going to be running) is being inaugurated and having to deal with the same crisis in Sangala.
Hopefully the 18 month break means the writers have had plenty of time to make sure the story lines and plots develop properly and we don't have any jumps or twists that make no sense. After the disappointment of season 6 and the long gap between that and season 7, I simply can't wait for the return of our favourite anti-hero - Jack Bauer. Thanks to Sky's affiliation with FOX, UK viewers will be able to watch the movie tonight on Sky 1 at 10pm. Even if you haven't watched 24 before, watch the movie to introduce yourself to Jack Bauer, you don't need any back history to be able to understand what's going on, and hopefully the movie will wet your appetite - there's still plenty of time to watch seasons 1-6 before season 7 starts in January. In fact I envy those who haven't watched 24 and are able to watch 6 seasons back-to-back, I'm definitely going to do that one day.
Before I finish, I just want to say thanks to the person who left a comment on my previous post, providing a link for the list of 100 blog topics - there were certainly a few headings which I will be discussing in due course.
Let me know what you think of the 24 movie tonight. Remember, you don't have to be a die-hard fan. Just watch the movie as an introduction into 24 - I won't be surprised if you're left wanting more.
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Random ramblings for the century post
A milestone has been reached today with this being my 100th post on this blog. Technically not all 100 posts have been by me, but nevertheless, still a significant achievement. As a celebration I think I'm gonna have random ramble, as no specific topic comes to mind today.
The credit crunch disaster continues to show no signs of abating. Interest rates have now fallen to 3%. I took out a mortgage only 18 months ago and was strongly advised to take a fixed-rate mortgage - someone was either having a laugh or was totally clueless about the impending crunch. It seems likely to be the latter, which leads me to ask how were people so clueless about the situation and not have any contingency plans? The interest rate cut smacks of desperation, further supported by reports that the rate will need to be cut further in the coming months - seems all a bit "too little, too late."
Along with that has been the recent coverage of tax-cuts in an attempt to stimulate the economy and get people spending money again. The retail market has taken a big hit, with everyone tightening their purses, spending shoppers have been on the decline. I recently visited the new Westfield shopping centre in London and although it was filled with loads of people, what was noticeable was how short the queues were for paying in the shops. I think many people were there to admire the new store and window shop, rather than actually spend large amounts of money. I include myself in this, as we just used the various vouchers we already had and spent very little cash.
A side-effect of the credit crunch has seen consumer spending increase in the entertainment industry, mainly the cinemas and TV subscriptions. How else can one explain the remarkable box-office success of the new James Bond movie: Quantum Of Solace, which is currently topping both the US and the UK box-office and has already made over $321 million worldwide? It's not even that good - with action scene after action scene and a story that's too complicated to follow, it was like a Jason Bourne movie! There was none of the typical humour, wit and gadgets that make a Bond movie. He didn't even say "the names Bond..., James Bond," surely that should be a guarantee in all Bond movies!
Whilst I'm rambling about movies, I recently saw the Bollywood movie Dostana, and whilst the idea of a couple pretending to be gay in a Hollywood movie would not be something I want to watch, because it was a topic being dealt with in a Bollywood movie it became interesting. It was absolutely hilarious! Go see it now.
Along with the movie industry, there has also been a increase in the number of subscribers to Sky TV with the company announcing a 25% increase in profits this year. People are staying at home more and therefore looking for more in-house entertainment. What better than a new subscription to Sky Sports or Sky Movies or even Sky HD?
Moving away from all the credit crunch talk, how about an update on all things medical? I must say it has been a gentle re-introduction to work after my 3 weeks off in earlier this month. As always I continue to jump through hoops for my ePortfolio and have recently forked out over £1300 for one exam next year (the CSA), but I don't want to bore you with those particular details. As for patient contact, pretty uneventful thus far. I did see one patient who suffered from an extremely rare syndrome that I'd never heard of before - Klippel Trenaunay syndrome, let's just leave it at that - you can click on the link and read all about it if you're interested!
I've sat staring at the screen trying to think of something interesting to type and can't come up with anything. Not a good way to celebrate the 100th posting! I think I better give-up for today. How about someone come up with some topics for me to blog about? I guess that will be difficult as it would require you to leave a comment, and no-one likes doing that it seems. Don't worry, the 101st post is going to be much better - a certain Jack Bauer will be returning...
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
The credit crunch disaster continues to show no signs of abating. Interest rates have now fallen to 3%. I took out a mortgage only 18 months ago and was strongly advised to take a fixed-rate mortgage - someone was either having a laugh or was totally clueless about the impending crunch. It seems likely to be the latter, which leads me to ask how were people so clueless about the situation and not have any contingency plans? The interest rate cut smacks of desperation, further supported by reports that the rate will need to be cut further in the coming months - seems all a bit "too little, too late."
Along with that has been the recent coverage of tax-cuts in an attempt to stimulate the economy and get people spending money again. The retail market has taken a big hit, with everyone tightening their purses, spending shoppers have been on the decline. I recently visited the new Westfield shopping centre in London and although it was filled with loads of people, what was noticeable was how short the queues were for paying in the shops. I think many people were there to admire the new store and window shop, rather than actually spend large amounts of money. I include myself in this, as we just used the various vouchers we already had and spent very little cash.
A side-effect of the credit crunch has seen consumer spending increase in the entertainment industry, mainly the cinemas and TV subscriptions. How else can one explain the remarkable box-office success of the new James Bond movie: Quantum Of Solace, which is currently topping both the US and the UK box-office and has already made over $321 million worldwide? It's not even that good - with action scene after action scene and a story that's too complicated to follow, it was like a Jason Bourne movie! There was none of the typical humour, wit and gadgets that make a Bond movie. He didn't even say "the names Bond..., James Bond," surely that should be a guarantee in all Bond movies!
Whilst I'm rambling about movies, I recently saw the Bollywood movie Dostana, and whilst the idea of a couple pretending to be gay in a Hollywood movie would not be something I want to watch, because it was a topic being dealt with in a Bollywood movie it became interesting. It was absolutely hilarious! Go see it now.
Along with the movie industry, there has also been a increase in the number of subscribers to Sky TV with the company announcing a 25% increase in profits this year. People are staying at home more and therefore looking for more in-house entertainment. What better than a new subscription to Sky Sports or Sky Movies or even Sky HD?
Moving away from all the credit crunch talk, how about an update on all things medical? I must say it has been a gentle re-introduction to work after my 3 weeks off in earlier this month. As always I continue to jump through hoops for my ePortfolio and have recently forked out over £1300 for one exam next year (the CSA), but I don't want to bore you with those particular details. As for patient contact, pretty uneventful thus far. I did see one patient who suffered from an extremely rare syndrome that I'd never heard of before - Klippel Trenaunay syndrome, let's just leave it at that - you can click on the link and read all about it if you're interested!
I've sat staring at the screen trying to think of something interesting to type and can't come up with anything. Not a good way to celebrate the 100th posting! I think I better give-up for today. How about someone come up with some topics for me to blog about? I guess that will be difficult as it would require you to leave a comment, and no-one likes doing that it seems. Don't worry, the 101st post is going to be much better - a certain Jack Bauer will be returning...
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Friday, November 14, 2008
Method of prayer
Another week goes by as we approach the end of 2008. Yet again, another year of my life has flown by in a flash. I look at my baby and think that she didn't even exist at the beginning of the year and now here she is in front of me, increasing my level of responsibility dramatically, how time flies.
This week saw the world commemorate Armistice Day - the end of the first world war 90 years ago on November the 11th. For a definition of futility, look no further than World War I. It took place from 1914-1918 and saw the loss of millions upon millions of men all for little to no gain whatsoever. The military tactics of trench warfare saw millions of soldiers sent "over the top" to their deaths. The tactic seemed to be to send as many people as possible and hope that the sheer numbers would lead to victory. In 1995 I visited the battlefields of Somme, Ypres and Verdun on a school trip, and to this day I vividly remember the rows of trenches and rows upon rows of unnamed tombstones - a complete exercise of futility, and World War II wasn't much better either.
On to bigger and better things. One of the five pillars of Islam is the act of prayer - to pray to God at prescribed times during the day, to remember him and ask him for help. It is the mainstay of Islam and a provision for all Muslims to seek help directly from God. All religions prescribe some form of prayer and Islam is no different.
Unfortunately divisions in Islam, namely the Shia and Sunni sects has led to divisions in the conduct of most practices and the act of prayer is no exception. All Muslims believe in the five daily mandatory prayers and they also agree that these five prayers have set times in which they must be performed.
The first difference arises from whether the prayers can be combined or whether they need to be kept separate. Shia's believe that the afternoon prayers (Zuhr and Asr) and the evening prayer (Maghrib and Isha) can be combined at any time. The four different schools of Sunnism believe differently. Some schools believe prayer can only be combined during travel or periods of danger, other schools believe they cannot be combined at all. For the correct answer, let's start by looking at the Quran. It states: "Establish regular prayers at the Sun's decline till the darkness of the night, and the recital of the Quran in the morning prayer; for the recital of the dawn is Witnessed." (Surah 17, Verse 78). In this verse, three prayer times are mentioned, so that is the first indication of three separate times for prayer, not five. From that, it is sensible to ask what did the Prophet do? Look no further than Sahih Muslim:
The next debate is over the method of prayer. All Shias place their forehead on a natural substance when bowing in sajdah, often a piece of rock. Sunnis place their forehead directly on the carpet/rug/mat and then claim that Shias worship the rock. Again, what did the Prophet do? In another famous Sunni book, Sahih Bukhari it narrates hadith which state:
Unfortunately, I have been unable to find reliable sources to settle this particular discussion either way, perhaps you know of some. However, with the application of good sense, the answer in my mind is clear. All Shias pray with the arms by their sides. On the other hand, four different schools of Sunnism have four different methods of standing in prayer. If the schools can't agree on a relatively simple task, then I think I'll stick to my method.
Having briefly discussed the difference in the method of prayer, I hope I have been able to clarify some of the myths of Shia prayer and also explain why we do what we do, backed up with Sunni sources only. I will finish rather abruptly now as I am going home to my daughter - looks good just typing it!
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
This week saw the world commemorate Armistice Day - the end of the first world war 90 years ago on November the 11th. For a definition of futility, look no further than World War I. It took place from 1914-1918 and saw the loss of millions upon millions of men all for little to no gain whatsoever. The military tactics of trench warfare saw millions of soldiers sent "over the top" to their deaths. The tactic seemed to be to send as many people as possible and hope that the sheer numbers would lead to victory. In 1995 I visited the battlefields of Somme, Ypres and Verdun on a school trip, and to this day I vividly remember the rows of trenches and rows upon rows of unnamed tombstones - a complete exercise of futility, and World War II wasn't much better either.
On to bigger and better things. One of the five pillars of Islam is the act of prayer - to pray to God at prescribed times during the day, to remember him and ask him for help. It is the mainstay of Islam and a provision for all Muslims to seek help directly from God. All religions prescribe some form of prayer and Islam is no different.
Unfortunately divisions in Islam, namely the Shia and Sunni sects has led to divisions in the conduct of most practices and the act of prayer is no exception. All Muslims believe in the five daily mandatory prayers and they also agree that these five prayers have set times in which they must be performed.
The first difference arises from whether the prayers can be combined or whether they need to be kept separate. Shia's believe that the afternoon prayers (Zuhr and Asr) and the evening prayer (Maghrib and Isha) can be combined at any time. The four different schools of Sunnism believe differently. Some schools believe prayer can only be combined during travel or periods of danger, other schools believe they cannot be combined at all. For the correct answer, let's start by looking at the Quran. It states: "Establish regular prayers at the Sun's decline till the darkness of the night, and the recital of the Quran in the morning prayer; for the recital of the dawn is Witnessed." (Surah 17, Verse 78). In this verse, three prayer times are mentioned, so that is the first indication of three separate times for prayer, not five. From that, it is sensible to ask what did the Prophet do? Look no further than Sahih Muslim:
"Ibn 'Abbas reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed the noon and afternoon prayers together, and the sunset and Isha' prayers together without being in a state of fear or in a state of journey." (Book 4, Chapter 100, Hadith 1515)And why did the Prophet do this?
"I said to Ibn Abbas: What prompted him to do that? He said: So that his prophet's Ummah should not be put to (unnecessary) hardship." (Book 4, Chapter 100, Hadith 1516)
The next debate is over the method of prayer. All Shias place their forehead on a natural substance when bowing in sajdah, often a piece of rock. Sunnis place their forehead directly on the carpet/rug/mat and then claim that Shias worship the rock. Again, what did the Prophet do? In another famous Sunni book, Sahih Bukhari it narrates hadith which state:
"The Messenger of Allah performed prayer and I (one of the wives of the Holy Prophet) lay opposite to him while I was in menses. Sometimes his clothes touched me when he prostrated, and he used to prostrate on khumra (a piece of rock or dirt)." (Volume 1, Book 6, Hadith 321)Also, the Prophet is quoted as saying:
"...the earth has been made pure and a place of prostration for me, so whenever the time of prayer comes for any one of you, he should pray wherever he is..." (Volume 1, Book 7, Hadith 323)Lastly, when Shias stand in prayer, they do so with their arms by their sides. Sunnis can't seem to make up their minds. Some do the same as Shias, others stand with their arms folded, with some folding above the abdomen and other over the waist. Some with the left arm over the right and vicer-versa.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to find reliable sources to settle this particular discussion either way, perhaps you know of some. However, with the application of good sense, the answer in my mind is clear. All Shias pray with the arms by their sides. On the other hand, four different schools of Sunnism have four different methods of standing in prayer. If the schools can't agree on a relatively simple task, then I think I'll stick to my method.
