Interview for Socscistan

To view or download the article, click here. :)

 

- Socscistan, 2009 -

The Blessed

How blessed are they,

Born with a silver spoon

In their mouth,

Never in need

Of anything

Except for

You.

How blessed are they,

Born with such beauty

In their being,

Never in need

Of anything

Except for

You.

How blessed are they,

Born with such intelligence

In their mind,

Never in need

Of anything

Except for

You.

How blessed am I,

Born with no wealth,

Beauty, nor intelligence,

Just so that

For my mere existence,

I can be grateful to

You.

- Faizal, S. S., 2010 -

An Excerpt from "The Heart" (2)

My heart

That has been given to the One and only

Who will always be there for me.

Yet my weak heart

Continues to be stricken with impurities

That threatens my love. 

- Faizal, S. S., 2010 -

Heroines in Islam

To view or download the article, click here. :)

- The Muslim Reader, 2009 -

5 Study Tips for Online Courses

I am currently volunteering as a teaching assistant for a new course at SeekersGuidance: Meccan Dawn: The Life of the Beloved Prophet Muhammad (registration is still open!) and I have just posted some study tips from which the students will hopefully be able to benefit, insha-Allah. Thought that I would post them here too :)

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Online classes are different from the usual “real-life” classes in that it is flexible—it can be done anywhere, especially in the comfort of your own home, and anytime to fit your busy schedule. However, this flexibility can easily become a disadvantage if you are not careful with developing an effective method of learning. Here are some tips (in the following chronological order) that you can keep in mind so as to benefit the most out of online courses, insha-Allah. 

1) Intend

It is important to have the right intention when taking any action, so the first thing that you have to ask yourself would be, “Why am I taking this course?” If your answer is anything but along the lines of seeking knowledge that will benefit yourself in this life and the hereafter or to get closer to Allah SWT, then take a moment to reflect and rethink your intentions. If you truly seek knowledge with pure and sincere intentions (ikhlas), insha-Allah He will facilitate things for you as you embark on this jihad to seek knowledge. Having sincere intentions will also give you the motivation to be disciplined and persevere when the going gets tough, insha-Allah.

2) Listen

After ensuring that you have the right intentions, it is now time to take the right actions. Set aside a consistent time period in the week to listen to the audio lectures, so that it will be like a regular weekly class. In this way, you would not have an excuse to procrastinate and fall behind on the lessons. More importantly, don’t just be a passive listener; engage in active listening by paying attention, taking down key points, and thinking critically about what you are listening to. Active listening will not only help you to encode the information better in your memory, and hence, making it easier to retain and retrieve it when you need it, but it will also help you to formulate meaningful questions that could possibly benefit everyone when you ask the instructor, insha-Allah.

3) Participate

Active listening would be futile if you do not participate actively in your online course by asking critical questions and contributing your ideas, perspectives, and comments on the subject that you are learning. After all, just because it is an online class, it does not mean that learning has to be an individual endeavour. It is in your best interest to participate regularly in the online forums or discussions with the instructor and other students; not only is it an excellent way to ask questions and get answers, it also helps you to develop the feeling that you are part of a real class, which could help you to stay motivated and disciplined to keep on track with your learning. With active participation, everyone can gain great insights from one another, much like in a real class, insha-Allah. 

Best of all, as participation is done online with an element of anonymity, you do not have to feel intimidated or upstaged by students who can think or speak faster than you like in a real-life class; you can take all of the time you need to think your ideas through and compose a response before posting your comments to your class. Thus, never hesitate to ask questions if you need clarifications about what you are learning and to participate in class discussions. Nonetheless, even with online anonymity in these forums, it is important to maintain adab, or the proper etiquette of politeness and respect when interacting with your classmates and instructors. Adab is necessary for a productive and conducive online learning environment, and you will find that your participation will be much valued by the instructor and other students, insha-Allah. 

