An email from Brother Sokry

Our stay in Cambodia may just be for 2 weeks, but the bond that the team madewith the local Cambodians was amazing. Brother Sokry, from IMAC is one of them,who had helped us a GREAT deal when we were there. A final yr med student himself, heis also very active in social and community work in Cambodia, to serve the Muslim community in Cambodia.

He would wake up in the early hours (even during our programme, according to the guys) every day to have some time to study, and he even worked during the night I think. Not to forget his involvement in the community services that would take some of his time off for his study.

It amazes me how he could have managed his really hectic life, and his compassion to serving the Muslims in Cambodia is just so inspiring.

Anyway, he was the one who taught me how to 'sunat' (or circumcise) so personally for me, it would be hard to forget him. hehe. He even said I was good at it ..at suturing etc (muke bangga ;p). Jadi next time saya akan lebih bersemangat utk menyunat org... err..apakah??

Anyway, here's an email that I have just received from him, to all our teammates. It's good to know that there are people who are striving for the welfare of the muslims in Cambodia, and yes, all of the CRM team members will always keep Cambodia and its people in our hearts, and will not forget them. We will not forget to offer our prayers (if that's the least that we can do) for the Cambodians, and we wish to continue doing
relief missions in the near future (although I may not be able to join sob sob).

Here's the email:
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islam, This is brother Him Sokrey, medical student in Cambodia and the acting member of IMAC.

We sincerely praise ALLAH Almighty for His countless blessings and bounties. Let us begin by reminding ourselves to always be God fearing (Fear Allah) in all instances and conditions. Let us believe that only by being God conscious can we then attain success in this world and the hereafter. I you are all, my friends, in the best of health and Iman and always guide by Almighty Allah.

How is your study after back from Cambodia? How do you feel of Cambodians? I miss you all very much especially those who always keep contact with me by sms and email. ha ha Remember the time we worked together, talked and shared, etc... Zaff and Farharna! In the attachment you will see what you want us, IMAC, to help you for your assignments. And I am very sorry for late doing that. Cuz I was very busy my final exams and Qurban program to the provinces. Hope this still can help you friends. Please try your best for the development of our brothers and sisters in Islam.

I would like to extend my grateful thanks to your group (relief misssion 2007) by pray to Allah to grant us will and power to get maximum benefits out of our activities. Good health, Rahmat, Taofiq, successfully and blessing from Allah are for Muslim in the World, especially for you all. I pray to Almighty Allah to help us all to serve Islam and Muslim. He is the only one God who can help us.

Your brother in Islam,
HIM SOKREY (Shukry bin Amin Ibrahim)

K Iza, Me, and Sokry..sape ntah snap gamba nih?

Inspiration

Was browsing the net in between studying -studying on tuberculosis to be exact ( just can't keep my fingers off the laptop even when studying.. naughty naughty) and came about this article relating to this disease.TB was actually first described by ibnu sina/avicenna the famous Muslim physician, philopsopher, mathematician (and the list goes on)... very inspiring indeed, to read on his early childhood, and his supreme intellect, the gift of God to him masya Allah... on how when he came to face difficulities and problems when studying, he would turn to Allah to find guidance and solace..he would take his ablutions and perform the prayer to find light.

From wikipedia..

Early life

Ibn Sīnā's life is known to us from authoritative sources. A biography, which is widely considered by foremost Arabicists to have been composed by a disciple and later redacted, covers his first thirty years, and the rest are documented by his disciple al-Juzjani, who was also his secretary and his friend.

He was born in Central Asia around 980 (370 AH) in Balkh present day Afghanistan. His father, a respected Ismaili^[27] or Sunni^[2] scholar of Balkh, an important town of the Persian state of Khorasan, was at the time of his son's birth the governor in one of the Samanid Nuh ibn Mansur's estates. He had his son very carefully educated at Bukhara. Ibn Sina himself may have been either a Hanafi Sunni^[2][3] or Twelver Shia.^[28] Ibn Sina's independent thought was served by an extraordinary intelligence and memory, which allowed him to overtake his teachers at the age of fourteen. As he said in his autobiography there wasn't anything which he hadn't learned when he reached eighteen.