Having briefly discussed the difference in the method of prayer, I hope I have been able to clarify some of the myths of Shia prayer and also explain why we do what we do, backed up with Sunni sources only. I will finish rather abruptly now as I am going home to my daughter - looks good just typing it!
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Monday, November 10, 2008
Guess who's back IV
As you can see I've been away for quite a while, almost a month, but I have a very good excuse! My wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on the 19th of October and I have just returned to work after 3 weeks of paternity/annual leave spending time relaxing with my wife and baby (along with plenty of sessions playing the new Pro Evolution 2009 - much to my wife's disdain, but boys will be boys). It's true what they say, having a baby does change your life. Suddenly everything has become about her. A baby who doesn't even respond to us has become the most important thing in our life.
Over the past three weeks numerous family and friends have been visiting, all wanting a cuddle with the baby, receiving a lot of presents and so far it has been really fun and enjoyable. Everything else seems to have taken a backseat. Arguments, concerns, distractions, all have dissolved into nothing and all the focus is on their new grand-daughter, niece, cousin, etc. Along with the attention comes all the advice. What's difficult is deciphering what's important and what isn't. Some of the advice is useful, other stuff is almost pure superstition. Overall, so far, it has been an amazing experience and it was a wrench to get up and come to work this morning.
While I've been away a lot has happened in the world. Most significant was the recent victory by a certain Barack Obama in the US presidential elections. The Americans aren't so stupid after all. However, the optimism has to be tempered somewhat be recent events following his victory. First was the appointment of Rahm Emanuel as his chief-of-staff. A man who is as pro-Israeli as they come - he even volunteered to serve in the Israeli army during the Gulf War in 1991. His appointment led his father to comment: "Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn't he be? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House." Great! Just what we need.
Secondly was the response Obama gave when asked about the unprecedented congratulatory message he received from his Iranian counterpart (Ahmedinajad): "Iran's development of a nuclear weapon I believe is unacceptable. We have to mount an international effort to prevent that from happening." Never mind the fact that the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (a UN led watchdog) clearly stated that "...the Islamic Republic is still lacking the key components to produce an atomic weapon. They do not have even the nuclear material, the raw unenriched uranium to develop one nuclear weapon if they decide to do so." The President has already seemingly decided that Iran is making a nuclear weapon regardless of the evidence. Ominous signs already, we'll have to wait and see how this plays out.
What else has been happening? Oh yes, how could I forgot Liverpool continuing their fine start to the season, joint top of the Premiership and never have I been this optimistic that they may continue to stay there and challenge for the rest of the season. The optimism breeds from a great victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Their first defeat at home for over four years - I wasn't even married the last time a team beat Chelsea in the Premier League.
With my return to work comes the bad news of exams for my MRCGP around the corner in January/February. The next few months are going to be very busy with my surgeries, tutorials, ePortfolio and studying for my exams. As a result, it is going to be difficult to maintain this blog on a regular basis. Instead, I will strive to blog at least once a week and hope other will contribute and that you all will continue to read albeit at less regular intervals. For now, it's sad to be back at work, and I am missing my daughter!
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Over the past three weeks numerous family and friends have been visiting, all wanting a cuddle with the baby, receiving a lot of presents and so far it has been really fun and enjoyable. Everything else seems to have taken a backseat. Arguments, concerns, distractions, all have dissolved into nothing and all the focus is on their new grand-daughter, niece, cousin, etc. Along with the attention comes all the advice. What's difficult is deciphering what's important and what isn't. Some of the advice is useful, other stuff is almost pure superstition. Overall, so far, it has been an amazing experience and it was a wrench to get up and come to work this morning.
While I've been away a lot has happened in the world. Most significant was the recent victory by a certain Barack Obama in the US presidential elections. The Americans aren't so stupid after all. However, the optimism has to be tempered somewhat be recent events following his victory. First was the appointment of Rahm Emanuel as his chief-of-staff. A man who is as pro-Israeli as they come - he even volunteered to serve in the Israeli army during the Gulf War in 1991. His appointment led his father to comment: "Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn't he be? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House." Great! Just what we need.
Secondly was the response Obama gave when asked about the unprecedented congratulatory message he received from his Iranian counterpart (Ahmedinajad): "Iran's development of a nuclear weapon I believe is unacceptable. We have to mount an international effort to prevent that from happening." Never mind the fact that the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (a UN led watchdog) clearly stated that "...the Islamic Republic is still lacking the key components to produce an atomic weapon. They do not have even the nuclear material, the raw unenriched uranium to develop one nuclear weapon if they decide to do so." The President has already seemingly decided that Iran is making a nuclear weapon regardless of the evidence. Ominous signs already, we'll have to wait and see how this plays out.
What else has been happening? Oh yes, how could I forgot Liverpool continuing their fine start to the season, joint top of the Premiership and never have I been this optimistic that they may continue to stay there and challenge for the rest of the season. The optimism breeds from a great victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Their first defeat at home for over four years - I wasn't even married the last time a team beat Chelsea in the Premier League.
With my return to work comes the bad news of exams for my MRCGP around the corner in January/February. The next few months are going to be very busy with my surgeries, tutorials, ePortfolio and studying for my exams. As a result, it is going to be difficult to maintain this blog on a regular basis. Instead, I will strive to blog at least once a week and hope other will contribute and that you all will continue to read albeit at less regular intervals. For now, it's sad to be back at work, and I am missing my daughter!
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The perfect consultation
During my GP Registrar year, I am constantly getting assessed to determine whether I am progressing well with the skill of GP consultation. Out of all the medical specialties, General Practice requires a unique set of skills for consulting patients - skills that take time to develop and maintain. I previously blogged about various consultation models that we have been taught and how I adapt them for my consultations. The assessments are a way of making sure that we continue to develop our skills, continuing to perfect the art of consultation.
To achieve this, the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has set-up two main methods of assessment. The first is called a Clinical Observation Tool assessment (COT). This particular assessment requires me to either film my consultations (with the patients consent of course) and to then review them with my trainer, or to have joint surgeries with my trainer watching as I consult. The other assessment is the Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA) exam which involves 13 consultations with actors/actresses to be done in 10 minutes and each is assessed by an examiner. If it sounds tough, that's cause it is!
Assessing my consultation always feels a bit fake. Whenever I video my consultations, there's always an element of acting or over exaggeration in my consultations. I know what needs to be done to achieve the marks, so I always end up putting it on a little bit. I make sure I ask the key questions that I am expected to ask, regardless of their relevance. It's expected that for all consultations GPs should ask a few questions all the time and it all revolves around the patients I.C.E. (Ideas, Concerns & Expectations). So, when all my videos have me asking about what the patient thinks is wrong, what are their concerns, how the problem is affecting them and what expectations they have. To be fair, in most cases these questions are very important, and the more I video myself, the more I find myself doing it without the video. However, for some cases it is not relevant at all and it always feels a bit fake.
The most difficult aspect of videoing my consultations is making sure I cover everything within 10 minutes. I can almost see myself go through a mental checklist as I consult to make sure I ask all the right questions and sometimes my management of the patients problem suffers. I worry so much about asking the right question and covering the right areas, the important part - the medical part, providing a diagnosis or treatment gets forgotten. There have been times when I've gone through the problem, performed the relevant examination (which by the way, are off camera) and then got to the actual doctor part of the consultation and found myself struggling simply because I've been spending too much time on what has gone before, trying to achieve the perfect consultation.
It's irritating that I am being asked to spend so much time focusing on the consultation skills aspect that at times I'm having to think harder than before just to do the medical part of the consultation which is what I've been trained for. I understand the importance of achieving a good consultation, but as these assessments continue to develop and the RCGP continues to place more and more emphasis on it, I wonder if the medical aspect of patient care will begin to suffer?
To be fair, the RCGP place a lot of importance on us continuing to show that we keep up to date with our medical knowledge. We have regular tutorials and have to show evidence of our own private study on a regular basis on our ePortfolio, but the GP consultation is definitely the most important part of my medical training without doubt.
The hardest part of my consultations is getting the time down to 10 minutes, especially for the CSA examination. The consultation then will stop dead on 10 minutes, if anything is left, then that's just tough luck. Yesterday I had a COT assessment on a patient which lasted 14 minutes. My trainer and I discussed how it could have been shortened and we both struggled to come up with any answers. The problem that I was presented with required the 14 minutes and I was even rushing at the end to try and speed the process, but even my trainer agreed that it would be near impossible to get it down to 10 minutes. So, no answers and not good if I get a similar presentation in the CSA. The patient yesterday was a particularly slow talker, and perhaps the actor/actress would talk faster in the CSA. Maybe I wouldn't need to perform such a thorough examination and have the findings given to me. Perhaps that would be the only way I could cut down on my time for the consultation.
Obviously, these assessments are necessary. They are in place to ensure we develop or GP consultation skill properly, to get ready for the big bag world of General Practice at the end of it. I just hope that my medical knowledge or application of that knowledge remains appropriate and that, for the CSA at least, I am able to consult within the 10 minutes properly - the emphasis seems to be on the consultation models and not necessarily on actual medical knowledge. Don't worry, there is also a theory exam as well.
With that all said and done, I sign off for today and the rest of the week most likely. Got too many COTs to do and too little time to do it in! Next time you see a GP, is he/she more concerned about getting the consultation right, or getting you right?
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
To achieve this, the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has set-up two main methods of assessment. The first is called a Clinical Observation Tool assessment (COT). This particular assessment requires me to either film my consultations (with the patients consent of course) and to then review them with my trainer, or to have joint surgeries with my trainer watching as I consult. The other assessment is the Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA) exam which involves 13 consultations with actors/actresses to be done in 10 minutes and each is assessed by an examiner. If it sounds tough, that's cause it is!
Assessing my consultation always feels a bit fake. Whenever I video my consultations, there's always an element of acting or over exaggeration in my consultations. I know what needs to be done to achieve the marks, so I always end up putting it on a little bit. I make sure I ask the key questions that I am expected to ask, regardless of their relevance. It's expected that for all consultations GPs should ask a few questions all the time and it all revolves around the patients I.C.E. (Ideas, Concerns & Expectations). So, when all my videos have me asking about what the patient thinks is wrong, what are their concerns, how the problem is affecting them and what expectations they have. To be fair, in most cases these questions are very important, and the more I video myself, the more I find myself doing it without the video. However, for some cases it is not relevant at all and it always feels a bit fake.
The most difficult aspect of videoing my consultations is making sure I cover everything within 10 minutes. I can almost see myself go through a mental checklist as I consult to make sure I ask all the right questions and sometimes my management of the patients problem suffers. I worry so much about asking the right question and covering the right areas, the important part - the medical part, providing a diagnosis or treatment gets forgotten. There have been times when I've gone through the problem, performed the relevant examination (which by the way, are off camera) and then got to the actual doctor part of the consultation and found myself struggling simply because I've been spending too much time on what has gone before, trying to achieve the perfect consultation.
It's irritating that I am being asked to spend so much time focusing on the consultation skills aspect that at times I'm having to think harder than before just to do the medical part of the consultation which is what I've been trained for. I understand the importance of achieving a good consultation, but as these assessments continue to develop and the RCGP continues to place more and more emphasis on it, I wonder if the medical aspect of patient care will begin to suffer?
To be fair, the RCGP place a lot of importance on us continuing to show that we keep up to date with our medical knowledge. We have regular tutorials and have to show evidence of our own private study on a regular basis on our ePortfolio, but the GP consultation is definitely the most important part of my medical training without doubt.
The hardest part of my consultations is getting the time down to 10 minutes, especially for the CSA examination. The consultation then will stop dead on 10 minutes, if anything is left, then that's just tough luck. Yesterday I had a COT assessment on a patient which lasted 14 minutes. My trainer and I discussed how it could have been shortened and we both struggled to come up with any answers. The problem that I was presented with required the 14 minutes and I was even rushing at the end to try and speed the process, but even my trainer agreed that it would be near impossible to get it down to 10 minutes. So, no answers and not good if I get a similar presentation in the CSA. The patient yesterday was a particularly slow talker, and perhaps the actor/actress would talk faster in the CSA. Maybe I wouldn't need to perform such a thorough examination and have the findings given to me. Perhaps that would be the only way I could cut down on my time for the consultation.
Obviously, these assessments are necessary. They are in place to ensure we develop or GP consultation skill properly, to get ready for the big bag world of General Practice at the end of it. I just hope that my medical knowledge or application of that knowledge remains appropriate and that, for the CSA at least, I am able to consult within the 10 minutes properly - the emphasis seems to be on the consultation models and not necessarily on actual medical knowledge. Don't worry, there is also a theory exam as well.
With that all said and done, I sign off for today and the rest of the week most likely. Got too many COTs to do and too little time to do it in! Next time you see a GP, is he/she more concerned about getting the consultation right, or getting you right?
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Monday, October 13, 2008
Credit crunching to disaster
Almost two weeks without a blog. How have you survived? Extremely well by the looks of it as the hit count has barely moved in that time. A belated Eid Mubarak to everyone, this year I celebrated on 2nd of October and took off the 1st and 3rd for good measure. Last week was extremely busy, so busy that I was unable to blog.
