Pageviews past week

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:

"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)

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?

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?

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?

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:

  • 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:

  1. Remorse over the past - over the mistakes/errors that have been made.
  2. Resolve not to make the same mistake again.
  3. Return what is not yours, so no-one can claim anything against you. To seek forgiveness from those whom you have wronged.
  4. Fulfil every duty that you neglected in order to satisfy your obligation in respect to it.
  5. You cleanse yourself from any sin/mistake that affected your body.
  6. Make your body taste the pain of obedience in the same way as it earlier tasted the pleasure of sins.
The first two stages are the most important. Remorse and resolution. It is not good enough to simply ask for forgiveness and then carry on as normal. That is something we are all guilty of, to ask God for forgiveness for our sins and then fall back into bad habits. Making a resolution to not commit the same error is the hard part, and only when that is achieved are we able to benefit from God's mercy and forgiveness.

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:

"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:
“Allah is the Creator of all things and over all things He has
authority.” (
Surah 39, Verse 62)
Take care all,
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?

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?

Friday, September 12, 2008

Tiredness is killing IV

My mind is a hazy blur. Whilst fasting, by the time I get to Friday everything seems foggy. The lack of sleep catches up with me - thankfully it's a half-day today and I can get some rest this afternoon, and then catch up on my sleep over the weekend to get ready for next week when the cycle repeats itself.

Big game tomorrow and because it's come so early on in the season I'm not too worried. We normally lose these games, and without the injured Gerrard and Torres I'm expecting the worst. However, this time round it shouldn't be too damaging. Man Utd will have the same points but there's plenty of the season left to hopefully maintain a title challenge. Liverpool have won 18 league titles in total. Before the Premiership started in 1992, Manchester United had only 7 league titles. Today, Liverpool still have 18, Man Utd now have 17 - it is going to be immensely painful if they catch up and indeed overtake Liverpool.

Bored you enough about football, so lets move on. It seems every week there is an amusing incident occurring during the US Presidential race. This week was all about "lippygate". Barack Obama, in a speech about the US economy, was criticising his rival, John McCain, about his lack of ideas on how to run the economy, and how similar his ideas were to George Bush. He suggested change would be impossible for McCain to achieve "you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig." This led to an almighty outcry from the Republicans, accusing Obama of sexism against the Republican vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Despite being a phrase that McCain himself has used on numerous occasions (see below), and despite being a comment used in reference to the US economy, somehow it's all become about "sexism in American life." The Republicans ran an advertisement condoning the phrase and complaining of sexism against Palin. And all because Palin described herself as a "hockey-mum," joking that the only difference between a hockey mum and a pit bull is lipstick (see below, with cheers and thumbs up included). Once again, only in America.





It's really concerning to see the Republicans lead in the polls. With the current incumbent enjoying the lowest ever approval ratings of any President, and McCain openly following policies similar to Bush, how on earth is he ahead? Are Americans simply that dumb? It's a case of the blind leading the blind. Should McCain win, then the world is in serious trouble - no where will be safe!

My brain is really struggling to get going at the moment. I think I better wrap things up for the week. Hopefully people will read and contribute some comments over the weekend. Then again, probably not.

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

Thursday, September 11, 2008

The worried well

Fabio Capello had his 'Munich Moment' last night. Astonishingly, England somehow managed to thrash Croatia in Zagreb. They beat a team ranked 5th in the world and who had never lost at home in a competitive fixture. The night brought back memories of the famous night in September 2001, when England thrashed Germany. Once again, an England striker scored a hat-trick, the first since that very game in Munich.

I and many others gave up on England after their shocking and inept performances in the 2006 World Cup and this was further compounded by their disappointing failure to qualify for Euro 2008. However, if somehow they can turn the tide and put in more performances like last night, then hope shall prevail. Getting way ahead of myself, Spain were the worthy winners of Euro 2008, 44 years after they last won a major trophy. Who will also have gone 44 years without a major trophy come the World Cup in 2010? England. Let's hope they qualify first.