Ibn Sīnā was put under the charge of a tutor, and his precocity soon made him the marvel of his neighbours; he displayed exceptional intellectual behaviour and was a child prodigy who had memorized the Qur'an by the age of 7 and a great deal of Persian poetry as well. He learned Indian arithmetic from an Indian greengrocer, and he began to learn more from a wandering scholar who gained a livelihood by curing the sick and teaching the young. He also studied Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) under the Hanafi scholar Ismail al-Zahid.^[2][3]

He was greatly troubled by the Metaphysics of Aristotle, which he could not understand until he read al-Farabi's commentary on the work.^[29] For the next year and a half, he studied philosophy, in which he encountered greater obstacles. In such moments of baffled inquiry, he would leave his books, perform the requisite ablutions (wudu), then go to the mosque, and continue in prayer (salah) till light broke on his difficulties. Deep into the night he would continue his studies, and even in his dreams problems would pursue him and work out their solution. Forty times, it is said, he read through the Metaphysics of Aristotle, till the words were imprinted on his memory; but their meaning was hopelessly obscure, until one day they found illumination, from the little commentary by Farabi, which he bought at a bookstall for the small sum of three dirhams. So great was his joy at the discovery, thus made by help of a work from which he had expected only mystery, that he hastened to return thanks to God, and bestowed alms upon the poor.

He turned to medicine at 16, and not only learned medical theory, but also by gratuitous attendance on the sick had, according to his own account, discovered new methods of treatment. The teenager achieved full status as a physician at age 18 and found that "Medicine is no hard and thorny science, like mathematics and metaphysics, so I soon made great progress; I became an excellent doctor and began to treat patients, using approved remedies." The youthful physician's fame spread quickly, and he treated many patients without asking for payment.

Hebatnya ilmuwan Islam dahulu. Jom jadi mcm Ibnu Sina... kita belajar medic betul2.... jadi mantap macam dia inshaAllah...okey!

Istanbul trip

Yes, THE Blue Mosque of Istanbul

Awesome Istanbul trip! Great tripmates! Lovely and breathtaking sceneries! Perfect for honeymoons (ha-ha).Srius rasa macam nak dtg lagi!

And most importantly, how wonderful it had felt to listen to azans yg dilaungkan masjid demi masjid... and there were so manyyy mosques, beautiful mosques in istanbul. Blue Mosque, Suleymaniye Mosque, Fatih Mosque, to name a few. Beautiful and historic AyaSofya. Wonderful Topkapi Palace.

Inside one of the mosques

Ferry ride on the Bosphorus Sea. Shopping at the Bazaars (tee-hee).
Turkish apple tea, turkish kelims, turkish delight... and the 'You're Welcome' guy. Hehe.

Inside Topkapi Palace

Lovely, just lovely.
Except that everyone was down with the flu or fever by the end of the trip. But that did not stop us from enjoying the trip to the last bit, and spending the Lira (Turkish money) to the titisan2 duit yg terakhir.. huhu..

will update soon insyaAllah.

Stress??

dedicated to those who are under stress right now...for whatever reason..be it exams, financial problems, or etc...
just an essay I wrote for an assignment,,ayat agak skema and more medical student-oriented..teehe..
just hoping it'll help those who are in the situation of stress to loosen up a bit... and see stress in a different perspective... boleee nggakk?? ;p

Health Psychology and Human Diversity Reflective Essay: ‘Stress’
Stress. A word that is at most times associated with negative conditions and feelings. The feeling of stress or being tensed is perhaps one of the things in life that seemed to be unavoidable most of the times, and it may be caused by so many different things. Panic, fear, or financial problems are just few of the many other things that can cause stress. It brings about a spectrum of effects, and health issue is one of them, that we, as future doctors may be most concerned of. I am glad through the module of Health Psychology and Human Diversity, students are brought to visit this topic and are allowed to discuss on the issues that revolve around it.

Furthermore, as a medical student, I personally think that the topic of stress is something that is really easy to relate to, giving rooms for myself to reflect back on some issues. Being an international medical student, living in a country thousands of miles away from home, and being in the minority group in a foreign country, can be some possible stress-causing sources for me. And let’s add to that the challenge of coping with academic studies and the coming examinations. If these are not managed correctly, it can bring about some stress responses which may not only affect myself, but also the people around me.

However, I believe that it is important to change the perspective of looking at stress itself. Stress does not necessarily mean something negative, and in fact sometimes, we can deal with it in a positive way. Take the stress of exams for example. Instead of worrying about the exams and having nervous breakdowns as the date of examination gets closer, the more pragmatic way of dealing with it is preparing myself in advance by having proper notes and having academic discussions with peers. In this way, the stress itself will help boost my academic performance, giving a positive result. The stress would somehow encourage me to be more prepared for the exams as it draws closer.