I would like to put it down as a rarity but the signs are ominous - the GP Registrar year is going to be tough and I will have to cut down on the frequency of this blog as a result. Apart from the my surgeries, I'm having to spend a lot of time with my ePortfolio and tutorials in preparation for various assessments, and it is all taking up a lot of time. Take last Thursday for example: I had a 2 hr tutorial in the morning, followed by a video consultation assessment, then a lunchtime lecture, followed by an afternoon surgery and assessment. All in all I had 30 minutes for myself - it was like being back at hospital again, not good. With recent developments in mind, I'll be looking to blog at least once a week and try to do more as and when time allows.
First things first, in response to a comment left on my last blog by "Anonymous" (I think I know who it is - can you even pronounce anonymous?), yet again there was a report about how GPs are overpaid and under worked (blah, blah, blah) and to be quite honest, I am getting fed-up of having to defend GPs and whether they deserve or don't deserve their earnings etc. This time I would like to end this particular discussion with the words of Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners and leave it at that:
Moving on, and while I've been away, the so-called "credit crunch" has seemingly turned into a "credit disaster" with banks crashing across the world, the stock market falling and a global economic meltdown in the horizon being predicted. However, what does it all mean for us as individuals? How and when will the banking crisis effect us? For the answers I turned to Watford Man, a man who knows something about anything and everything, and as usual he didn't disappoint.
Since the last recession in the late 1980's, early 1990's, the economy in the UK has enjoyed a massive boom. A steady growth has seen people make loads of money, house prices have grown, consumer spending has increased and unemployment levels have decreased. Everyone was apparently in a win-win situation. Banks were de-regulated, which meant that chief executives and chairmen of British banks were allowed to do what they wanted with peoples investments, savings and pensions. Loans and mortgages were being handed out at record levels, seemingly to anyone, regardless of their credit rating.
In the US, subprime mortgages (mortgages valued at over 5 times peoples income, or in some cases up to 125% of the value of the property) were being handed out in their thousands. Regardless of whether people could actually afford the re-payments, they were able to become homeowners. "Everyone should be a homeowner," became a mantra for the US government. The companies that handed out subprime mortgages would then sell this debt onto bigger and more powerful companies at a certain rate, who would then sell to even more powerful companies and banks.
Everyone in the chain was making money, so all seemed well. Banks were coming up with their own mathematical formulas to justify their investments, and the risks got bigger and bigger. De-regulation meant that there was seemingly no accountability for their actions, as long as they continued to make money, everyone remained happy.
In the UK, as the interest rate began to increase from 2004, slowly but surely, more and more people began to struggle to repay their monthly mortgage payments. This was brought into sharp focus with the collapse and government takeover of Northern Rock last year. It had accumulated too much bad debt and was no longer able to afford charges to cover the debt with a drastic slump in profits. The collapse was the first warning sign for what was to follow.
In the US the situation is even worse. Banks and financial companies have offered thousands of subprime mortgages piling on bad debt on top of bad debt. Companies have sold these debts on to other large investors who have paid over the top for the debt, mainly because it was a US company meaning the investment should be safe! As more and more people have defaulted on their repayments, it has turned into a international crisis. The banks can no longer afford the debts they own and risk collapse and the government has to use taxpayers money to bail them out.
What the bad debt means is that everything is heading for a big bust. Unaffordable mortgages have led to a fall in house prices. Lack of spare cash has led to a downturn in consumer spending. Companies are having to lay of staff so that they can continue to run and pay off their debt and the recession looms closer and closer. The collapse of the economy will have an effect on all aspects of life. Larger number of unemplyed people means more disaffection, which will see an increase in social benefit claims and crime, putting more and more pressure on the welfare state.
The crisis means that banks no longer trust each other and refuse to lend money to each other, unless at extremely extortionate rates, and therefore a cut in the national interest rates will have no difference. For example, if my house is now worth less then what I paid (which is the likely situation at present), when I come to re-mortgage it, I won't be able to because of the drop in value. What will happen instead is that I will be asked to pay more to cover for the drop - and that is a real possibility if the situation remains as it is and worsens as is being predicted across the globe. The situation is even worse for pension owners or child trust fund owners, as their money has probably been used in bad investment and there is every possibility that they have been left with nothing.
The scary part of this crisis, is that no-one is safe. During the boom period, banks invested in each other across the world, it wasn't just limited to UK banks dealing with UK banks, or US banks working with US companies. Banks from the Middle East, China and other nations have all invested heavily and the whole global economy is at risk. I've said in the past that the banks should be allowed to collapse, but it doesn't seem a good idea if all the banks collapse on mass, leaving only a few to leave our savings with - we'll be sent back to the Medieval age and having to wheel and deal for our earnings and savings!
After such a large boom, a huge bust was inevitable. What is shocking is that it wasn't foreseen for so long. Until the banks trust each other again, the situtation won't change and that is where the national governments get involved. The UK government has just announced a £37 billion bailout of taxpayer cash into RBS, Lloyds TSB and HBOS. We, the taxpayers, will own upto 60% of RBS and 40% of Lloyds TSB/HBOS. The banks are being nationalised and the government will have a direct influence on how they are run.
This is just the beginning of the attempt to stage a recovery. It will be useless unless the whole world gets on board, which is why Gordon Brown recently met with 15 European leaders in an attempt to unify and sort out the financial crisis. All in all, even with my basic understanding, there are bleak times ahead and a situation that we will have to endure for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, hopefully the chief executives and chairmen of all these failing banks will be held to account for the recklessness and lack of foresight - but the chances are they will resign with big payouts without repercussion - doesn't seem fair.
What is most depressing as Watford Man pointed out last night, is that our generation will suffer the most. As someone who has recently started earning and developed a career, I won't enjoy the boom of the late 1990's, early 2000's for quite some time. Unfortunately, we missed out and now have to pay for the mistakes of the generation before us. Hopefully, the situation will remain cyclical and after the bust, things will improve once again and we'll be in a position to reap the benefits. Until then we have no choice but to grin and bear it and see how it all plays out.
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
I would like to put it down as a rarity but the signs are ominous - the GP Registrar year is going to be tough and I will have to cut down on the frequency of this blog as a result. Apart from the my surgeries, I'm having to spend a lot of time with my ePortfolio and tutorials in preparation for various assessments, and it is all taking up a lot of time. Take last Thursday for example: I had a 2 hr tutorial in the morning, followed by a video consultation assessment, then a lunchtime lecture, followed by an afternoon surgery and assessment. All in all I had 30 minutes for myself - it was like being back at hospital again, not good. With recent developments in mind, I'll be looking to blog at least once a week and try to do more as and when time allows.
First things first, in response to a comment left on my last blog by "Anonymous" (I think I know who it is - can you even pronounce anonymous?), yet again there was a report about how GPs are overpaid and under worked (blah, blah, blah) and to be quite honest, I am getting fed-up of having to defend GPs and whether they deserve or don't deserve their earnings etc. This time I would like to end this particular discussion with the words of Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners and leave it at that:
"The quality of care provided for patients should always be our main consideration and this demonstrates how GPs have stepped up to the plate to deliver improvements. Robust evidence shows that the QOF has been a success and that it has made a major contribution to raising standards by setting a universal measure of quality for patients, wherever they live. We refute any accusations that the targets are too easy.
The role of the GP is very different even from that of five years ago - we are caring for an ageing population, patients are presenting with complex and multiple conditions and we are providing many services in primary care that were previously carried out in secondary care. GPs are proving every day that they are up to this challenge, although we do acknowledge that PCTS have often lacked the will and capacity to develop local services in partnership with GPs.
The QOF is also helping GPs to shift the emphasis to health promotion and preventing illness in patients, rather than just patching up people when they're ill. By identifying those at risk early enough, we are having a dramatic effect in helping people change their lifestyles and improve their health through earlier access to treatment and specially targeted interventions such as smoking cessation - all of which can only benefit the NHS in the long run."
Moving on, and while I've been away, the so-called "credit crunch" has seemingly turned into a "credit disaster" with banks crashing across the world, the stock market falling and a global economic meltdown in the horizon being predicted. However, what does it all mean for us as individuals? How and when will the banking crisis effect us? For the answers I turned to Watford Man, a man who knows something about anything and everything, and as usual he didn't disappoint.
Since the last recession in the late 1980's, early 1990's, the economy in the UK has enjoyed a massive boom. A steady growth has seen people make loads of money, house prices have grown, consumer spending has increased and unemployment levels have decreased. Everyone was apparently in a win-win situation. Banks were de-regulated, which meant that chief executives and chairmen of British banks were allowed to do what they wanted with peoples investments, savings and pensions. Loans and mortgages were being handed out at record levels, seemingly to anyone, regardless of their credit rating.
In the US, subprime mortgages (mortgages valued at over 5 times peoples income, or in some cases up to 125% of the value of the property) were being handed out in their thousands. Regardless of whether people could actually afford the re-payments, they were able to become homeowners. "Everyone should be a homeowner," became a mantra for the US government. The companies that handed out subprime mortgages would then sell this debt onto bigger and more powerful companies at a certain rate, who would then sell to even more powerful companies and banks.
Everyone in the chain was making money, so all seemed well. Banks were coming up with their own mathematical formulas to justify their investments, and the risks got bigger and bigger. De-regulation meant that there was seemingly no accountability for their actions, as long as they continued to make money, everyone remained happy.
In the UK, as the interest rate began to increase from 2004, slowly but surely, more and more people began to struggle to repay their monthly mortgage payments. This was brought into sharp focus with the collapse and government takeover of Northern Rock last year. It had accumulated too much bad debt and was no longer able to afford charges to cover the debt with a drastic slump in profits. The collapse was the first warning sign for what was to follow.
In the US the situation is even worse. Banks and financial companies have offered thousands of subprime mortgages piling on bad debt on top of bad debt. Companies have sold these debts on to other large investors who have paid over the top for the debt, mainly because it was a US company meaning the investment should be safe! As more and more people have defaulted on their repayments, it has turned into a international crisis. The banks can no longer afford the debts they own and risk collapse and the government has to use taxpayers money to bail them out.
What the bad debt means is that everything is heading for a big bust. Unaffordable mortgages have led to a fall in house prices. Lack of spare cash has led to a downturn in consumer spending. Companies are having to lay of staff so that they can continue to run and pay off their debt and the recession looms closer and closer. The collapse of the economy will have an effect on all aspects of life. Larger number of unemplyed people means more disaffection, which will see an increase in social benefit claims and crime, putting more and more pressure on the welfare state.
The crisis means that banks no longer trust each other and refuse to lend money to each other, unless at extremely extortionate rates, and therefore a cut in the national interest rates will have no difference. For example, if my house is now worth less then what I paid (which is the likely situation at present), when I come to re-mortgage it, I won't be able to because of the drop in value. What will happen instead is that I will be asked to pay more to cover for the drop - and that is a real possibility if the situation remains as it is and worsens as is being predicted across the globe. The situation is even worse for pension owners or child trust fund owners, as their money has probably been used in bad investment and there is every possibility that they have been left with nothing.
The scary part of this crisis, is that no-one is safe. During the boom period, banks invested in each other across the world, it wasn't just limited to UK banks dealing with UK banks, or US banks working with US companies. Banks from the Middle East, China and other nations have all invested heavily and the whole global economy is at risk. I've said in the past that the banks should be allowed to collapse, but it doesn't seem a good idea if all the banks collapse on mass, leaving only a few to leave our savings with - we'll be sent back to the Medieval age and having to wheel and deal for our earnings and savings!
After such a large boom, a huge bust was inevitable. What is shocking is that it wasn't foreseen for so long. Until the banks trust each other again, the situtation won't change and that is where the national governments get involved. The UK government has just announced a £37 billion bailout of taxpayer cash into RBS, Lloyds TSB and HBOS. We, the taxpayers, will own upto 60% of RBS and 40% of Lloyds TSB/HBOS. The banks are being nationalised and the government will have a direct influence on how they are run.
This is just the beginning of the attempt to stage a recovery. It will be useless unless the whole world gets on board, which is why Gordon Brown recently met with 15 European leaders in an attempt to unify and sort out the financial crisis. All in all, even with my basic understanding, there are bleak times ahead and a situation that we will have to endure for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, hopefully the chief executives and chairmen of all these failing banks will be held to account for the recklessness and lack of foresight - but the chances are they will resign with big payouts without repercussion - doesn't seem fair.
What is most depressing as Watford Man pointed out last night, is that our generation will suffer the most. As someone who has recently started earning and developed a career, I won't enjoy the boom of the late 1990's, early 2000's for quite some time. Unfortunately, we missed out and now have to pay for the mistakes of the generation before us. Hopefully, the situation will remain cyclical and after the bust, things will improve once again and we'll be in a position to reap the benefits. Until then we have no choice but to grin and bear it and see how it all plays out.
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
(i)L(l)iteral ignorance
No teaching today which means you guys get a bonus blog from me. How exciting! Actually, although it may not be exciting, what I want to discuss today is certainly interesting. The muslim world is divided on a lot of things, and one of the differences I want to talk about today is to do with the Holy Prophet.
There is a debate going on that concerns the abilities of the Prophet, namely to do with his literacy skills. Certain Muslims, rightly or wrongly, suggest that the Prophet was illiterate, that he was unable to read and write. For some, it is not seen as a criticism, but rather as more proof of the miracle of the Holy Prophet in revealing the Holy Quran and also the message of Islam. For others (namely Wahabbis), it is a way to belittle the Prophet and attempt to reduce his status to that of a common man. Wahabbis would like us to believe that the Prophet was a normal man, whose mission was to bring the Holy Quran and that was it. Some even refer to him as a normal postman. Describing him as illiterate is just another way of downplaying his status.