Last week I mentioned that I wanted to talk about a few amusing patients that I had encountered. Working in sleepy Buckingham, I get to see my fair share of patients who I like to call 'the worried well'. These are people who have too much time on their hands and come to see a doctor because they have nothing else to do. They come with simple and mundane problems, simply desiring reassurance.

One such patient came to see me last week. A man in his 40's cycled in for his appointment. He complained about having back pain. He described it as a muscular ache which only occurred at night whilst he was sleeping. He worked as a gardener and had no problems with lifting, bending or stretching his back during the day. This had been going on for over six months.

The pain would wake him up and he would then be unable to sleep because of the constant aching. When he got out of bed in the morning it would slowly ease and then he'd be fine for the rest of the day. He hadn't taken any painkillers because "I don't like them unless I know what they are for" and he was using a hard mattress, which was going to be changed to an orthopaedic mattress shortly. When I examined his back, he pointed to where it was tender at night, but right then it was fine. There was no pain and he displayed a full range of movement of his back.

People often joke with me, that all I do is prescribe painkillers (specifically paracetamol), but honestly in this case what would you do? I suggested he wait and see if the new mattress makes a difference and to try a painkiller in the night when he wakes up with the pain. I explained that in all likelihood it was a muscular problem, potentially caused by his hard mattress and to wait and see if the painkillers help. "Ah, yes, I thought it might be that. I'll try the painkillers in the night then." If he knew what the problem was, then why not try painkillers himself?

Another person I saw was a gentleman in his late 50's. He came with three problems that he had been "saving up" for me. He had pain in his left shoulder, pain in his left knee and pain in his right ankle. This had be ongoing for the past 2 months. He worked as an oil tanker driver, spending large amounts of time behind the wheel and then having to lift heavy barrels across his shoulders and having to spend a lot of time kneeling under his truck to access the connection system. With that history, what do you think I did?

Like most people, he hadn't taken any painkillers, nor had he tried to rest and take some time off. Understandably he was not in a position to do so financially, but I tried to explain that his pain is a direct result of his occupation and that he needed to take some rest, take some painkillers and allow his body to heel. He didn't seem surprised about this information, "I expected you to tell me that doctor." I then re-iterated the importance of getting some rest and taking painkillers and advised him on the rules of self-certification for taking time off. He left assuring me he would get some rest - but after the appointment I felt what was the point?

Lastly, I saw an eccentric lady this week who wasn't so much 'worried well', but more 'unworried ill'! She came to see me to discuss her cholesterol-lowering medication. "I want to reduce them, because I had a brain haemorrhage recently." That immediately triggered alarm bells in my head. I spoke to her about the haemorrhage that she casually threw into the conversation. Back in March she woke up with a severe headache "as if I had been hit by a cricket bat," and came to see one of the GPs. Rightly concerned about the possibility of a subarachnoid haemorrhage (which presents with a sudden onset of a severe headache - like being hit by a bat), the GP referred her to hospital.

At the hospital she had a CT scan which was clear, but she also needed a lumbar puncture to be certain that she hadn't suffered from a brain haemorrhage. She decided to self-discharge, claiming that no-one had explained to her the seriousness of her condition and she was fed-up of waiting in hospital. Her headache continued for the rest of the week and she also developed numbness and weakness in her right arm for a month or so. More recently, she also had another episode of a severe headache about two weeks ago. So, here was a patient who most likely had suffered with a bleed in the brain, but was carrying on as normal.

I explained to her to gravity of the situation and she was quite surprised by the seriousness of it all. She assumed because her weakness had resolved and her headaches had cleared, she was OK. It was why she didn't come to see a doctor afterwards either. Most galling of all was the fact that the hospital did not even inform the surgery about what had happened. The GP who saw her should have followed up what happened, but nonetheless it was the hospitals responsibility to ensure that the practice was informed.

I've urgently referred her to a consultant neurologist and I hope that she hasn't suffered any permanent damage. In all honesty, she should be OK, often with these types of haemorrhages, the blood is self-absorbed which is why her symptoms improved slowly, but there can be lasting damage. I'll wait and see.

