The Threads of Thought: A Chain of Contemplation

 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 مُضْغَةًۭ فَخَلَقْنَا ٱلْمُضْغَةَ عِظَـٰمًۭا فَكَسَوْنَا ٱلْعِظَـٰمَ لَحْمًۭا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَـٰهُ خَلْقًا ءَاخَرَ ۚ فَتَبَارَكَ ٱللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ ٱلْخَـٰلِقِينَ ١٤

then We developed the drop into a clinging clot, then developed the clot into a lump ˹of flesh˺, then developed the lump into bones, then clothed the bones with flesh, then We brought it into being as a new creation. So Blessed is Allah, the Best of Creators.

Surah Al-Mu'minun (23:14) 

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعَ طَرَآئِقَ وَمَا كُنَّا عَنِ ٱلْخَلْقِ غَـٰفِلِينَ ١٧

And indeed, We created above you seven levels ˹of heaven˺. We are never unmindful of ˹Our˺ creation.

Surah Al-Mu'minun (23:17) 

It is no secret that our creation is very deliberate. In Medicine, we could describe it as uncanny how the human body keeps itself running. From major organs, to even the design of microscopic cells- it is all very intentional and play important roles in keeping the body functional. 

Pondering God’s creation and appreciating it can be a form of worship. Quranic perspectives on thinking will sometimes bring up the concepts of Tafakkur (reflection) and Tadabbur (deep contemplation), and how this encourages a form of metacognition (‘thinking about thinking’) when it comes to understanding the words of Allah (SWT) and the world around us. If you ask me, I think everyone should pause and reflect on the simplest of details.

To be a Hero

I don’t think it's far-fetched to say that everyone has dreams of being a hero. When I was younger, this meant fantasies of running into burning buildings to save babies, wielding a magic sword and taming dragons, and my favourite daydream of all: gaining superpowers and saving the world from evil bad guys. 

Now that I’m older, this concept of being a ‘hero’ is less glamorous. If anything, I’d almost completely forgotten about it. But when I dwelled more on the idea of why I’d chosen medicine, it really did always fall back to ‘wanting to help people’.  It’s cliché, I know, but in the end I could never let go of the innate altruistic desires of my childhood. I do believe that all paths of life a person takes have the potential to contribute to the saving of lives, but medicine (or health care roles in general) can be more overt in its contribution. 

مَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَآ أَحْيَا ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًۭا ۚ 

and whoever saves a life, it will be as if they saved all of humanity. 

Surah Al-Ma'idah  (5:32) 

What a privilege it is that we have been given this opportunity to strive to one day help save the lives of our fellow human beings. 

Life and Death

At night, I sometimes like to look up at the stars. The artificial lighting due to urbanisation makes it difficult to spot anything, yet if I concentrate hard enough, I can identify Orion’s belt and with it Polaris, the North Star.  

This crude astronomy knowledge, remnants of a long-gone childhood dream to become an astronaut, feel like a rare constant in this ever-changing world. However, each time I look up at the sky, I cannot help but wonder, which of these specks of stars are already long dead? Could I just be seeing imagery of the past, courtesy of the light-travel time delay? Can I even personify and attribute ‘death’ to stars?  

كُلُّ نَفْسٍۢ ذَآئِقَةُ ٱلْمَوْتِ ۖ ثُمَّ إِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُونَ ٥٧

Every soul will taste death, then to Us you will ˹all˺ be returned.

Surah Al-'Ankabut (29:57)

Medicine is no stranger to the concept of death. It is something we are exposed to from the start, be it through lectures, the cadaver lab, or on placement. Death is an inevitable and unequivocal truth, but it should not be perceived with as much taboo as it does nowadays. Some may argue that the medicalisation of death has made it seem like an ailment rather than a fact of life that eventually greets all of us.     

In islam, death is not the termination of life, but the start of the next - in the grave and then in paradise (inshallah).