For Shias, the belief is quite different. We believe that he was in no way illiterate and today I would like to attempt to explain why, using some reliable sources and also a very important tool (not necessarily utilised by others), common sense. Unfortunately, this has become a hot topic of debate because the information available is rather sparse, but a good starting point would the Holy Quran.
When muslims debate whether the Prophet was illiterate, they often quote the following verses:
Further tafsir of these verses reveals that Ummi was a term used to describe the Arabs, as they were often illiterate and uneducated. Hence, perhaps God was defining the Prophet as an Arab, which he was. Ummis also refers to the people of Mecca - the Ummul-Qura and God goes on to state that: "It is He who raised among the ummies a messenger from amongst them, who recites His signs to them, reforms them and teaches them the book and the wisdom." (Surah 62, Verse 2). The Prophet was a Meccan, but it is absurd to think that Allah sent an illiterate to teach the illiterates.
Continuing to use the Quran, God clearly states why he sent the Holy Prophet: "And We have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds." (Surah 21, Verse 107) He was sent for all of mankind. Also, in the Quran, when God talks about Prophet Isa (a.s.) he mentions that Isa was able to speak from the cradle, when he was just a baby: "He said: Surely I am a servant of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a prophet." (Surah 19, Verse 30) So, God describes a Prophet who was able to speak from the cradle as a baby, and then for the Prophet who has been sent for all of mankind, to suggest that he unable to read or write is surely a mistake. And lastly, the first verse revealed to the Prophet on the night of Qadr was "Read in the name of your Lord Who created." (Surah 96, Verse 1). Why did God ask the Prophet to read, if he was unable to?
Moving from the Quran and onto events that occured during the Prophet's life, there is the well documented event (Sahih Muslim, Book 13, Hadith 4016) that occured near the time of the Prophet's death. He requested a pen and paper from Umar as he wished to write his last will. Umar denied him that request, but nonetheless, why would the Prophet ask for a pen and paper if he was unable to write?
Furthermore, there is another incident which took place in the Prophet's life as quoted by Ibn Ishaq in the book "The Life of Muhammed: Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasulallah." In it he describes a letter exchange between the Holy Prophet and a man named Musaylima bin Habib who was claiming to be a Prophet of God:
The above extract confirms that the Prophet engaged in writing and reading in order to spread the message of Islam. Finally, putting on the hat of common sense, is it not nonsensical to think that the Prophet was illiterate? He was sent by God to spread the religion of Islam throughout the world, he was sent to a region rife with problems, including illiteracy, therefore does it make sense that God sent an illiterate Prophet to teach illiterate people? Also, the Prophet was a successful businessman and tradesman, dealing with the finances and wealth of his first wife, Bibi Khadija (a.s.). In order to do so, would he not need to be able to read and write?
For many Muslims, the Prophet's illiteracy is used as a tool to hail his miracle of the Holy Quran even more, but that is not necessary. The Quran is the greatest miracle for mankind and doesn't need any surrounding intervention to make it bigger. For those who claim the Prophet was illiterate in an attempt to belittle him, they are surely mistaken. The Holy Prophet was sent for all of mankind, he was not simply a postman sent to deliver the Quran. Without him there is no Islam. Who else is there to explain the teachings and meanings of the Quran and Islam? I hope this blog has addressed the issue over the Prophets alleged illiteracy although I am sure many people will disagree, if any of you are reading, then please leave a comment and we can discuss this topic further.
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
There is a debate going on that concerns the abilities of the Prophet, namely to do with his literacy skills. Certain Muslims, rightly or wrongly, suggest that the Prophet was illiterate, that he was unable to read and write. For some, it is not seen as a criticism, but rather as more proof of the miracle of the Holy Prophet in revealing the Holy Quran and also the message of Islam. For others (namely Wahabbis), it is a way to belittle the Prophet and attempt to reduce his status to that of a common man. Wahabbis would like us to believe that the Prophet was a normal man, whose mission was to bring the Holy Quran and that was it. Some even refer to him as a normal postman. Describing him as illiterate is just another way of downplaying his status.
For Shias, the belief is quite different. We believe that he was in no way illiterate and today I would like to attempt to explain why, using some reliable sources and also a very important tool (not necessarily utilised by others), common sense. Unfortunately, this has become a hot topic of debate because the information available is rather sparse, but a good starting point would the Holy Quran.
When muslims debate whether the Prophet was illiterate, they often quote the following verses:
The key word in the above verse is Ummi. Scholars have translated this to mean either "unlettered" or "illiterate" and this is where the confusion seems to arise. Which translation makes more sense? If we take the first meaning, then describing the Prophet as unlettered would mean that he was not formally educated or schooled, which is true, all his knowledge came direct from God and therefore that translation would make sense. If we use the second translation, then it suggests that he was unable to read and write, but does that make sense?"And ordain for us good in this world's life and the hereafter, for surely we turn to Thee. He said: (As for) My chastisement, I will afflict with it whom I please, and My mercy encompasses all things; so I will ordain it (specially) for those who guard (against evil) and pay the poor-rate, and those who believe in Our communications. Those who follow the Messenger Prophet, the Ummi, whom they find written down with them in the Taurat and the Injeel (who) enjoins them good and forbids them evil, and makes lawful to them the good things and makes unlawful to them impure things, and removes from them their burden and the shackles which were upon them; so (as for) those who believe in him and honor him and help him, and follow the light which has been sent down with him, these it is that are the successful." (Surah 7, Verses 156-157)
Further tafsir of these verses reveals that Ummi was a term used to describe the Arabs, as they were often illiterate and uneducated. Hence, perhaps God was defining the Prophet as an Arab, which he was. Ummis also refers to the people of Mecca - the Ummul-Qura and God goes on to state that: "It is He who raised among the ummies a messenger from amongst them, who recites His signs to them, reforms them and teaches them the book and the wisdom." (Surah 62, Verse 2). The Prophet was a Meccan, but it is absurd to think that Allah sent an illiterate to teach the illiterates.
Continuing to use the Quran, God clearly states why he sent the Holy Prophet: "And We have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds." (Surah 21, Verse 107) He was sent for all of mankind. Also, in the Quran, when God talks about Prophet Isa (a.s.) he mentions that Isa was able to speak from the cradle, when he was just a baby: "He said: Surely I am a servant of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a prophet." (Surah 19, Verse 30) So, God describes a Prophet who was able to speak from the cradle as a baby, and then for the Prophet who has been sent for all of mankind, to suggest that he unable to read or write is surely a mistake. And lastly, the first verse revealed to the Prophet on the night of Qadr was "Read in the name of your Lord Who created." (Surah 96, Verse 1). Why did God ask the Prophet to read, if he was unable to?
Moving from the Quran and onto events that occured during the Prophet's life, there is the well documented event (Sahih Muslim, Book 13, Hadith 4016) that occured near the time of the Prophet's death. He requested a pen and paper from Umar as he wished to write his last will. Umar denied him that request, but nonetheless, why would the Prophet ask for a pen and paper if he was unable to write?
Furthermore, there is another incident which took place in the Prophet's life as quoted by Ibn Ishaq in the book "The Life of Muhammed: Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasulallah." In it he describes a letter exchange between the Holy Prophet and a man named Musaylima bin Habib who was claiming to be a Prophet of God:
"MUSAYLIMA'S LETTER AND THE APOSTLE'S ANSWER THERETO
Musaylima had written to the apostle (Prophet Muhammad):
>From Musaylima the apostle of God to Muhammad the apostle of God. Peace upon you. I have been made partner with you in authority. To us belongs half the land and to Quraysh half, but Quraysh are a hostile people...
Then he (Prophet Muhammad) wrote to Musaylima:
>From Muhammad the apostle of God to Musaylima the liar. Peace be upon him who follows the guidance. The earth is God's. He lets whom He will of His creatures (to) inherit it and the result is to the pious...
This was at the end of the year 10 (after Hijra). There were other instances in the history of early Islam where Prophet Muhammad sent many letters to Kings and other heads of state, inviting them to embrace God's religion. The only plausible conclusion is that he realized the importance of written communication, as God has taught in the earliest revelation. Ibn Ishaq's chronicle on this issue provides a historical evidence to support the fact that Muhammad was indeed a literate prophet."
The above extract confirms that the Prophet engaged in writing and reading in order to spread the message of Islam. Finally, putting on the hat of common sense, is it not nonsensical to think that the Prophet was illiterate? He was sent by God to spread the religion of Islam throughout the world, he was sent to a region rife with problems, including illiteracy, therefore does it make sense that God sent an illiterate Prophet to teach illiterate people? Also, the Prophet was a successful businessman and tradesman, dealing with the finances and wealth of his first wife, Bibi Khadija (a.s.). In order to do so, would he not need to be able to read and write?
For many Muslims, the Prophet's illiteracy is used as a tool to hail his miracle of the Holy Quran even more, but that is not necessary. The Quran is the greatest miracle for mankind and doesn't need any surrounding intervention to make it bigger. For those who claim the Prophet was illiterate in an attempt to belittle him, they are surely mistaken. The Holy Prophet was sent for all of mankind, he was not simply a postman sent to deliver the Quran. Without him there is no Islam. Who else is there to explain the teachings and meanings of the Quran and Islam? I hope this blog has addressed the issue over the Prophets alleged illiteracy although I am sure many people will disagree, if any of you are reading, then please leave a comment and we can discuss this topic further.
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sincerity
What a hectic morning so far, not helped by the fact that I got to work late. I was stuck behind a tractor on my way to work for over 30 minutes. So annoying. We are now in the final straight, with 3 days left of fasting before Eid (hopefully, as I have a day off booked) on Thursday. As always, there will be big debate over whether Eid will be on Wednesday, Thursday or even Friday (for some people), but this year I am going to follow the Greenwich Royal Observatory who clearly state that the new moon will be visible on the night of the 1st of October, and therefore Eid will be on the 2nd of October.
With this being the last Monday in Ramadan, I conclude my series of religious topics I've been discussing every Monday since Ramadan began, with a blog about Sincerity. Our intentions reflect our practices and actions. Whatever we do, from the mundane to the complex, God's judgement is based on our intentions, our niyyat. Sincerity is a combination, starting with our intentions, leading to our actions and then perseverance of the correct and halal way of life.
The ultimate in sincerity is to achieve a status whereby our actions are dedicated totally to God and reflect his will and command. God states in the Quran "Now, surely, sincere obedience is due to Allah (alone)..." (Surah 39, Verse 3). Our intentions are the building blocks for achieving this status. Everything we do is judged by our intentions. Seemingly good acts can be meaningless if our intentions are not pure and incorrect acts or mistakes can be overlooked by God if our intentions were pure.
I often find that our intentions get lost when dealing with certain actions or thoughts. For example, take the whole debate about when the 1st of Ramadan is, or when Eid is at the end of Ramadan. Everyone seems to get hung up about which Ayatullah to follow, what mosque to follow and as a result the Muslim community ends up divided. If previously it's been difficult to get Shias and Sunnis to agree on a date, now even the Shia community is divided with Shias following different Ayatullahs who have different rulings. However, if we come back to our intention, then it should be simpler.
Even though the Ayatullahs have different rulings, they all agree that their rules should not cause division within the community, but that is often ignored. However, if we focus on the sincerity of the decision, it should be simpler. Surely, everyone can agree to have the event of Eid on the same day in order to ensure that the community is united in celebration and we all get to enjoy Eid at the same time, on the same day. Whatever doubts there maybe about the moon sightings and various rulings, if we all have the same intention then it shouldn't matter as much as it does. I'm obviously not suggesting that we be careless and pick any random day (as the Saudis seem to do), but with the best intentions and common sense, we should be able to agree on one day for Eid and one day for the start of Ramadan. The way it's currently going, we'll soon be commemorating 10th of Muharrum on different days.
Our actions are derived from our intentions and it is how we then conduct ourselves that determines how close we grow towards God. Perseverance in action, is more difficult than the act itself. Sincerity is subsequent to action. This means a good deed without bragging, without showing-off is the better course of action. For example, if one performs a good deed in secret, he/she will receive reward from God, if he/she then declares this good deed, the level of reward decreases to that of an open good deed and if he/she starts to brag about this deed then the reward is cancelled and he/she may be punished for showing off. Once the intention is established, it needs to be maintained throughout.
It is the sincere intention and pure purpose that determines the perfection or lack thereof of our worship towards God. Struggling to get rid of self-love or pride or ego has to be a continuous process to ensure that our intentions are dedicated towards God. Performing acts of worship or in fact any act, for any other reason, takes us away from that purpose. Acts for the pleasure of others or ourselves can be classified as shirk, and that would be a true meaning of the word - not how the Shias are accused of shirk by associating others with God - and is something that needs constant work. Of course there will be acts which make us feel good, make us feel proud, but if these feelings get in the way of seeking God's blessings and reward then the acts have a negative affect on us.
The constant struggle to drive out love for worldly pleasures is what will draw us closer to God and help achieve total sincerity. Vigilance is constantly required because Shaitan is always close by to try and influence our acts. Remaining sincere at all times means resisting the temptations offered by Shaitan and continuing to focus on gaining God's pleasure. Modify our behaviour step-by-step - get rid of ego and pride in our actions stage by stage and inshallah the sincerity will follow. Our intentions may always be right, be pure but to be sincere means getting rid of any distracting thoughts. When God talks to mankind in the Quran, he asks the people who are righteous to "Say. Surely my prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are (all) for Allah, the Lord of the worlds." (Surah 6, Verse 162)
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
With this being the last Monday in Ramadan, I conclude my series of religious topics I've been discussing every Monday since Ramadan began, with a blog about Sincerity. Our intentions reflect our practices and actions. Whatever we do, from the mundane to the complex, God's judgement is based on our intentions, our niyyat. Sincerity is a combination, starting with our intentions, leading to our actions and then perseverance of the correct and halal way of life.