4) Review

Active listening and participation in your course means that half of the battle is won, insha-Allah. The next step would be to review consistently what you have learned as the weeks go by. This is important for several reasons: first, so that it will refresh your memory and facilitate remembering in the future what you have learned, i.e., you will not forget easily what you have learned; second, so that you will be able to spot any important issue or question that you might have overlooked in the past and bring it up to the instructor and your classmates before it is too late; and third, so that you will be able to reflect upon what you have learned. Remember, you are looking to encode the knowledge that you have learned into your long-term memory, and not just in your short-term memory; consistent reviews will help you to do that, insha-Allah. 

5) Apply

Lastly, find ways to apply what you have learned to everyday life situations as this will help you to internalize what you are learning, thereby ensuring that you are truly benefiting from the knowledge that you are seeking, insha-Allah. Don’t forget to contribute and exchange ideas on such real-life applications of knowledge with your classmates via the online forums or discussions available so that everyone, including you, will be able to benefit from the experiences of one another, insha-Allah.

These tips are certainly not exhaustive and as you gain more experience with online courses, you might just come up with your own tips on achieving success with them. May Allah SWT help guide us in our efforts to seek knowledge, and as the du’a goes, fill our hearts and minds with true enlightenment, discerning intelligence, quick understanding, and knowledge, ameen. 

Siti Syuhada: My Lady of the Martyrs

Over the years, many have asked me about the meaning of my name, and I have always enjoyed telling a mini-story to accompany my response to that question. It was only a couple of years ago that I had found out my first name <Siti> meant <my lady> in Arabic, or a title for a noble woman; I had always taken for granted that it was a common first name for girls in Singapore and never bothered to check what it meant. Imagine how pleased I was to find out that people have been calling me their "Lady" all this while, masha-Allah!

My middle name <Syuhada>, however, gets reactions that lie on a continuum of "amazement" to "awkwardness". In Arabic, <Syuhada> is the plural of <Syahid>, a noun which has two meanings: 1) a witness (to the truth of Islam) 2) a martyr who has sacrificed his life in jihad fi sabilillah, or in striving in the way of Allah. With suicide bombers being the most popular stereotype of Muslim martyrs in the media, it can get rather awkward when I tell people what my middle name means. A stereotype is, as always, a misconstrued concept as the syuhada in Islam comprise many kinds and not just those who die at war, e.g., even mothers who die at childbirth; giving birth is said to be a jihad for the risks a mother takes to bring a child into the world require so much courage that should she die, she deserves a place in heaven just like the warriors who had fought and died for Allah SWT or the early Muslims who refused to renounce their religion and had to die for that, may Allah SWT be pleased with all of them. Many would be surprised to know that seeking knowledge is a form of jihad, or struggle, too. Even then, one can hardly be surprised at the reactions to me being called <my lady of the martyrs>. Once, a Palestinian read my name card and immediately chuckled, asking me if I knew what my name meant; I could only give a wry smile in response and nod knowingly.

I was to have been named <Siti NurJannah>, which would have meant <my lady of the light of heaven>, but my cousin had suggested to my parents to name me after her friend who shares the same birthday as me, hence the current name. While I am grateful for that, alhamdulillah, I do wonder how I would turn out if I had been named something else. Other girls get named after flowers, adjectives of beauty and gentleness etc., and I get such a strong name that would be extremely hard to live up to, for one can only imagine the prestige of being the lady of the martyrs, all of whom have been promised a place in heaven for sacrificing their lives in the way of Allah SWT. Indeed, Allah SWT knows best and may He guide me to live up to my name, ameen.

Chasing Your Dreams

An article for Teens' Crossroads that I wrote two years ago. How time flies, masha-Allah. :)

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We all have our dreams, be they big or small, seemingly impossible or within reach, yet how many of us go all out to chase them? Caught up in our own worldly obligations – school, work, family – we all struggle to juggle these responsibilities and still have enough time left to rest. At least, that seems to be more or less the story for the average Joe or Jane, i.e., us, for in spite of it all, the world never seems to run out of inspiring stories about people who rise above the occasion to fulfill their dreams. Who can forget that golden moment when Michael Phelps got his eighth Olympics gold medal, making him the first in history to do so? Closer to home, what about Hady Mirza, our Singapore Idol, who went on to win Asian Idol? JK Rowling, a famous author, was barely making ends meet when she finally hit jackpot with the Harry Potter series. These are people, who started out just like any other ordinary person, and yet they managed to fulfill their dreams. What about us? Where do we begin the first few lines of our very own inspiring story?