Thinking back from previous years, I remember of a time when I had trouble dealing with the stress of examination. As the exam date drew closer, I grew more tensed each day. I felt my heart racing every time anyone mentions the exams, I felt tired easily, and I lost focus most of the time. It was perhaps due to the lack of self-confidence, and my own mistake of keeping the worries all to myself. I couldn’t find a way of releasing the stress and didn’t take up sports, either. At the time, it seemed like I couldn’t find a way out of the situation.

However, at last, with the support of friends and family, I finally managed to find my way through. Talking things out to other people had definitely made a huge difference afterwards, as I felt that I found support and strength from those people who care. It is also helpful to get involved in activities that may help to forget the stress, for example doing physical exercise or even, retail therapy!

I am also well aware that there are more sources of stress that awaits me in this path of becoming a doctor. Even doctors too may face stress and be under pressure, but it is important to know how to deal with it. In my opinion, if a doctor is able to handle his stress in the most appropriate way, then it will be easier for his patients to follow his advice on matters concerning the same topic of stress. This is because doctors are like role models and are looked up to by patients.

Also, as a future doctor, it is also important to acknowledge the influence of stress in causing health problems or exacerbating disease in patients. I believe that I will be encountering patients with all sorts of disease for example migraine, hypertension, ulcers and others, with stress as the major cause. Looking at it the other way round, some patients may even feel stressed caused by the diseases that they have, and this is also one of the points that I need to be aware of and keep in mind as a future doctor.

In a nutshell, stress is a common problem, which may be encountered by any one and at any time. The sessions in this module had somehow helped me realize the importance of understanding stress, knowing its sources and managing it well, as I’ve come to see that these will all help us deal with stress in a better way. By acknowledging stress and its many influences, it may even help us to become better doctors in the future.

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Just remember, if you feel stressed or feels like anything close to breaking down, talk to someone...And the best to tal to is, none other than our Creator Himself. He KNOWS what we're going through, and He's ALWAYS there to listen to us. So, turn to Allah because He CARES. He is Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim...

And do check out the meaning of Surah Al-Insyirah :) InsyaAllah dapat menenangkan hati...

An-Nahl

16:4 He creates man out of a [mere] drop of sperm: and lo! this same being shows himself endowed with the power to think and to argue!

16:5 And He creates cattle: you derive warmth from them, and [various other] uses; and from them you obtain food;

16:6 and you find beauty in them when you drive them home in the evenings and when you take them out to pasture in the mornings.

16:7 And they carry your loads to [many] a place which [otherwise] you would be unable to reach without great hardship to yourselves. Verily, your Sustainer is most compassionate, a dispenser of grace!

16:8 And (it is He who creates] horses and mules and asses for you to ride, as well as for [their] beauty: and He will yet create things of which [today] you have no knowledge.

16:9 And [because He is your Creator,] it rests with God alone to show you the right path: ^[7] yet there is [many a one] who swerves from it. However, had He so willed, He would have guided you all aright.

16:10 It is He who sends down water from the skies; you drink thereof, and thereof [drink] the plants upon which you pasture your beasts;
16:11 [and] by virtue thereof He causes crops to grow for you, and olive trees, and date palms, and grapes, and all [other] kinds of fruit: in this, behold, there is a message indeed for people who think!


16:12 And He has made the night and the day and the sun and the moon subservient [to His laws, so that they be of use] to you; ^[9] and all the stars are subservient to His command: in this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who use their reason!

16:13 And all the [beauty of] many hues-which He has created for you on earth: in this, behold, there is a message for people who (are willing to] take it to heart!

16:14 And He it is who has made the sea subservient [to His laws], so that you might eat fresh meat from it, and take from it gems which you may wear. And on that [very sea] one sees ^[10] ships ploughing through the waves, so that you might [be able to] go forth in quest of some of His bounty, and thus have cause to be grateful [to Him].

16:15 And he has placed firm mountains on earth, lest it sway with you, ^[11] and rivers and paths, so that you might find your way,

16:16 as well as [various other] means of orientation: for [it is] by the stars that men find their way.

16:17 IS, THEN, HE who creates comparable to any [being] that cannot create? Will you not, then, bethink yourselves?

---

16:18 For, should you try to count God's blessings, you could never compute them! Behold, God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace;

16:19 and God knows all that you keep secret as well as all that you bring into the open.

[An Nahl- Holy Quran]

let's take some time off the hustle and bustle of our everyday life... to just think and reflect....may He guide us to the right path, inshaAllah.. -mai shahira-