The ultimate in sincerity is to achieve a status whereby our actions are dedicated totally to God and reflect his will and command. God states in the Quran "Now, surely, sincere obedience is due to Allah (alone)..." (Surah 39, Verse 3). Our intentions are the building blocks for achieving this status. Everything we do is judged by our intentions. Seemingly good acts can be meaningless if our intentions are not pure and incorrect acts or mistakes can be overlooked by God if our intentions were pure.
I often find that our intentions get lost when dealing with certain actions or thoughts. For example, take the whole debate about when the 1st of Ramadan is, or when Eid is at the end of Ramadan. Everyone seems to get hung up about which Ayatullah to follow, what mosque to follow and as a result the Muslim community ends up divided. If previously it's been difficult to get Shias and Sunnis to agree on a date, now even the Shia community is divided with Shias following different Ayatullahs who have different rulings. However, if we come back to our intention, then it should be simpler.
Even though the Ayatullahs have different rulings, they all agree that their rules should not cause division within the community, but that is often ignored. However, if we focus on the sincerity of the decision, it should be simpler. Surely, everyone can agree to have the event of Eid on the same day in order to ensure that the community is united in celebration and we all get to enjoy Eid at the same time, on the same day. Whatever doubts there maybe about the moon sightings and various rulings, if we all have the same intention then it shouldn't matter as much as it does. I'm obviously not suggesting that we be careless and pick any random day (as the Saudis seem to do), but with the best intentions and common sense, we should be able to agree on one day for Eid and one day for the start of Ramadan. The way it's currently going, we'll soon be commemorating 10th of Muharrum on different days.
Our actions are derived from our intentions and it is how we then conduct ourselves that determines how close we grow towards God. Perseverance in action, is more difficult than the act itself. Sincerity is subsequent to action. This means a good deed without bragging, without showing-off is the better course of action. For example, if one performs a good deed in secret, he/she will receive reward from God, if he/she then declares this good deed, the level of reward decreases to that of an open good deed and if he/she starts to brag about this deed then the reward is cancelled and he/she may be punished for showing off. Once the intention is established, it needs to be maintained throughout.
It is the sincere intention and pure purpose that determines the perfection or lack thereof of our worship towards God. Struggling to get rid of self-love or pride or ego has to be a continuous process to ensure that our intentions are dedicated towards God. Performing acts of worship or in fact any act, for any other reason, takes us away from that purpose. Acts for the pleasure of others or ourselves can be classified as shirk, and that would be a true meaning of the word - not how the Shias are accused of shirk by associating others with God - and is something that needs constant work. Of course there will be acts which make us feel good, make us feel proud, but if these feelings get in the way of seeking God's blessings and reward then the acts have a negative affect on us.
The constant struggle to drive out love for worldly pleasures is what will draw us closer to God and help achieve total sincerity. Vigilance is constantly required because Shaitan is always close by to try and influence our acts. Remaining sincere at all times means resisting the temptations offered by Shaitan and continuing to focus on gaining God's pleasure. Modify our behaviour step-by-step - get rid of ego and pride in our actions stage by stage and inshallah the sincerity will follow. Our intentions may always be right, be pure but to be sincere means getting rid of any distracting thoughts. When God talks to mankind in the Quran, he asks the people who are righteous to "Say. Surely my prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are (all) for Allah, the Lord of the worlds." (Surah 6, Verse 162)
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Friday, September 26, 2008
Random chatter II
All in all it has been a busy week. Started the week by commemorating the death of our first Holy Imam, then had the amaals of Shab-e-Qadr and to top it all off, I've actually been busy at work! Yesterday I had a meeting with my educational supervisor and we went through a video consultation of myself. It is so weird seeing myself consult patients - almost cringe worthy, although I must add I am rather good - I can put on a good act for the camera.
Being the end of the week and also the last Friday of Ramadan, I don't have much time to blog today before Juma prayers which I have to get to shortly. Just enough time to reflect on the current affairs of the week. The week started with a great tragedy in Pakistan. The Marriot hotel in Islamabad was attacked by a suicide bomber carrying 600kg of explosives in a truck. The devastation caused can be seen here, and resulted in over 50 deaths and counting.
It seems that no week goes by without some report of a suicide attack somewhere in the Middle East or South Asia. It begs the question, how easy is it to recruit a suicide bomber? How are people being so brainwashed that they agree to kill themselves? How do agents of Al-Qaeda or the Taleban convince people it is all in the name of Islam? The people who do the recruiting are not stupid and yet they seem to think that such violent attacks and causing the death of innocent people will lead to reward in the hereafter. All I can say is that God clearly states in the Quran that "...whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men." (Surah 5, Verse 32).
Moving on from such tragic events, to something less traumatising. The Labour Party conference this week saw Gordon Brown attempt to stage a recovery for his premiership with a convincing speech discussing how he is going to deal with the various issues facing this country. At the end of the day it comes down to a simple question, who is the least worse option in running the country? Tony Blair won a 3rd successive term in power back in 2005, mainly because the quality of his opponents in the Tory and Lib Dem party were so poor and the same will apply again. This time, it appears that the public are turning against the Labour Party and the Tories will surely benefit. David Cameron must be loving it, he hasn't had to come up with any amazing policy breakthroughs or tax promises, he's just sat back and watch Labour implode. Too little, too late Mr. Brown.
Lastly, the credit crunch shows no signs of abating. This week, President Bush has been trying to convince Congress to cough up $700 billion in an attempt to save the banks who are at threat from going under in the US. A few years ago, when the banks were successful, making huge amounts of money, many chief executives, managers and whoever were making large bonuses on the back of it. At the time, do you remember receiving a letter from your bank, congratulating themselves for the success and rewarding you with a cash donation? I don't. So now that they are in trouble due to their own excesses, why are we, the taxpayers, being asked to foot the bill of recovery? They dug their own grave, now they should suffer the consequences. Obviously, I cannot claim to even begin to understand the complicated world that is the finance sector, but it just doesn't seem fair. If we didn't enjoy the bonuses, why are we being forced to help now. I await someone to explain it to me.
That concludes my brief discussion about the week just gone. The comments seemed to have dried up this week. No-one has yet commented on what personality type they are - c'mon readers leave a comment or two please!
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Being the end of the week and also the last Friday of Ramadan, I don't have much time to blog today before Juma prayers which I have to get to shortly. Just enough time to reflect on the current affairs of the week. The week started with a great tragedy in Pakistan. The Marriot hotel in Islamabad was attacked by a suicide bomber carrying 600kg of explosives in a truck. The devastation caused can be seen here, and resulted in over 50 deaths and counting.
It seems that no week goes by without some report of a suicide attack somewhere in the Middle East or South Asia. It begs the question, how easy is it to recruit a suicide bomber? How are people being so brainwashed that they agree to kill themselves? How do agents of Al-Qaeda or the Taleban convince people it is all in the name of Islam? The people who do the recruiting are not stupid and yet they seem to think that such violent attacks and causing the death of innocent people will lead to reward in the hereafter. All I can say is that God clearly states in the Quran that "...whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men." (Surah 5, Verse 32).
Moving on from such tragic events, to something less traumatising. The Labour Party conference this week saw Gordon Brown attempt to stage a recovery for his premiership with a convincing speech discussing how he is going to deal with the various issues facing this country. At the end of the day it comes down to a simple question, who is the least worse option in running the country? Tony Blair won a 3rd successive term in power back in 2005, mainly because the quality of his opponents in the Tory and Lib Dem party were so poor and the same will apply again. This time, it appears that the public are turning against the Labour Party and the Tories will surely benefit. David Cameron must be loving it, he hasn't had to come up with any amazing policy breakthroughs or tax promises, he's just sat back and watch Labour implode. Too little, too late Mr. Brown.
Lastly, the credit crunch shows no signs of abating. This week, President Bush has been trying to convince Congress to cough up $700 billion in an attempt to save the banks who are at threat from going under in the US. A few years ago, when the banks were successful, making huge amounts of money, many chief executives, managers and whoever were making large bonuses on the back of it. At the time, do you remember receiving a letter from your bank, congratulating themselves for the success and rewarding you with a cash donation? I don't. So now that they are in trouble due to their own excesses, why are we, the taxpayers, being asked to foot the bill of recovery? They dug their own grave, now they should suffer the consequences. Obviously, I cannot claim to even begin to understand the complicated world that is the finance sector, but it just doesn't seem fair. If we didn't enjoy the bonuses, why are we being forced to help now. I await someone to explain it to me.
That concludes my brief discussion about the week just gone. The comments seemed to have dried up this week. No-one has yet commented on what personality type they are - c'mon readers leave a comment or two please!
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Thursday, September 25, 2008
What's your personality type?
Apologies to my numerous readers for not typing anything yesterday. I had to endure a GP Registrar Training Day at a posh conference centre in Chesham on Tuesday and then had a day off to recover yesterday (actually, it was because I was up late reading aamals for Shab-e-Qadr). The training day has all the usual touchy-feely, I love being a GP stuff in the morning and then the rather important discussion about the various assessments I'll be having during the next year, including a clinical skills exam. The day included a posh 3-course lunch, but I was fasting - good-timing as always.
Part of the day was spent talking about personalities of GPs. We were made to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment. A psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people percieve the world and make decisions. If that sounds confusing, it's because it is.
The questionnaire was a series of silly psychological questions about what you prefer in certain situations - are you outgoing or introverted, are you easy to get to know or difficult, are you the life of the party or just there to make up the numbers, etc, etc. The aim of the questionnaire is to define four contrasting traits to come up with a full definition of your personal character. The four types divided into Extraversion vs. Introversion, Sensing vs. iNtuition, Thinking vs. Feeling and Judging vs. Perceiving.
The questionnaire would give a result of four letters, one from each type, to describe what are the dominant traits in an individual. It doesn't mean that you display none of the opposing type, but just that the opposing type is less dominant. It means that the particular trait is what one goes to without thinking, whereas the opposing trait requires effort and thought. Putting it practically, fold your arms right now... now fold them the other way and notice how you need to put some thought and effort into it and also how uncomfortable it feels. The same logic applies to these personality types.
For those of you who know me, guess what four letter combination I had. I'll give you a clue - according to my four-letter combination I am "a hands-on learners who lives in the moment, seeking the best in life, wanting to share it with my friends. I am open to situations, able to improvise to bring about desired results. We are active people who want to solve their problems rather than simply discuss them." Anyone agree? Anyone know the four-letter combination? Answers in the comment section please.
What is the point of all this? Actually I don't know. I didn't learn anything new about myself. If I had been told what the four types were, before doing the questionnaire and then before being led through a detailed description of each, I probably would have picked the same four letter combination that my questionnaire revealed. Before I finish, a quick description of the four types:
Part of the day was spent talking about personalities of GPs. We were made to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment. A psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people percieve the world and make decisions. If that sounds confusing, it's because it is.
The questionnaire was a series of silly psychological questions about what you prefer in certain situations - are you outgoing or introverted, are you easy to get to know or difficult, are you the life of the party or just there to make up the numbers, etc, etc. The aim of the questionnaire is to define four contrasting traits to come up with a full definition of your personal character. The four types divided into Extraversion vs. Introversion, Sensing vs. iNtuition, Thinking vs. Feeling and Judging vs. Perceiving.
The questionnaire would give a result of four letters, one from each type, to describe what are the dominant traits in an individual. It doesn't mean that you display none of the opposing type, but just that the opposing type is less dominant. It means that the particular trait is what one goes to without thinking, whereas the opposing trait requires effort and thought. Putting it practically, fold your arms right now... now fold them the other way and notice how you need to put some thought and effort into it and also how uncomfortable it feels. The same logic applies to these personality types.
For those of you who know me, guess what four letter combination I had. I'll give you a clue - according to my four-letter combination I am "a hands-on learners who lives in the moment, seeking the best in life, wanting to share it with my friends. I am open to situations, able to improvise to bring about desired results. We are active people who want to solve their problems rather than simply discuss them." Anyone agree? Anyone know the four-letter combination? Answers in the comment section please.
What is the point of all this? Actually I don't know. I didn't learn anything new about myself. If I had been told what the four types were, before doing the questionnaire and then before being led through a detailed description of each, I probably would have picked the same four letter combination that my questionnaire revealed. Before I finish, a quick description of the four types:
- Extraversion describes people who draw energy from action: they tend to act, then reflect, then act further. For Introversion, it is the opposite, they become less energised as they act: they prefer to reflect, then act, then reflect again. Extraverts are action-orientated, whereas introverts are thought-orientated.
- Sensing and iNtution are information gathering functions. Those who prefer Sensing, trust information that is tangible and concrete, they distrust hunches or "gut instincts." Those who prefer iNtuition, trust information that is more abstract or theoretical, they trust their "gut instincts."
- Thinking and Feeling are decision making functions, used to make rational decisions, based on the data received from the information gathering functions (see above). Those who prefer Feeling, base their decisions by associating or empathising with the situation, weighing the situation and considering the needs of the people involved. Thinkers decide things from a more detached setpoint: measured by what seems rational, logical and consistent.