What type of patient do you think you are? Are you the 'worried well' or the 'unworried ill'? Let me know in the comments section.

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Ready for the end?

So the world has not come to an end after all. As I type, millions of sub-atomic particles are being accelerated round in a circular tube, approaching the speed of light in an attempt to recreate the conditions in the Universe moments after the big bang. The experiment is taking place in a Large Hadron Collider at the famous CERN facility in Geneva (the same CERN organisation mentioned in the novel Angels & Demons by Dan Brown). The experiment sparked rumours that it could cause the end of the world, causing the Earth to be swallowed up by a huge black hole.

Listening to the radio on my drive to work this morning, presenters were having a good laugh, joking about the imminent end of the world. Now of course, today is not going to be the end of the world. According to Shia belief, for the end of the world to happen, the re-appearance of the 12th holy Imam needs to occur - and that has not yet happened. However, it was amusing to listen to the presenters joking about the end of the world - I couldn't help thinking, if indeed it was the end of the world they are all going to be in for a mighty shock.

The end of the world heralds the arrival of the Day of Judgement - when all of mankind will be resurrected to be judged fairly and justly by God, to determine whether we will spend the rest of eternity in heaven or hell. That is what life is all about - we are here for God to judge our actions and decide whether we deserve heaven or hell - I can't stress the point enough. Everything we do, especially in this holy month of Ramadan, has just two purposes - to receive God's blessings and to avoid his punishment.

Yesterday I attended a majlis commemorating the recent death of a relative. The speech was about death and how Muslims should embrace it. Death is not something to be feared, in fact quite the opposite, it is something to be welcomed. If our faith and belief is strong then that is no problem, we will be ready for death because we are aware of the potential rewards that lie beyond. God says in the Quran "What is the life of this world but amusement and play? But verily the Home in the Hereafter,- that is life indeed, if they but knew." (Surah 29, Verse 64) and also "O my people! This life of the present is nothing but (temporary) convenience: It is the Hereafter that is the Home that will last. He that works evil will not be requited but by the like thereof: and he that works a righteous deed - whether man or woman - and is a Believer- such will enter the Garden (of Bliss): Therein will they have abundance without measure." (Surah 40, Verses 39-40). To achieve that feeling, that status, we continue to strive to seek nearness to God and to seek his blessings.

We are all destined for death - it is not something that anyone can escape. No matter what scientists and doctors try, they cannot prevent death. The Quran states that "Every soul shall have a taste of death in the end to Us shall ye be brought back." (Surah 29, Verse 57) It is something we have no control over whatsoever, we have no say as to where we will die, "Nor does any one know in what land he is to die." (Surah 31, Verse 34) and we have no say as to when we will die "Nor can a soul die except by Allah's leave, the term being fixed as by writing." (Surah 3, Verse 145). Modern medicines and technology may seemingly prolong life, but that is due to God's mercy. He has blessed us with the knowledge and ability to develop new technologies and medicines and with it certain illnesses and diseases can be prevented or cured, but that doesn't change the inevitable. Our time is fixed and we are all destined for death.

With the guarantee of death set, it's what we do in the meantime that counts. Our aim is to struggle and strive to reach nearness to God. To follow his commands, to follow the teachings of the Holy Prophet and Imams. This constant struggle will determine our reward in the hereafter. I know I sound repetitive, but it is important to keep discussing the issue. Death should be at the forefront of our minds. Everything we do should be to get ready for death. Have we done enough? Are we doing enough?

Moving on to briefly talk about the Day of Judgement. God has described it as "...a Sign for those who fear the penalty of the Hereafter: that is a Day for which mankind will be gathered together: that will be a Day of Testimony. The day it arrives, no soul shall speak except by His leave: of those (gathered) some will be wretched and some will be blessed. Those who are wretched shall be in the Fire: There will be for them therein (nothing but) the heaving of sighs and sobs. And those who are blessed shall be in the Garden: They will dwell therein for all the time that the heavens and the earth endure, except as thy Lord willeth: a gift without break." (Surah 11, Verses 103-108). It is the time when everything we have done in this life will be judged. "Some faces, that Day, will beam (in brightness and beauty), looking towards their Lord. And some faces, that Day, will be sad and dismal." (Surah 75, Verses 22-24).

