Date: July 23, 2022
The Initiative on Islam and Medicine (II&M)(https://www.medicineandislam.org/overview/) located in Brookfield, Wisconsin, conducts research on Islam and Biomedicine. Their research programs are focused on the theological, social, and biomedical aspects of religion and medicine and are meant to benefit the health of American Muslims and also in the development of an academic, multidisciplinary field of Islamic Bioethics. They support and provide scholarships to healthcare providers and religious leaders and act as a platform for impactful research and tailored education. Additionally, II&M provides educational opportunities, workshops, consultations, courses and certifications, medical student internships, and hosts events that facilitate the participation of medical and social scientists, Islamic studies experts, and Islamic scholars. After extensive pilot testing and methodical curation, as claimed by II&M, they have announced the launch of a self-paced, multi-modal course named “An Introduction to the Field of Islamic Bioethics”(https://www.medicineandislam.org/bioethics-course/) This course is said to benefit Muslim clinicians, healthcare practitioners, medical students and trainees, chaplains, religious leaders, bioethicists, and patients and is based on II&M’s principles of data-driven, theologically appropriate, and research-tested intellectual resources to engage with contemporary healthcare. The course will introduce learners to: * Critical concepts in Islamic theology and law that undergird normative ethical frameworks * Scholarly discussions regarding the methods, content, and scope of Islamic bioethics and * Extant normative rulings and discursive products of applied Islamic bioethics relate to end-of-life care, organ donation, and reproductive health. This course is based on adult learning theory and is a 10-module course that runs in 4-months cohorts. It involves: * Specially curated lectures and readings that allow for active learning as participants engage with the source material of Islamic bioethics, * Summative lectures that hit on the key points from the material with added experiential commentary and explanation from a practicing clinician, clinical ethicist, health policy consultant, and scholar * Short quick-hitting reflection questions and quizzes that allow for the learning to be concretized Additionally, the course yields 16.5 CME and MOC credits for physicians. At the completion of the course, participants will be able to: * Describe the sources of Islamic morality * Identify the producers, consumers, and the discursive material of Islamic bioethics * Describe the contentions around what constitutes the "Islamic" in Islamic bioethics * Apply critical analysis skills to decipher gaps in the Islamic bioethics discourse * Delineate the major Islamic juridical views on end-of-life healthcare, organ donation, and reproductive health Register now(https://www.medicineandislam.org/bioethics-course/) for the course at II&M’s website and avail of the introductory 50% discount.
The Quran is a guidance for humanity. It is the eternal and literal word of Allah. It is a divine book of wisdom, commands, and laws with instructions for nearly every aspect of life. It was revealed about 1500 years ago, on the heart of prophet Muhammad (SAW) over a period of 23 years through angel Jibril. It is divided into 30 sections (juz), 114 chapters (surahs) and over 6000 verses (ayahs). There are numerous benefits to reading Quran. Just a few are listed below: 1. To understand the purpose of life. Why are we here? Why did Allah create us? _"We have not created jinns and mankind except to worship Me."_(Quran, 51:56) 2. To receive guidance on how to please Allah with our lives. The only way to know what Allah wants of us is to read His word. _"This is The Book in which there is no doubt. It is a guide for those who are God conscious."_(Quran, 2:2) 3. To attain Jannah and avoid Allah's wrath. Allah teaches us how to live and conduct ourselves in the Quran. _"Shall We then treat the People of Faith like the People of Sin?"_(Quran, 68:35) 4. To increase in Iman. _"The true believers are those whose hearts tremble with fear, when the name of Allah is mentioned, and And when His verses are recited to them, it increases their faith and they put their trust in their Rabb."_(Quran, 8:2) 5. To receive intercession on the day of judgement. Muhammad (SAW) said, "Recite the Quran for it will come as an intercessor for its people on the day of judgement." (Muslim) 6. To cleanse the heart. _"Oh mankind! There has come to you an instruction from your Rabb, a cure for whatever (disease) is in your hearts, a guidance and a blessing for the true believers."_ (Quran, 10:57) 7. To learn what happens after death. _"The righteous will surely be in bliss while the wicked will indeed go to hell."_(Quran, 82:13-14) 8. To be rewarded. "Whoever reads a letter from the Book of Allah will have a reward. And that reward will be multiplied by ten." (Tirmizi) Muhammad (SAW) also said, "One who recites the Quran beautifully, smoothly and precisely will be in the company of noble angels. As for the one who recites it with difficulty, stammering or stumbling through its verses, he will have twice that reward." 9. To be the best of the best. Muhammad (SAW) said, "The best among you are those who learn the Quran and teach it to others." (Sahih al-Bukhari) The Alim Foundation: NPS / NH; September 29, 2020