 

Ever since I was fluent enough to read the quran on my own, one of my favourite passages has to be:

يَـٰٓأَيَّتُهَا ٱلنَّفْسُ ٱلْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ ٢٧ ٱرْجِعِىٓ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةًۭ مَّرْضِيَّةًۭ ٢٨ فَٱدْخُلِى فِى عِبَـٰدِى ٢٩ وَٱدْخُلِى جَنَّتِى ٣٠

˹(Allah will say to the righteous),˺ “O tranquil soul! (27) Return to your Lord, well pleased ˹with Him˺ and well pleasing ˹to Him˺(28). So join My servants (29), and enter My Paradise. (30)”

Surah al Fajr (89:27-30)

For those of us with peace in our hearts, and a strong iman, there is nothing to fear in death. So strive to be that person that Allah will call to on the day of judgement and welcome into the warm embrace of eternal salvation. 

A Desire Path to the Masjid

To begin with, what is a ‘Desire Path’?

Wikipedia defines it as: ‘an unplanned small trail formed by erosion caused by human or animal traffic. The path usually represents the shortest or the most easily navigated route between an origin and destination.’

One time, on my way to the Masjid, I couldn't help but notice that the path that I'd used wasn't the paved road but rather the downtrodden mud path between the grass. It struck me how instinctively I’d opted to use this path rather than to walk around the grass on the pavement. In a way, this could be used as a metaphor for life. 

Islam is a lifestyle and a life-long journey of betterment. None of use are perfect muslims, if we were, we would simply not be human. Not everyone will go down the same path, and not everyone will follow the path that you nor I will follow. 

وَعَنْ أَنَسٍ ‏- رضى الله عنه ‏- قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اَللَّهِ ‏- صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏-{ كُلُّ بَنِي آدَمَ خَطَّاءٌ, وَخَيْرُ اَلْخَطَّائِينَ اَلتَّوَّابُونَ } أَخْرَجَهُ اَلتِّرْمِذِيُّ, وَابْنُ مَاجَهْ, وَسَنَدُهُ قَوِيٌّ.‏ 1‏ .‏

‏1 ‏- حسن.‏ رواه الترمذي (2499)‏، وابن ماجه (2451)‏.‏

Anas (RAA) narrated that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: “All the children of Adam are sinners, but the best of sinners are those who repent often.” Related by At·Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah with a strong chain of narrators.

Regardless of which path a person takes, our job as a community is to encourage one another and aid one another in bettering our selves. It would be counterproductive to just insult someone and claim they are outside the folds of religion just because they are not on the same perceived level of ‘piety’ as ourselves. 

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌۭ مِّن قَوْمٍ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَكُونُوا۟ خَيْرًۭا مِّنْهُمْ وَلَا نِسَآءٌۭ مِّن نِّسَآءٍ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَكُنَّ خَيْرًۭا مِّنْهُنَّ ۖ وَلَا تَلْمِزُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا۟ بِٱلْأَلْقَـٰبِ ۖ بِئْسَ ٱلِٱسْمُ ٱلْفُسُوقُ بَعْدَ ٱلْإِيمَـٰنِ ۚ وَمَن لَّمْ يَتُبْ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ ١١

O believers! Do not let some people among you ridicule others, they may be better than them, nor let ˹some˺ women ridicule other women, they may be better than them. Do not defame one another, nor call each other by offensive nicknames. How evil it is to act rebelliously after having faith! And whoever does not repent, it is they who are the ˹true˺ wrongdoers.

Surah al-Hujrat (49:11) 

فَلَا تُزَكُّوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ ۖ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰٓ ٣٢

So do not ˹falsely˺ elevate yourselves. He knows best who is ˹truly˺ righteous.

Surah An-Najm (53:32)

At the end of the day, either path I’d have chosen to take would have still led me to my destination: the masjid. 

So, strive to keep your intentions pure, and may these intentions guide us all on the straight path to heaven (jannah), inshallah. 

That’s all from me!

Thank you for reading. 

Jazakum allahu khair

Minnah Issa.