Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Homeward Bound

Alhamdulillah my short stay in Cork is coming to a close, and my purpose in coming here has come to a satisfactory conclusion. By the Grace and Blessings of ALLAH Almighty I have managed to revive Haniff's condition to a stable level which marks the first step towards normalcy in his disposition. today 21 Rejab 1431 Hijriah /23 June 2011 will be recorded in my diary as the turning point in our lives when Haniff shall travel to Dublin accompanied by Cik Afidah Arshad, the Embassy official who had tirelessly assisted in the management of Haniff's situation since he was overwhelmed by his inability to cope up with the rigorous demands of his course of studies at UCC which is one of the finest and established University in Ireland who had produced thousands of graduates in the field of Medicine and distinguished themselves in the profession all over the world.

From my vantage viewpoint the School of Medicine in UCC is one of the best Schools in it's area of specialization because the curriculum is an amalgam of theory and practice right from day one for students who chose Medicine as their choice of discipline. Haniff arrived in 2004 and underwent the Pre-Med year and along the way the curriculum was changed from the traditional syllabus of Pre-clinical and Clinical years was changed go an integrated one. Thus if he had graduated this year (discounting the repeat years in 2007 and 2010) he would have been amongst the first batch to graduate on the new module. But fate had it that Haniff suffered a bout of depression last August and Hasnul, my eldest son came to see him and that put back Haniff on track to continue his endeavor. Just before his fourth year exams, he was barred from taking it due to insufficient class attendences and other reasons best known to the School and this put him back to the situation back in August 2010. Indeed it was the last straw that breaks the camels back and I had to come here and sort out his situation,and what took place on June 11, 2011 was the most traumatic experience in my whole adult life and it was only my Faith on ALLAH's Will that saved the day for me and Nasimah. I shall never forget that fateful day in my life, where I had to grapple with my emotions, overwhelmed by the sight of Haniff crouched in his blankets on the cold floor of the Store in his house, oblivious of his surroundings and totally devastated at what was happening in his quest for that piece of paper which would have been conferred to him on the week of our arrival in Cork. Nevertheless I am going to pull him back from the precept and believe you me I am going to put him back to normalcy even if it is going to put my life on the line. There is no greater disappointment in my life greater than my inability to be with him when we were needed most, and this is it. I supplicate to ALLAH Almighty that I am given the Will and the strength to do what has to be done to come out like a Phoenix arising from the ashes. It has been proven many a times that one's failure is the motivation to one's success too because a wise person does not consider a fall to be a finality in this World of Challenges whereby only the fittest shall survive and also Thrive. QED.

8 comments:

Al-Manar said...

If only we could take a time machine to get to, say, year 2040, I have very little doubt to see the beautiful twist in fate that brought him to that year. He would very likely smile and raise his hands to say, "Thank You, ya Allah, for brining me to where I am. And how I made my dear parents worry."

Have faith.

abdulhalimshah said...

PakCik,
Alhamdulillah,by the Grace and Compassion of ALLAH, I am back home with my son beside me and in his welcoming room which he occupied whenever he was home for his holidays. Now he is more at home with his familiar surroundings, the house where he grew up as a child. It is not for nothing the adage which said that there is no place like home. The journey in life for us is entering a new vista.Allahuakbar.

kaykuala said...

Dear Hal,
I'm glad things get sorted out. It's not out of the woods but then who are anyway? Things tend to come to wonderful conclusions given the support and the time. Both are there now. Best wishes for the future. ALLAH the Almighty will show the way.

abdulhalimshah said...

Dear Hank,
Thank you for the timely and soothing comment. How relieved I am that I made that divine inspired decision to go and undertake that rescue mission and as if everything was on cue,after my father's passing away I had to come to grips with another almost untenable situation. It is the Sign of HIS Benificence and Greatness that we are back home safe and sound.From here we have to have the sense of direction and purposeful endeavor in pursuing our goals in life and have Faith in ourselves and finally be accountable to our Creator, Amin!

norzah said...

All's well that ends well, Akhi. What Allah has determined for us we cannot change but we can adapt our attitude in accepting it. Allah promised that the end will always be better than the beginning. So let's work towards that with full supplication (keredhaan). Best wishes fir a full recovery to Hanif.

abdulhalimshah said...

Akhi,
Thank you for the encouragement which is spot on. I could not have held my own if not for the term ' Redha' which has no equivalence in English except in the being of acceptance. It is more than that, and that is the beauty of Islam which attests our Faith in the Rabb,the Almighty.

Nasrul Hisham Bakar said...

Assalamualaikum Uncle Halim,

I am sorry to read of your family's ordeal. Your son is obviously an intelligent young man for him to get the scholarship in the first place. The priority now is to rehabilitate his 'semangat'.

There was once a time I was in a predicament. Needless to say my parents were worried sick. But my father gently prodded me to open up to him. There was never any hint of disappointment, anger or judgement in his voice when he spoke to me then. His kindness and patience really brought me a new lease of hope. We spend many hours together talking together, plotting my comeback. We tried many avenues, many failed but at least we tried. During those trying times my father became more than a father, he was my friend. With the grace of Allah, things got better. Windows of opportunity opened until Alhamdullilah I am independent today. Those trying times tought me many things. Ironically, I often look back at those times for motivation. It was a time for me to to know myself. It was an opportunity for me get closer to my parents. It was in fact a gift from Allah. I will always remember those long chats with my father....

Good Luck Uncle Halim & family.

abdulhalimshah said...

Waalaykumsalam Hisham,
You have given me a very important lead which is extremely useful in giving me the motivation to chart out my path in giving the necessary fillip for Haniff to find new avenues in his quest for a career that will fit into his scheme of things. What you said is true and I am grateful for that input. With ALLAH's Grace and Blessings, Haniff is back to himself and now starting afresh with more vigour and eager to face the challenges of life that shall be always be there and only his will-power can overcome most of them. Thanks a million.