- The last pair identifies people who have a preference for using either the Judging function (Thinking or Feeling) or the Percieving function (Sensing or iNtuition) when related to the outside world. To avoid the growing confusion, putting this as simply as possible, if you are a Judging person, then your Thinking or Feeling is dominant and if you are a Percieving person, then your Sensing or iNtuition is more dominant. If you are a TJ the world appears more logical, if you are a FJ, you are more empathetic. If you are a SP, the world appears concrete and for NP, the world is more abstract. Judging types prefer to have matters settled, whereas Percieving types prefer to keep decisions open.
The four letter combine to describe your dominant functions. The dominant function (E or I) is supported by the secondary (auxillary) function (S or N) and then the tertiary function (opposite to the auxillary function). The least conscious function is always the opposite of the dominant function. For example, if you are an ESTJ, it means Extraverted function is dominant, and is also a Judging function (because of the J preference). The dominant function is ET (extraverted thinking) and the auxillary funcion is Sensing, which is also a Perceiving function. The tertiary funcition is opposite to the auxillary function, therefore iNtuition. Lastly, the least conscious function is the opposite preference and attitude to the dominant, IF (introverted feeling)
So, after spending enough time confusing you, it is time for deciding which four-letter combination you think you are. Once you have the four letter combo (starting with E or I, then S or N, then T or F and lastly J, or P) have a look here to see what personality type you are and whether you agree and then have a look here to see which celebrity is the same as you. If you're still interested, please let me know your types in the comments section.
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Monday, September 22, 2008
Repentance
After 20 days of fasting I am finally getting used to it. Excellent when you consider that there are only 9-10 days left to go! After a great result last weekend, with critics suggesting that Liverpool are ready to mount a serious title challenge, all the hype came crashing down when they could only draw 0-0 to mighty Stoke City and in a 180 degree turn the critics are back to saying Liverpool won't get anywhere once again. I love football!
During this month, Mondays have become my religious discussion day. So far, I've talked about Patience and last week I discussed Self-struggle. Today I want to type about Repentance. Arguably one of the most important subjects for Muslims - the chance for change, a chance to redeem ourselves and seek forgiveness from God. We all make mistakes from the mundane to the major and seeking forgiveness, repentance allows us to change and earn God's blessings.
When we are born our soul is pure, sinless and clean -like a blank canvas. Sinful acts darkens the soul making it more and more difficult to remain pure and close to God. The act of repentance (tawbah) enables us to clean our souls, inshallah back to its original state (or as close as possible). However, it is not a straight forward process. We cannot simply state "I repent" and move on. Repentance has been described as a six stage process by Imam Ali (a.s.) in his book, Nahjul Balagha:
There are numerous occasions I can think of when I have asked God for forgiveness and then sooner or later fallen back into old habits. A classic for me and a lot of people is gossiping - or to give it its real name - "backbiting" - we all do it. Numerous occasions I have asked God for forgiveness and shown remorse, but still the resolution is not strong enough. However thanks to God's infinite mercy the chance to repent is always there. Obviously, being all-knowing, means that God will only forgive when we sincerely make a change and achieve resolution, but our purpose is to constantly struggle for that repentance.
The door is always open as Imam Ali (a.s.) states: "I wonder at a man who loses hope of salvation when the door of repentance is open for him." We can never give up hope - each time I ask for forgiveness, the resolution not to commit the same error grows stronger and lasts longer. It is the hope for God's forgiveness that keeps me going - knowing that one day God will inshallah forgive me because my resolution has grown to the point where I don't repeat my mistakes.
Repentance and hope go hand in hand. They co-exist. Hope for God's mercy allows us to continually seek repentance. Repenting gives us the hope and strength to make sure we don't repeat our mistakes. As long as our struggle continues to improve ourselves God's mercy is always on hand to help us. God states in the Quran, "O ye who believe! Turn unto Allah in sincere repentance! It may be that your Lord will remit from you your evil deeds and bring you into Gardens underneath which rivers flow..." (Surah 66, Verse 8) and "Triumphant are those who turn repentant (to Allah), those who serve (Him), those who praise (Him)..." (Surah 9, Verse 112).
Continuing to seek repentance throughout our life is essential in purifying our soul. Errors and sins have removed it from its original state and our objective is to remove the darkness that the sins have caused. Hopefully, by the time it comes to our deaths, the struggle for repentance will have returned our souls to a state worthy of God's blessings and rewards.
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
During this month, Mondays have become my religious discussion day. So far, I've talked about Patience and last week I discussed Self-struggle. Today I want to type about Repentance. Arguably one of the most important subjects for Muslims - the chance for change, a chance to redeem ourselves and seek forgiveness from God. We all make mistakes from the mundane to the major and seeking forgiveness, repentance allows us to change and earn God's blessings.
When we are born our soul is pure, sinless and clean -like a blank canvas. Sinful acts darkens the soul making it more and more difficult to remain pure and close to God. The act of repentance (tawbah) enables us to clean our souls, inshallah back to its original state (or as close as possible). However, it is not a straight forward process. We cannot simply state "I repent" and move on. Repentance has been described as a six stage process by Imam Ali (a.s.) in his book, Nahjul Balagha:
- Remorse over the past - over the mistakes/errors that have been made.
- Resolve not to make the same mistake again.
- Return what is not yours, so no-one can claim anything against you. To seek forgiveness from those whom you have wronged.
- Fulfil every duty that you neglected in order to satisfy your obligation in respect to it.
- You cleanse yourself from any sin/mistake that affected your body.
- Make your body taste the pain of obedience in the same way as it earlier tasted the pleasure of sins.
There are numerous occasions I can think of when I have asked God for forgiveness and then sooner or later fallen back into old habits. A classic for me and a lot of people is gossiping - or to give it its real name - "backbiting" - we all do it. Numerous occasions I have asked God for forgiveness and shown remorse, but still the resolution is not strong enough. However thanks to God's infinite mercy the chance to repent is always there. Obviously, being all-knowing, means that God will only forgive when we sincerely make a change and achieve resolution, but our purpose is to constantly struggle for that repentance.
The door is always open as Imam Ali (a.s.) states: "I wonder at a man who loses hope of salvation when the door of repentance is open for him." We can never give up hope - each time I ask for forgiveness, the resolution not to commit the same error grows stronger and lasts longer. It is the hope for God's forgiveness that keeps me going - knowing that one day God will inshallah forgive me because my resolution has grown to the point where I don't repeat my mistakes.
Repentance and hope go hand in hand. They co-exist. Hope for God's mercy allows us to continually seek repentance. Repenting gives us the hope and strength to make sure we don't repeat our mistakes. As long as our struggle continues to improve ourselves God's mercy is always on hand to help us. God states in the Quran, "O ye who believe! Turn unto Allah in sincere repentance! It may be that your Lord will remit from you your evil deeds and bring you into Gardens underneath which rivers flow..." (Surah 66, Verse 8) and "Triumphant are those who turn repentant (to Allah), those who serve (Him), those who praise (Him)..." (Surah 9, Verse 112).
Continuing to seek repentance throughout our life is essential in purifying our soul. Errors and sins have removed it from its original state and our objective is to remove the darkness that the sins have caused. Hopefully, by the time it comes to our deaths, the struggle for repentance will have returned our souls to a state worthy of God's blessings and rewards.
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Friday, September 19, 2008
Intercession
Although it's a Friday, a time when I usually have a random ramble and moan about feeling tired, today I'm going to steer clear of that. Instead, I want to discuss an important topic for Shias and Muslims in general. The subject of intercession is often brought up by Sunnis and more importantly Wahhabis as a tool to attack Shias, claiming that we engage in shirk - the act of associating others with God.
For Shias, intercession involves reading duas and invoking the help of the Prophet and the Holy Imams to act on our behalf and seek forgiveness and blessings from God. Wahabbis claim that this is shirk and we should only go straight to God, we don't need anyone else. (As I will mention later, this can have practical complications!) It was discussed earlier this year on the otherwise excellent documentary The Quran, on Channel 4. Shias have rightly criticised the portrayal and description of Shia Muslims in the documentary. The narrator states:
This is just a small example of the Shia-bashing that exists across the world and intercession seems to be a favourite topic to criticise. Instead of joining the band-wagon, if Muslims (Sunni, Wahabbi etc) actually took time to read the Quran, they would find numerous verses not only permitting intercession, but also recommending it:
For Shias, intercession involves reading duas and invoking the help of the Prophet and the Holy Imams to act on our behalf and seek forgiveness and blessings from God. Wahabbis claim that this is shirk and we should only go straight to God, we don't need anyone else. (As I will mention later, this can have practical complications!) It was discussed earlier this year on the otherwise excellent documentary The Quran, on Channel 4. Shias have rightly criticised the portrayal and description of Shia Muslims in the documentary. The narrator states:
"The God the Sunni worship may not be described in human language, nor represented in any art form, for that would be blasphemous. Yet sometimes the human heart yearns for more. For a faith you can touch and feel, for drama, for music, for ceremony, for great stories of sacrifice, pain, martyrdom and salvation and for someone to pray to who has human form Shia Islam answers these needs ... But the Qur'an makes it so clear that your prayer should only be directed to God."And then when the programme goes on to describe Shia faith and mentions intercession, the narrator asks:
"But do these specific beliefs have any substance in the Qur'an? The answer is no."The programme also interviews one Shia Ayatullah and totally misrepresents his views, as he has recently stated in The Independent. With all the criticism Channel 4 received, they held a Right to Reply programme to discuss peoples concerns and the director, Anthony Thomas, remained unmoved, refusing to apologise for the blatant mistakes and misrepresentation of Shias. As it stands, I believe OFCOM are dealing with complaints made about the programme and have yet to make a decision.
This is just a small example of the Shia-bashing that exists across the world and intercession seems to be a favourite topic to criticise. Instead of joining the band-wagon, if Muslims (Sunni, Wahabbi etc) actually took time to read the Quran, they would find numerous verses not only permitting intercession, but also recommending it:
- "Who is he that can intercede with Him but by His permission?" (Surah 2, Verse 255)
- "None shall have the power of intercession, but such a one as has received permission (or promise) from (Allah) Most Gracious." (Surah 19, Verse 87)
- "On that Day shall no intercession avail except for those for whom permission has been granted by (Allah) Most Gracious and whose word is acceptable to Him." (Surah 20, Verse 109)
- "There is no intercessor (with Him) save after His permission." (Surah 10, Verse 3)
Who do you think God is referring to when he say "except for who permission has been granted?" It can only be the Holy Prophet and for us Shias, we believe the Holy Imams as well. Now people will argue that there other verses which appear to condone intercession, but again, that's being lazy as the interpretation of those verses are wrong.
- "And guard yourselves against a day when no soul will in aught avail another, nor will intercession be accepted from it" (Surah 2, Verse 48)
- "We have provided for you, before the Day comes when no bargaining (Will avail), nor friendship nor intercession. Those who reject Faith they are the wrong-doers." Surah 2, Verse 254)
- "And warn with it those who fear that they shall be gathered to their Lord-- there is no guardian for them, nor any intercessor besides Him" (Surah 6, Verse 51)
Taken at face value, one could argue that these verses forbid intercession, but firstly that would a contradiction of the verses that permit intercession which is not possible and secondly, the correct interpretation of these verses clearly refers to those who reject God and his Holy Prophet. In those instances, even intercession is useless, they will not be saved.
Being facetious for a moment (it is Friday morning after all), if we take the arguments of Wahabbis literally - we should only go to God directly - why then, does that apply to prayer only? Shouldn't it be part of everyday life? They should be consistent. Therefore, they shouldn't use a car - ask God to transport them directly, if they need to move furniture, they shouldn't ask anyone to help them, ask God to move it for them directly, if they are seeking a promotion at work, don't ask a colleague to put in a good word - no that's shirk - ask God directly. Now I know I'm bordering on ridiculous, but if they can keep saying "shirk, shirk, shirk," I want to tell them not to get help for anything, ask God directly.
It's convenient how they only pick on one thing, and only because of the importance it gives to the Ahlul-Bayt, whom they will try to put down at every opportunity. For those who have been fortunate to have gone on Hajj or Umra, what happens when you try and visit the graves of Bibi Fatima (a.s.) and Imam Hasan (a.s.) in Madina? Wahabbi Saudis come to try and stop any duas or prayers for them and prevent anyone from getting anywhere near the graves. What a travesty - the Ahlul-Bayt for all of mankind, not just Shias, has been disregarded and marginalised by the Saudis and there's nothing we can do about it.
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Thursday, September 18, 2008
From Ape to Adam to Me
There has been quite a bit of coverage recently in the media about Evolution vs. Creationism. For many years scientists have followed the Theory of Evolution, as proposed by Charles Darwin. The concept that all creatures have evolved over time by the process of natural selection has become as good as accepted fact by the majority of scientists, and is used today to disprove the existence of God.
Christianity has repeatedly denied the theory of evolution, instead focusing on Creationism. God created man and the planets and there has been no evolution. However, this outright refusal opens up a lot of problems for Christians. For starters they rigidly believe in what the Bible states; the world was created in 6 days (God then needed a rest on the 7th day) and he created Adam and Eve. All this took place 6,000 years ago - hence they argue that the Earth is 6,000 years old. Unfortunately for them, there is indisputable evidence that the Earth is much older, in fact it's about 4.5 billion years old.