Like I have said on numerous occasions, not only today but in various other blogs, the Holy Quran has made it quite clear what will happen after we die and how we will be judged and what the rewards and punishments will be. It is clear-cut. That leaves it down to us to ensure that we are ready for that time. This is not something to put to one side, it should constantly be on our minds. We all have jobs, all need to earn a living, have family and friends that we interact it and it is all blessed by God as long as we live our lives in accordance with his teachings. We earn money correctly and spend it in a halal way, we remain friendly and cordial in our personal interactions, not judgemental and vain. A lot of these elements we already do, it is not that difficult, God has not made this life an impossible struggle, he has made it an achievable struggle and inshallah a struggle that we will benefit from in the hereafter.

One final point, coming back to the experiment that is currently taking place at CERN. Scientists are constantly striving to prove that God doesn't exist. Today's experiment is designed to study what happened after the big bang - no doubt in another attempt to explain away God's influence in it all. However, these experiments and discoveries do the exact opposite. Each time a new revelation is made, it just reminds me of the power of God. He has blessed us with the ability to develop these technologies, which enable us to study his creation down to a micro-microscopic detail. We can marvel at the sub-atomic particles and study how the Earth and the Solar system was created and remain in awe over God's creation. These experiments continue to provide more information about God's power and will. They don't deny his existence, but only strengthen the proof that he is holding power over all things.

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

Monday, September 08, 2008

Patience

Boy have I received a lot of criticism for defending GPs in the last couple of blogs. Is there anyone who likes GPs? Doesn't look like it. I think it'll be better if I stay well clear of the subject for now. I don't enjoy being this defensive.

My wife and I made our first baby purchase over the weekend and it was a rather hefty one. We bought the cot, mattress, pushchair, car seat and car seat base all from a warehouse in Bedford and the total price was very reasonable. For those interested, after reading my pushchair blog, we went for the Phil & Teds Sport in black. No Graco in the end.

Was up late last night watching the climax of Andy Murray's fabulous win over the world no.1 Rafael Nadal, in doing so he became the first Brit male since 1997 to feature in a Grand Slam final, and if he wins, he'll become the first Brit male since 1936 to win a Grand Slam. Only the small matter of beating arguably the best ever player the world has seen - Roger Federer - in order to achieve that. Should hopefully be an exciting match tonight.

Being Ramadan, I wanted to blog at least once a week on various religious topics that interest me in the hope of interesting you. Today I wanted to talk about 'Patience.' In the Quran, God asks us to "...be patient and persevering, for Allah is with those who patiently persevere." (Surah 8, Verse 46). Life is a test, a struggle. How patient we are during this struggle inevitably determines our reward from God.

What do you think about when you think of 'patience'? I think about having the ability to endure without complaint. To take things as they come and rather than feel negative or angry or depressed to try and focus on the positives. This is sometimes easier said then done. At times when I've found it difficult, I've often tried to focus on the fundamentals of life. When something has had a really negative effect on me I think about my basics: a loving wife, good family and friends, a good job, a good car, etc etc. That is what I feel defines patience - but it is only the beginning. Like most important values in Islam, it can be taken a whole lot further.

Imam Ali (a.s.) explains that patience comprises of four attributes: Eagerness, fear, piety and anticipation of death. "So, whoever is eager for Paradise will ignore evil temptations; whoever fears the fire of Hell will abstain from sins; whoever practices piety will easily bear the difficulties and hardships of the life of this world and whoever anticipates death will hasten to perform good deeds." (Al-Aimidi, Hadith #2897).

There are various degrees of patience, and the merit and reward vary in accordance with degree and level. Imam Ali (a.s.) states that “Patience is of three kinds: patience at the time of affliction, patience in regard to obedience, and patience in regard to dis­obedience (of Allah). And the third one is superior to the first two kinds.” We believe that our good deeds in this life will be rewarded in the hereafter and by keeping that at the forefront of our minds, dealing with difficulties and hardship should become easier - looking at the long-term goal. We increase our nearness to God by displaying patience throughout life.

