In this article, I'd like to discuss a tension all too often felt in our spaces and communities, yet rarely addressed in its essence outside of opposition to its extremes. Now, I take it that this blog is not dedicated to Social Philosophy, but some of you may enjoy the read regardless. Now, many of us are aware of the definition of Religion, and even if we are not, from a Muslim perspective, Islam is what we mean. Islam is the set of rules and guidelines for existence given to us by Allah SWT via His Messenger SAW. Culture, however, is harder to define. One definition by David Matsumoto, a Professor of Psychology, holds it as '... the set of attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviours shared by a group of people, but different for each individual, communicated from one generation to the next'. We may understand this as the unspoken similarities in how a group of people act, which makes them unique from other people, at any given point in time. Then it becomes that culture...

  Assalamu-alaikum everyone. My article this month will be a little unconventional; it is a short ‘anthology’ of 4 (of many) random thoughts that would occur to me in between studying for exams and just navigating life in general. Too short to be a full-length article yet too long to be used in the monthly email updates. I hope it will be of benefit to you, inshallah. I enjoyed compiling this. The Details I have always been someone who notices details first, before focusing on the bigger picture. Identifying patterns within car number plates, watching bubbles drift by the kitchen window while I did the dishes (the sound of children’s laughter permeating through the window glass), multiple subtle typos in a published book, and the way a caterpillar moved as it crawled on me when I sat beneath a tree. In a fast world, if one were to slow down, they’d discover that there is so much to be found in the minutiae.  ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا ٱلنُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةًۭ فَخَلَقْنَا ٱلْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَة...

Voices are powerful tools. Whereas creatures such as ants communicate with chemicals, and honeybees by movement, humans primarily rely on language for communication. It is the foundation for building relationships, voicing our concerns, and sharing our ideas. It is an essential aspect of day-to-day life. In medical school, we are taught the importance of communication. Likewise, within Islam, communication and mutual respect are emphasised.  وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُم بِتَحِيَّةٍۢ فَحَيُّوا۟ بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَآ أَوْ رُدُّوهَآ ۗ …٨٦    And when you are greeted, respond with a better greeting or at least similarly…   Surah Al Nisa (4:86) But communication isn’t something that comes naturally to everyone- and that is okay. A nice analogy I was once given compared life experiences to a deck of cards: everyone will have a different set of skills and disadvantages. It’s how we learn to play our cards and adapt to the challenges that make or break the game.  I am someone who v...

  Reorienting the Mind and Heart A Muslim’s journey through medical school can be fueled by ambition, curiosity, and an altruistic drive. However, a key goal here is to correctly find and set one’s intentions behind one’s studies. I recently had the opportunity to interview Dr Husain Abdul Sattar, a Sheikh, Pathology professor and founder of Pathoma, where I asked a few questions relevant to us as medical students. He reflects on how Islam has influenced his path in medicine, and how it guides his approach to practice and teaching. In this article, I will discuss the key messages and takeaways from our conversation. How did Islam influence your decision to enter medicine? Dr Sattar’s entry into medicine did not begin with a single defining moment, but with a gradual convergence of interests and beliefs. From early on, he was interested in science, becoming more serious in high school, where he attended a summer programme focused on recombinant DNA. He went on to study at the Univer...

The Porsche is a beautiful thing. Even the most dedicated dialectical materialist feels the tug of capitalism as it drives past. It sums up the things we love in the world: status, art, power, and technology. And perhaps we all have our own Porsche, the one fruit of materialism that makes chasing the Dunya worth it for us.  Yet Islam is not a dry set of rules and prohibitions, rather a comprehensive and all-consuming way of seeing the world. It doesn’t dictate simply what to avoid, but rather how to make sense of each situation we find ourselves in. And if that is true, then even something like a Porsche cannot be meaningless, it must have its place in our cosmology. The early believers faced the same tension. They lived in a world obsessed with status, wealth, and visible power. The pull of the Dunya was not in cars but in camels, not in logos but in fine silk. What is striking is that the Quran does not ignore or condemn this sentiment, rather addressing it so directly. Allah SW...