Take that First Step – Dream 

Before we begin on a quest to chase our dreams, we need to first have one. This dream of ours will be that goal we keep in mind as we live day-to-day. When was the last time you let your thoughts run wild and think of the possibilities that you could be in the future? Some people dream big; they wish to win an Olympics gold medal/ get on the Guinness Book of World Records/ be a famous Hollywood actor/ win the Nobel Prize/ be a millionaire/ (insert your dream). Some prefer more realistic goals, such as to pass their exams with flying colours, get into a top university, be a doctor, start a family or even help the poor. What is important here is to remember that it is not the size of our dream that matters, it is to have one, any one that we have chosen ourselves, instead of something that our parents chose for us. Just as it does not matter whether we want to be an artist, a photographer, a writer, a scientist or even a teacher, what matters is that we strive to be the best in our chosen field. Indeed, no matter how people may belittle your dream, it is your dream. You will be the one chasing after it, so make sure it is something that you really want!  

Make a Plan

Now that you have your dream, make a plan on how to achieve it. It can be as specific as a daily to-do list or as broad as a five-year plan. For example, Joanne Chan, 22, an SMU (Singapore Management University) undergraduate in her final year, dreams to work in the United Nations so that she can make a difference to the poor in the world. As part of her plan to fulfill that dream, she is studying political science and saving up for a Masters; in the meantime, she plans to gain experience by getting a job with an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization). On the other hand, if you dream to be a journalist, your plan could include enrolling in a mass communications course or doing an internship with the local newspaper. At this point, the lazy bums in us might argue that it is futile to make such plans as getting your dreams fulfilled depends on circumstances or luck. This is not entirely true because as the adage goes, where there is a will, there is certainly a way. Your plan serves a mental guide on the choices you need to make in the future so as to inch closer to your dream. As Joanne said, “Your dream is not going to come up to you and say, “Here I am!”” You need to chase after it, and having a plan is just like having a map to facilitate the chase. 

Find the Courage to Take Risks – Just Do It!

            As one of my favourite quotes go, “The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do” (Sarah Ban Breathnach). It is not enough to dream and plan; we need to summon up the courage to take the risk to follow our plan. It is indeed a huge risk that we are taking to follow our dreams because along the way, obstacles might appear that dishearten us and seeds of doubt start to be sowed. Not only that, some of us might need to take the road less travelled in order to pursue our dreams. Nonetheless, it is worse not to do anything about our dreams while we are still young, for we will then look back on regret when we are older and think about what could have been had we taken that risk to make the first move towards fulfilling our dreams. Bill Gates, a multi-billionaire and the founder of Microsoft Corporation, took the courage to quit college at Harvard to start his own business. Remember, you should not be taking risks blindly; he certainly had a plan on what to do upon quitting college. Most successful people are risk-takers and dare to be different to pursue their dreams; that is what makes them stand out from the rest.

Final Step – Have Faith                

                                                                                                       

            Finally, because all this is easier said than done, thus, even with a seemingly foolproof plan, it is essential to have faith, or tawakkal, that Allah SWT will help you to fulfill your dreams, as long as they are based on good intentions. One can only do one’s best in following one’s plans and then tawakkal with regards to the outcome. When things do not go according to plan, have faith that Allah SWT has better plans for you and persevere in pursuing your dreams. At the same time, do not get too consumed in chasing your dreams that you neglect your loved ones and other things that you like to do. A balanced life with your loved ones giving you support is essential to keep your feet on the ground, especially when you are nearing success. With plenty of du’a, faith and a never-say-die attitude, Insya-Allah you will be able to fulfill your dreams and be that extraordinary person who made something of his short existence on Earth.

As part of her plan to fulfill her dream of becoming an inspiring intellectual, making a difference in the world (and winning the Nobel Prize along the way), the writer is currently doing her Masters in Psychology at the National University of Singapore on a research scholarship and is applying to graduate schools overseas. She has to admit that the road to earning a PhD is definitely not as easy as it seems but she is blessed to be surviving with lots and lots of faith in Allah SWT and His plans for her!