For Christians it appears to be Creationism or Evolution. Both cannot co-exist. Therefore many Christians are happy to deny the Theory of Evolution, claim Creationism as fact and keep their heads buried in the sand. It's not as easy as that. Luckily I'm not a Christian, but what does Islam have to say on the topic? Recently, there have been a couple of blogs left on the Guardian "comment is free " website discussing this very topic (see here and here), and as this is a topic which interests me a great deal, I thought I'd add my own thoughts on the subject.
As far as I can see, following Islam neither contradicts or approves the Theory of Evolution. The idea that creatures, including man, have evolved from different species has sound principals and is not something I am going to debate at this stage. However, by referring to the Quran, it is clear that all humans have come from Adam and Eve: “O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another." (Surah 49, Verse 13) - the male and female referenced here are Adam and Eve. God also states “O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women.” (Surah 4, Verse 1). If for arguments sake we follow the Christian idea that Adam and Eve appeared on Earth 6,000 years ago and Islam clearly states that mankind came from Adam and Eve, how does the Theory of Evolution fit in?
The Earth clearly existed before the arrival of Adam and Eve and was inhabited by various creatures, plants and organisms. Paleontologists have studied various fossils showing the existence of dinosaurs, animals and also creatures with human characteristics - known as hominid fossils. Fossils have been discovered of skulls similar to that of humans and skeletons with a similar shape to humans. The fossils have been dated to over a million years old. So, clearly species with human features existed before the arrival of Adam.
Evidence has also been found of tools that could have been used by these species, suggesting that they had some level of intelligence as well. We've all seen the classic picture showing man's evolution from ape to homosapien (see below), and there is nothing in Islam which suggests that this hasn't taken place and neither is there anything which confirms it.
The issue arises as to what science believes happened from the moment Adam arrived on Earth. Science cannot prove that Adam did not arrive on Earth, neither can it prove how mankind progressed from that point. Islam clearly teaches us that we have all come from Adam and Eve, therefore it makes sense to assume that from the arrival of Adam and Eve, man has stopped evolving and has remained the same.
My personal opinion, and this is not based on any scientific fact, mainly cause there isn't much to begin with, is that if the Theory of Evolution is true, then for humans, it must have taken place before and up to the arrival of Adam and Eve on Earth. For other species, other animals, it has continued to this very day, but for humans, it stopped with Adam and Eve's arrival. To a atheistic scientist, that may not be good enough, but for me and perhaps other Muslims (or people with a belief in God) it is a suitable explanation to help understand the role of evolution in human life.
Further support for this opinion is provided in the Quran. God states that "...I am about to create man, from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape. When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down in obeisance unto him." (Surah 15, Verses 28-29). Adam was created from mud and Allah breathed his Spirit into him so it became a living, flesh-and-blood human being. There is no mention of this happening to any of God's creations before Adam, hence we must believe he was the first to be blessed by God and from him and Eve we have all been created.
This leads neatly into another discussion. Mankind started from Adam and Eve, but how we're the first children born from Adam and Eve's children? There are two options, either the children of Adam married each other and produced offspring or the children of Adam married humans who already existed on Earth at the time of their arrival. For the first option, it means that brother and sister got married and although that sounds wrong, at that time, that was the only option. God in his infinite wisdom lifted the rule of not being allowed to marry your sibling - it was a unique situation which required a unique action. The Quran backs this view, “O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women.” (Surah 4, Verse 1). This verse indicates that mankind came only from Adam and Eve, no-one else was involved.
For the second option, although there is no support in the Quran, it is a possibility as humans existed on Earth prior to Adams arrival. However, in all likelihood, it is probably the first option that took place at that time to allow the creation of mankind. It doesn't make sense for us to have been created from Adam and some other human who God did not bless with his Spirit.
Finally, all of this makes interesting discussion, but the most important thing is that no matter what theories or findings scientists come up with, they only go to prove God's existence and how in his mercy he has given us the ability to study all his creations. He sums it up best when he states:
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Christianity has repeatedly denied the theory of evolution, instead focusing on Creationism. God created man and the planets and there has been no evolution. However, this outright refusal opens up a lot of problems for Christians. For starters they rigidly believe in what the Bible states; the world was created in 6 days (God then needed a rest on the 7th day) and he created Adam and Eve. All this took place 6,000 years ago - hence they argue that the Earth is 6,000 years old. Unfortunately for them, there is indisputable evidence that the Earth is much older, in fact it's about 4.5 billion years old.
For Christians it appears to be Creationism or Evolution. Both cannot co-exist. Therefore many Christians are happy to deny the Theory of Evolution, claim Creationism as fact and keep their heads buried in the sand. It's not as easy as that. Luckily I'm not a Christian, but what does Islam have to say on the topic? Recently, there have been a couple of blogs left on the Guardian "comment is free " website discussing this very topic (see here and here), and as this is a topic which interests me a great deal, I thought I'd add my own thoughts on the subject.
As far as I can see, following Islam neither contradicts or approves the Theory of Evolution. The idea that creatures, including man, have evolved from different species has sound principals and is not something I am going to debate at this stage. However, by referring to the Quran, it is clear that all humans have come from Adam and Eve: “O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another." (Surah 49, Verse 13) - the male and female referenced here are Adam and Eve. God also states “O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women.” (Surah 4, Verse 1). If for arguments sake we follow the Christian idea that Adam and Eve appeared on Earth 6,000 years ago and Islam clearly states that mankind came from Adam and Eve, how does the Theory of Evolution fit in?
The Earth clearly existed before the arrival of Adam and Eve and was inhabited by various creatures, plants and organisms. Paleontologists have studied various fossils showing the existence of dinosaurs, animals and also creatures with human characteristics - known as hominid fossils. Fossils have been discovered of skulls similar to that of humans and skeletons with a similar shape to humans. The fossils have been dated to over a million years old. So, clearly species with human features existed before the arrival of Adam.
Evidence has also been found of tools that could have been used by these species, suggesting that they had some level of intelligence as well. We've all seen the classic picture showing man's evolution from ape to homosapien (see below), and there is nothing in Islam which suggests that this hasn't taken place and neither is there anything which confirms it.
The issue arises as to what science believes happened from the moment Adam arrived on Earth. Science cannot prove that Adam did not arrive on Earth, neither can it prove how mankind progressed from that point. Islam clearly teaches us that we have all come from Adam and Eve, therefore it makes sense to assume that from the arrival of Adam and Eve, man has stopped evolving and has remained the same.
My personal opinion, and this is not based on any scientific fact, mainly cause there isn't much to begin with, is that if the Theory of Evolution is true, then for humans, it must have taken place before and up to the arrival of Adam and Eve on Earth. For other species, other animals, it has continued to this very day, but for humans, it stopped with Adam and Eve's arrival. To a atheistic scientist, that may not be good enough, but for me and perhaps other Muslims (or people with a belief in God) it is a suitable explanation to help understand the role of evolution in human life.
Further support for this opinion is provided in the Quran. God states that "...I am about to create man, from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape. When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down in obeisance unto him." (Surah 15, Verses 28-29). Adam was created from mud and Allah breathed his Spirit into him so it became a living, flesh-and-blood human being. There is no mention of this happening to any of God's creations before Adam, hence we must believe he was the first to be blessed by God and from him and Eve we have all been created.
This leads neatly into another discussion. Mankind started from Adam and Eve, but how we're the first children born from Adam and Eve's children? There are two options, either the children of Adam married each other and produced offspring or the children of Adam married humans who already existed on Earth at the time of their arrival. For the first option, it means that brother and sister got married and although that sounds wrong, at that time, that was the only option. God in his infinite wisdom lifted the rule of not being allowed to marry your sibling - it was a unique situation which required a unique action. The Quran backs this view, “O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women.” (Surah 4, Verse 1). This verse indicates that mankind came only from Adam and Eve, no-one else was involved.
For the second option, although there is no support in the Quran, it is a possibility as humans existed on Earth prior to Adams arrival. However, in all likelihood, it is probably the first option that took place at that time to allow the creation of mankind. It doesn't make sense for us to have been created from Adam and some other human who God did not bless with his Spirit.
Finally, all of this makes interesting discussion, but the most important thing is that no matter what theories or findings scientists come up with, they only go to prove God's existence and how in his mercy he has given us the ability to study all his creations. He sums it up best when he states:
“Allah is the Creator of all things and over all things He hasTake care all,
authority.” (Surah 39, Verse 62)
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Crunchy Credit Flakes
So tired was I on Monday, I completely forgot to mention the great victory by Liverpool over the scum. It was long overdue, with the last victory coming in 2004 (before Benitez), and the last at Anfield way back in 2001, I was only 21 then! It's been a long time needless to say, but as I've left it so late to gloat about, the feeling has passed.
This week has seen a lot of movements in the financial market with the US government intervening to save the likes of Fanny Mae, Freddy Mac and more recently, AIG. First of all, who or what the hell is Fannie Mae? Had anyone heard of them before last week? Doesn't Fanny Mae mean buttocks? No wonder they're in trouble, it's like have a company named 'Arse,' doomed for failure don't you think?
With some research I've discovered that Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac own or guarantee $5.3 trillion worth of loans and mortgages in the US. Due to increasing number of defaults and repossessions they have lost billions as they have to payout when ordinary homeowners can no longer afford their mortgages. The US government has stepped in by providing funds (from the taxpayers) to support the two firms. The government plans to guarantee the firms debts and provide fresh liquidity to make the business less vulnerable to the declining housing market - costing in the region of $25 billion.
Today, the US government announced that it will also be bailing out insurer (and shirt sponsor of Man Utd) AIG, this time to the tune of $85 billion. AIG has over a trillion dollars in assets and insures bank loans around the world. Again, it has been all because of the collapse in the housing market, having to make payments when customers defaulted on their loans. Unlike the Lehman Brothers which filed for bankrupcy on Monday, AIG's assets were felt to be more important and potentially cause more damage if they were to collapse, hence the US government stepped in.
All of this firmly falls under everyones favourite phrase "credit crunch." The banks are in trouble due to years of over spending and now we the taxpayers have to bail them out. In this country we have already suffered the crisis with Northern Rock and other firms appear to be in danger, including the Halifax (how much were those fancy adverts?)
It's not just the banks who are in trouble, only last week, travel company XL collapsed and in an instant thousands of customers were left stranded abroad, with no flights to get back. Luckily for them, the Civil Aviation Authority has stepped in to try and provide flights for those stranded across the globe. However, there is a downside. The CAA has a deficit of over £20 million due to previous interventions when travel companies have gone bust. Who do you think is going to foot the bill for the stranded XL customers? Us, the taxpayers of course. Doesn't seem fair. I know it's not the customers fault that XL went down the drain, but why should we have to bear the cost?
Personally, the "credit crunch," is all very confusing for my scientific/medical mind. However it has definitely affecting my finances. Basically, I'm earning the same amount, but everything has become more expensive. Petrol, gas, electricity, food - never have the ASDA and TESCO value items looked so appealing. Last year I took out a huge mortgage, not one that I could get this year, but since then my house value has decreased, so I have to sit it out. Luckily, inshallah, as I progress this year and qualify as a GP, my earnings will increase, so it should ease the burden somewhat.
It's been a bit of a ramble today, mainly because it's not something I know much about and also because I'm having to rush - unusually, it's a busy day today. Hopefully a accountant or finance specialist may be able to shed more light on the whole "credit crunch" fiasco. Mr Toodle-Loo perhaps?
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
This week has seen a lot of movements in the financial market with the US government intervening to save the likes of Fanny Mae, Freddy Mac and more recently, AIG. First of all, who or what the hell is Fannie Mae? Had anyone heard of them before last week? Doesn't Fanny Mae mean buttocks? No wonder they're in trouble, it's like have a company named 'Arse,' doomed for failure don't you think?
With some research I've discovered that Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac own or guarantee $5.3 trillion worth of loans and mortgages in the US. Due to increasing number of defaults and repossessions they have lost billions as they have to payout when ordinary homeowners can no longer afford their mortgages. The US government has stepped in by providing funds (from the taxpayers) to support the two firms. The government plans to guarantee the firms debts and provide fresh liquidity to make the business less vulnerable to the declining housing market - costing in the region of $25 billion.
Today, the US government announced that it will also be bailing out insurer (and shirt sponsor of Man Utd) AIG, this time to the tune of $85 billion. AIG has over a trillion dollars in assets and insures bank loans around the world. Again, it has been all because of the collapse in the housing market, having to make payments when customers defaulted on their loans. Unlike the Lehman Brothers which filed for bankrupcy on Monday, AIG's assets were felt to be more important and potentially cause more damage if they were to collapse, hence the US government stepped in.
All of this firmly falls under everyones favourite phrase "credit crunch." The banks are in trouble due to years of over spending and now we the taxpayers have to bail them out. In this country we have already suffered the crisis with Northern Rock and other firms appear to be in danger, including the Halifax (how much were those fancy adverts?)
It's not just the banks who are in trouble, only last week, travel company XL collapsed and in an instant thousands of customers were left stranded abroad, with no flights to get back. Luckily for them, the Civil Aviation Authority has stepped in to try and provide flights for those stranded across the globe. However, there is a downside. The CAA has a deficit of over £20 million due to previous interventions when travel companies have gone bust. Who do you think is going to foot the bill for the stranded XL customers? Us, the taxpayers of course. Doesn't seem fair. I know it's not the customers fault that XL went down the drain, but why should we have to bear the cost?