Read MoreHiba Masood a writer, speaker and a story teller talks about her Baba's influence in teaching Quran and its holy threads in her wonderful opinion piece "Baba, The Quran and Me". When she was in her younger age, she had to recite Quran every day, that her Baba taught her to do so without fail. She memorizes her childhood experience in the holy month of Ramadan as well as her Baba's powerful Ramadan experiences. Her Baba looked after all his children with extreme care. She had not faced poverty or any other means difficulties in life. Baba used to talk about his life and his days spent with his eight brothers and sisters used to look like. They were like in abject poverty, splitting one bowl of food for Iftar amongst a family of eleven and so on. Baba used to say that once all the work is done, you should recite Quran in every single possible minute. Every letter you recite during Ramadan has 70 times the regular reward? That means every letter, like saying Alif, gets you seven hundred good deeds. Years passed and with all the impetuous, rebellion of youth, of spending my days in smoke-filled rooms, strategizing with socialist/activists, and my evenings protesting against the Iraq war on the frozen streets of Toronto. Of not praying at all, of not so much as glancing towards the dusty shelf where my Qur'an sat the entire year. Next year Hiba got married and her brand new husband got astonished by her behavior and activities. She never proper placed her shoes and she always misplaced her cell phone. And she blessed with a baby boy just before the month of holy Ramadan. And there have many, many more years filled with anxiety, scary financial strain and a stormy marriage of sickness and grief. Years passed with no changes. Hiba recited Quran verses just as a routine, or just like fasting in the month of Ramadan without knowing the rewards of reciting. At last wisdom came to her brain at the age of thirty and she started to settle in life. Slowly, as an enthusiastically expected reconnection, she started reciting Quran well to Allah to the Qur'an to her childhood, to her father and to herself. Now her beloved father is aging and sick and she is in great agony by thinking about her sick dad. She used to caress his dad's grey hair, press her cheeks to his. She says that she misses him a lot and she is afraid of the future. But most of all, she whisper her gratitude. Gratitude for gifting her so freely all the things, all the lessons, all the beliefs, all the forces of habit and inspiring stories and abiding, enriching traditions that have blessed her life. Ultimately he was the lighthouse when he was able.
Read MoreWe are in the blessed month of Ramadan, the month of fasting, extra prayers, and charity. Our Creator, Allah SWT, requires us to fulfill our obligation to (1) Him, the Lord of the universe, and (2) his creation, with humans being the most important of those creations. We can accomplish this by (1) worshipping Allah and (2) giving charity (both obligatory and voluntary). Both Zakah and Zakat al-Fitr are obligatory upon every Muslim who fulfills the requirements. Zakah means growth, increase and purification. It is a means of cleansing halal income and wealth. It is given once every year, at any time during the year and is required for every person who meets the Nisab. Giving Zakah is a form of worship and a good deed, for which the reward is greatly increased during this blessed month. For this reason, many Muslims prefer to give their required Zakah during Ramadan in order to maximize their rewards. Zakat al-Fitr (or fitrana) is a form of Zakah given during Ramadan to needy, poor, and destitute Muslims in order to give them the means to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. It must be in the hands of the recipient before Eid prayers in order to fulfill its purpose. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of their needs must pay zakat al-Fitr. The Alim Foundation Inc., NMS/NH: May 18, 2020
Read More"When a person dies, his works end, except for three: ongoing charity, knowledge that is benefited from, and a righteous child who prays for him."
Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)
"The best of what a man leaves behind are three: a righteous child who supplicates for him, ongoing charity the reward of which reaches him, and knowledge that is acted upon after him."
Sunan Ibn Mājah
"Every day two angels come down from Heaven and one of them says, 'O Allah! Compensate every person who spends in Your Cause,' and the other (angel) says, 'O Allah! Destroy every miser.'"
Sahih Bukhari