Being negative, angry and anxious at the time of personal struggle (financial loss, death, natural disasters etc) are the signs of a soul's weakness. Patience strengthens the will and the power of resolution to overcome adverse circumstances, make rational decisions and act wisely. If a person bears patiently with misfortunes and calamities, endures the hardships that come with worship and tolerates the difficulties arising from the renunciation of forbidden pleasures for the sake of God, it gradually becomes easier and allows the person to move to the next level of patience.

Ah yes, levels of patience. Because life is a struggle, achieving success in certain virtues allows us to move to the next part - to move closer to God, to continue the struggle. For patience it starts with what I've been describing so far: Patience in God - Steadfastness whilst trying to get rid of evil habits (lying, greed, backbiting) and ugly traits (anger, ego, hypocrisy) and practicing abstinence from the objects of desire during self-purification (i.e. everything we do in the month of Ramadan).

Next comes Patience with God - a level of selflessness that allows one to witness intimacy with God. All traces of self-love, pride etc are removed. After that comes Patience from God - after receiving blessings from God, having to continue to endure the trials of this world, separated from God. Imam Ali (a.s.) asks in Dua Kumayl “O my God, my Master and my Lord! Even if I were able to endure Thy chastisement, how shall I bear Thy separation?". Finally comes Patience for God - the state of perfection, achieved when one has the ability to exist only with God and moulds himself with the moulds of Allah.

The previous paragraph describes what can be achieved, but for now the focus should remain on the first level - Patience in God. We are here to be tested and having the ability to be patient during the tests and struggles endears us towards God. Controlling our anger, our hatred, our pride and instead displaying patience and endurance are qualities that God commends. God speaks about its importance in the Quran:
  • "Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere" (Surah 2, Verse 155)
  • "Therefore endure with a goodly Patience." (Surah 70, Verse 5)
The Imam's had to display tremendous patience throughout their lives. None more so than Imam Husain (a.s.) during the events of Karbala. He could have displayed anger and thirst for revenge, but instead he showed us the greatest patience by enduring the events of Karbala and providing the ultimate sacrifice to save the religion of Islam. Imam Ali (a.s.) was denied the Caliphate of the Muslims after the demise of the Holy Prophet - again, he could have shown anger and hatred to those who took away his right, but he remained patient in order to safeguard Islam.

We have these great examples throughout history. Events which required the greatest levels of patience imaginable. We will never (inshallah) have to endure such struggles - but what we do endure, we must do so with patience and restraint. We must develop the ability to be patient, to constantly show humbleness and modesty in order to receive God's blessings. Displaying anger, hatred, revenge are all qualities which will not help us and often make the situation worse.

I know today's topic has been a bit difficult to understand, but I wanted to attempt to describe patience - especially during this month as it is something we need to show the most during the time of fasting, whist we abstain from worldly pleasures. I hope some of it makes sense and hope that we can all strive to achieve patience inshallah.

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

Friday, September 05, 2008

Tiredness is killing III

These first few days of fasting are proving to be extremely difficult. I am exhausted before I even arrive at work. Waking up for sehree at 4.30am and then attempting to go back to sleep after Fajr at 5am, only to wake up at 7am to get ready for work - if that sounds tough, that's because it is! By the time I arrive to work after a 50 minute, 40 mile drive I am struggling to stay awake. Luckily, as usual, Friday is a half day and I shall be going home soon.

In the comments section to my blog on Wednesday, I was kindly given a link to this article in (of all places) The Sun. Mr MacKenzie accuses GPs effectively of being lazy because they don't work on weekends. I ask simply, why should they? Can you find an accountant, a lawyer or a solicitor on the weekend?