Personally, the "credit crunch," is all very confusing for my scientific/medical mind. However it has definitely affecting my finances. Basically, I'm earning the same amount, but everything has become more expensive. Petrol, gas, electricity, food - never have the ASDA and TESCO value items looked so appealing. Last year I took out a huge mortgage, not one that I could get this year, but since then my house value has decreased, so I have to sit it out. Luckily, inshallah, as I progress this year and qualify as a GP, my earnings will increase, so it should ease the burden somewhat.
It's been a bit of a ramble today, mainly because it's not something I know much about and also because I'm having to rush - unusually, it's a busy day today. Hopefully a accountant or finance specialist may be able to shed more light on the whole "credit crunch" fiasco. Mr Toodle-Loo perhaps?
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
Monday, September 15, 2008
Self-struggle
This morning I woke up and suffered from what I can only describe as brain freeze. Everything was hazy, my vision was blurry and I just could not shake it. I even had a dream about having a dream! I don't remember what I dreamt, only that I dreamt that I was having a dream and I then woke up from the dream wide awake, only to then wake up for real feeling quite the opposite. I drove to work in a semi-conscious state. So much for a recuperating weekend, it's not good if I feel worse then what I did on Friday.
I might have told this story before, but I'm going to bore you with it again. At university, first year, first term, I would typically sleep at 3-4am and wake up for 9am lectures no problem. Gradually this began to wear me down, so I decided to make a change: skip lectures to get my sleep. In fact over 5 years of medical school, not once did I go to bed before midnight. Over the next 5 years, whenever I had to wake up for 9am lectures, I still didn't sleep early. We used to joke that it was all about "the thrill of feeling tired." Trust me, it is no longer a thrill, but quite the opposite, especially as it is so frequent. While I'm talking about university, another interesting tidbit for you. After spending 5 years skipping lectures, it was quite ironic that I spent over £500 in my final year to attend revision lectures before my final exams, lectures I probably would not have needed had I attended the free lectures in the first place.
Despite feeling so whoozy and tired, I will struggle on with today's topic and appropriately it is all about self-struggle (jihad-al-nafs), the struggle against oneself. The human soul is constantly involved in a self struggle between two competing powers. One power attracts towards God and inspires acts of goodness, the other power leads towards the devil and tempts acts of darkness and wrong-doing. Which power wins in this struggle determines our character and actions and hence our reward (or lack thereof) from God.
This self-struggle is the struggle against evil ideas, desires and powers of lust, anger and fantasy. The struggle is to place these thoughts under God's command and reason, attempting to purge all satanic ideas and influences from one's soul. It has been defined as the major struggle - the major jihad. Unlike the jihad which requires us to physically fight against the oppressors of Islam (only as self-defence), this self-struggle is a constant war in ourselves. Fighting our inappropriate or incorrect desires and thoughts and striving to improve ourselves in the eyes of God.
God talks about this struggle in the Quran: "And the soul and Him Who made it perfect. Then He inspired it to understand what is right and wrong for it. He will indeed be successful who purifies it. And he will indeed fail who corrupts it." (Surah 91, Verses 7-10) Everything we do is a direct influence from our souls and subsequently has a direct influence upon it. Our thoughts lead us to our actions and our actions lead back to our thoughts and so on. Controlling these thoughts to do what is blessed or allowed, helps to ensure that our soul remains healthy. Having thoughts that lead to the wrong actions do the opposite, they ensure that our soul remains dark and ill.
From my research of this topic, I came across a good method of how to explore our self-struggle and how to develop it to make our souls better:
Step 1: Reflection
Try to spend some time every day reflecting on what we do. The aim of this life and purpose of all God's blessing is far more important than to follow mundane desires and evil tendencies that are short lived and temporary. Having the blessings of God at the forefront of our minds can only help us in our thoughts and actions. By reflection, we can identify what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong. Identify our weaknesses and then decide how best to overcome them.
Step 2: Will and resolve
Reflection leads directly to will and resolve. Laying the foundations for our actions. Having the determination to make a change, to adapt our thoughts and ensure our actions are appropriate. A good starting point is simply by ensuring we perform our wajab acts. Those acts commanded by God, no questions asked. They are wajab and hence must be pursued and followed. By doing so, we have automatically improved our soul and received God's blessings. From this, inshallah, we can lead on to better deeds, stemming from our determination to improve. "You shall believe in Allah and His Messenger, and struggle hard in Allah's way with your property and your lives; that is better for you, did you but know! He will forgive you your faults and cause you to enter into gardens, beneath which rivers flow, and goodly dwellings in gardens of perpetuity; that is the mighty achievement. (Surah 61, Verses 11-12)
Step 3: Self-evaluation
Obviously being a struggle, by its very nature, means there will be times we make mistakes or do the wrong thing. We are by no means perfect and hence we have God's forgiveness and mercy. Making time to look at ourselves and seeking improvement can only be a good thing. Having made the change from step 2, self-evaluation is crucial in making sure we don't fall back into bad-habits and if we do to ensure that we seek God's forgiveness and strive to be better and inshallah slowly reduce our mistakes. It is also a time to evaluate what we are doing right and ensure that it remains. "Those who repent and amend and make manifest (the truth), these it is to whom I turn (mercifully); and I am the Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful." (Surah 2, Verse 160)
Step 4: Self-conditioning
This process involves turning our thoughts into actions. By struggling to make a change in our thoughts, directly has a benefit upon our actions. It is the conscious effort to make a change - to avoid our bad-habits and to re-enforce our good ones. It is a small-step process. Make a conscious decision to change our aspect or ourselves - either stop a bad thought/action/habit, or start a new good one and resolve to continue that for as long as possible. "The believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger then they doubt not and struggle hard with their wealth and their lives in the way of Allah; they are the truthful ones." (Surah 49, Verse 15)
Step 5: Guarding against evil
Throughout our life, Shaitan will manifest in several ways to distract us from our struggle, to tempt us into bad habits and thoughts. Having this realisation, this awareness, can lead us to improve in this self-struggle. Recognising when things are going awry and then struggling to make a change will mean we continue to receive God's blessings. Think twice before we do something that is questionable, God will always recognise when we struggle to improve, even when mistakes or slip-ups occur. Keeping his commands in our thoughts and following this process on a daily basis with all our thoughts and actions can ensure that we improve and continue to do so.
Step 6: Remembrance
All of the above can only be achieved by thinking about God. We must thank him for his help and mercy during each step. As we improve, our gratitude towards God will naturally increase as we attain higher levels of struggle. Due to God's help, we can get rid of Shaitan's influence on us.
In summary, first identify what we are doing (right and wrong), then resolve to make a change. Start with easy steps, do the wajab acts. Constantly evaluate ourselves to make sure we are sticking to the struggle of self-improvement. Ensure that our actions are appropriate to our thoughts and remember God when we make mistakes. Remember that Shaitan will try to tempt us, trick us and be able to recognise when that is happening. All of this is only achievable by remembering God and his infinite mercy that he bestows on us. We can rest safe in the knowledge that he will always help us if we help ourselves in this struggle.
Hopefully these steps are something we should strive to do everyday. Similar to my discussion about patience last week, it is the constant struggle to improve ourselves that determines our reward from God. Having this struggle to improve and actually overcoming the obstacles that come in our way ensure that we receive God's blessing in this life and the hereafter. I hope all this makes sense, as my brain is still very hazy. Please leave any of your thoughts about this topic and what you do perhaps in your own self-struggle.
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
I might have told this story before, but I'm going to bore you with it again. At university, first year, first term, I would typically sleep at 3-4am and wake up for 9am lectures no problem. Gradually this began to wear me down, so I decided to make a change: skip lectures to get my sleep. In fact over 5 years of medical school, not once did I go to bed before midnight. Over the next 5 years, whenever I had to wake up for 9am lectures, I still didn't sleep early. We used to joke that it was all about "the thrill of feeling tired." Trust me, it is no longer a thrill, but quite the opposite, especially as it is so frequent. While I'm talking about university, another interesting tidbit for you. After spending 5 years skipping lectures, it was quite ironic that I spent over £500 in my final year to attend revision lectures before my final exams, lectures I probably would not have needed had I attended the free lectures in the first place.
Despite feeling so whoozy and tired, I will struggle on with today's topic and appropriately it is all about self-struggle (jihad-al-nafs), the struggle against oneself. The human soul is constantly involved in a self struggle between two competing powers. One power attracts towards God and inspires acts of goodness, the other power leads towards the devil and tempts acts of darkness and wrong-doing. Which power wins in this struggle determines our character and actions and hence our reward (or lack thereof) from God.
This self-struggle is the struggle against evil ideas, desires and powers of lust, anger and fantasy. The struggle is to place these thoughts under God's command and reason, attempting to purge all satanic ideas and influences from one's soul. It has been defined as the major struggle - the major jihad. Unlike the jihad which requires us to physically fight against the oppressors of Islam (only as self-defence), this self-struggle is a constant war in ourselves. Fighting our inappropriate or incorrect desires and thoughts and striving to improve ourselves in the eyes of God.
God talks about this struggle in the Quran: "And the soul and Him Who made it perfect. Then He inspired it to understand what is right and wrong for it. He will indeed be successful who purifies it. And he will indeed fail who corrupts it." (Surah 91, Verses 7-10) Everything we do is a direct influence from our souls and subsequently has a direct influence upon it. Our thoughts lead us to our actions and our actions lead back to our thoughts and so on. Controlling these thoughts to do what is blessed or allowed, helps to ensure that our soul remains healthy. Having thoughts that lead to the wrong actions do the opposite, they ensure that our soul remains dark and ill.
From my research of this topic, I came across a good method of how to explore our self-struggle and how to develop it to make our souls better:
Step 1: Reflection
Try to spend some time every day reflecting on what we do. The aim of this life and purpose of all God's blessing is far more important than to follow mundane desires and evil tendencies that are short lived and temporary. Having the blessings of God at the forefront of our minds can only help us in our thoughts and actions. By reflection, we can identify what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong. Identify our weaknesses and then decide how best to overcome them.
Step 2: Will and resolve
Reflection leads directly to will and resolve. Laying the foundations for our actions. Having the determination to make a change, to adapt our thoughts and ensure our actions are appropriate. A good starting point is simply by ensuring we perform our wajab acts. Those acts commanded by God, no questions asked. They are wajab and hence must be pursued and followed. By doing so, we have automatically improved our soul and received God's blessings. From this, inshallah, we can lead on to better deeds, stemming from our determination to improve. "You shall believe in Allah and His Messenger, and struggle hard in Allah's way with your property and your lives; that is better for you, did you but know! He will forgive you your faults and cause you to enter into gardens, beneath which rivers flow, and goodly dwellings in gardens of perpetuity; that is the mighty achievement. (Surah 61, Verses 11-12)
Step 3: Self-evaluation
Obviously being a struggle, by its very nature, means there will be times we make mistakes or do the wrong thing. We are by no means perfect and hence we have God's forgiveness and mercy. Making time to look at ourselves and seeking improvement can only be a good thing. Having made the change from step 2, self-evaluation is crucial in making sure we don't fall back into bad-habits and if we do to ensure that we seek God's forgiveness and strive to be better and inshallah slowly reduce our mistakes. It is also a time to evaluate what we are doing right and ensure that it remains. "Those who repent and amend and make manifest (the truth), these it is to whom I turn (mercifully); and I am the Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful." (Surah 2, Verse 160)
Step 4: Self-conditioning
This process involves turning our thoughts into actions. By struggling to make a change in our thoughts, directly has a benefit upon our actions. It is the conscious effort to make a change - to avoid our bad-habits and to re-enforce our good ones. It is a small-step process. Make a conscious decision to change our aspect or ourselves - either stop a bad thought/action/habit, or start a new good one and resolve to continue that for as long as possible. "The believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger then they doubt not and struggle hard with their wealth and their lives in the way of Allah; they are the truthful ones." (Surah 49, Verse 15)
Step 5: Guarding against evil
Throughout our life, Shaitan will manifest in several ways to distract us from our struggle, to tempt us into bad habits and thoughts. Having this realisation, this awareness, can lead us to improve in this self-struggle. Recognising when things are going awry and then struggling to make a change will mean we continue to receive God's blessings. Think twice before we do something that is questionable, God will always recognise when we struggle to improve, even when mistakes or slip-ups occur. Keeping his commands in our thoughts and following this process on a daily basis with all our thoughts and actions can ensure that we improve and continue to do so.
Step 6: Remembrance
All of the above can only be achieved by thinking about God. We must thank him for his help and mercy during each step. As we improve, our gratitude towards God will naturally increase as we attain higher levels of struggle. Due to God's help, we can get rid of Shaitan's influence on us.
In summary, first identify what we are doing (right and wrong), then resolve to make a change. Start with easy steps, do the wajab acts. Constantly evaluate ourselves to make sure we are sticking to the struggle of self-improvement. Ensure that our actions are appropriate to our thoughts and remember God when we make mistakes. Remember that Shaitan will try to tempt us, trick us and be able to recognise when that is happening. All of this is only achievable by remembering God and his infinite mercy that he bestows on us. We can rest safe in the knowledge that he will always help us if we help ourselves in this struggle.
Hopefully these steps are something we should strive to do everyday. Similar to my discussion about patience last week, it is the constant struggle to improve ourselves that determines our reward from God. Having this struggle to improve and actually overcoming the obstacles that come in our way ensure that we receive God's blessing in this life and the hereafter. I hope all this makes sense, as my brain is still very hazy. Please leave any of your thoughts about this topic and what you do perhaps in your own self-struggle.
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
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