It's too easy to say GPs earn over £100,000 and therefore should be working at weekends. If you have a health concern over the weekend or during out-of-hours, do you really need a GP, or do you need to go to the hospital? In all likelihood, it's probably the latter. Not many people would like to give up their free-time on a weekend to discuss a minor health matter. The other side of this arguement is that for some people the weekend is the only time they have free. They are too busy to make an appointment with their GP during the week, but again I ask, if you needed to meet an accountant or a lawyer etc, you would make the time to do so during normal working hours during the week - why not the same for the GP? In fact, if the problem is serious enough, it shouldn't even be an issue.

People will also state that unlike accountants or lawyers, our salary is from the government, but who provided the opportunity for GPs to not work on weekends? The government. They offered, for the cost of roughly £6000, GPs the option of opting out of providing an out-of-hours service. Who wouldn't take that? This is then countered by claiming that the BMA were ruthless in their negotiations, but then why wouldn't they be? It is the governments role to stand up to them and they didn't - so don't bash the GPs over it.

Personally, I feel that GPs shouldn't have to work weekends and out-of hours during the week. If a health problem is serious enough during that time, people need the hospital, if it isn't then people should make time to see their GP during normal hours. It is not fair to suggest that GPs are lazy because they don't provide that service.

Moving on, and I think I've got enough energy for some general discussion before I sign off for the weekend. Over the past two weeks I have been keeping an eye on the Democratic and Republic conventions being held in the US. American politics is always funny to watch and these conventions even more so. I love how the crowd respond when big politicians give their keynote speeches. You only have to stand on the podium and say 'hello' for the crowd to erupt in cheers and screams. All the speeches are pretty much the same - full of grand rhetoric about 'making a change' and how one party is better than the other.

John McCain (the Republican nominee) harps on about his record and 'his scars' to prove he is ready in comparison to the 'unexperienced' Barack Obama (the Democratic nominee), but I'm sorry, how does having a so-called illustrious record in the Vietnam War prove that you are ready to lead? With the current Republican President holding such a low opinion in the American public, it's amazing that the Republican party are a threat in these upcoming elections, never mind the fact they are running neck and neck in the polls with the Democrats - surely only in America.

Hands up anyone who had heard of Sarah Palin before last week? Hands up if you had even heard of Alaska until last week? (I'm joking.) As the Republican's nominee for vice-President, her promotion was certainly a surprise - so much so that her Wikipedia page was only updated last week, with the quantity of information on it quadrupling. She gave a good account for herself on Wednesday - full of grand rhetoric, attacking Obama and generally getting a cheer and scream every 5 seconds.

Whilst all this has been going on, Obama played a masterstroke yesterday by agreeing to an interview on the Republican-backing FOX NEWS channel, interviewed by Bill O'Reilly, just prior to John McCain's keynote speech at the Republican convention last night. How frustrated must the news channel have been, knowing they had to cover a Democrat rather than focus on the upcoming Republican speech. Genius. Now, I am looking forward to the upcoming Presidential Debates as the election race heats up. Should be entertaining.

Lastly, what a crazy week it has been for football. Overnight, Manchester City became the richest club in the world when they were bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group, led by Dr. Sulaiman Al-Fahim, a man worth 10x more than Roman Abhramovich. There are now reports that the group will bid a whooping £135 million for Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United - now that would be something.

With all these takeovers, comes great pressure on the managers as proved this week when the managers of West Ham United and Newcastle United resigned, both for similar reasons - not having control of the clubs transfer policy. These owners are rich businessmen used to having their on way, making their own decisions. When they takeover football clubs, they can't tolerate someone else making the decisions on how to spend their money. Understandably, managers won't tolerate this interference, especially as when things go wrong the blame will be placed on them, and therefore, this creates an unworkable situation. The owners have the power but crave the glory. Unfortunately, until the rich businessman happens to also be a football manager, it just won't work. Now, who will agree to manage these clubs - actually, I'm sure they'll find someone happy to work in these circumstances for the right salary - everyone has a price.

That just about wraps things up for this week, just as well as I can now go home and get some sleep. Next week hopefully my energy levels will improve and I can discuss some of the amusing patients I've had this week. More about that later.

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?