Doc Ahmad Hajiri

Bismillah. Ramadhan or the month of fasting for Muslims is now fast approaching. And for a country where non-Muslims dominate the population, there are always some point in time where a lot of people are getting curious of what really Ramadhan is. What do Muslims do in this month? Why is it so special to them? What can non-Muslims do to appreciate this month? And how can non-Muslims appropriately join in with their celebration? To have a short reading on need-to-know-about-Ramadhan, please visit my post: Ramadhan for Non-Muslim s . And in this post, we will talk about answering the question stated earlier: What can non-Muslims do during Ramadhan? Here is a list of things that non-Muslims can do and should avoid doing, from one Muslim’s personal experiences in living in a place where non-Muslims are the majority.  What you can do: 1.   Know who are Muslims around you. Before Ramadhan kicks in, keeping in mind who are Muslims around you--in your neighborhood...

Bismillah Last June 9, 2013 I was fortunate to be part of a Pre-Ramadhan Symposium, Alhamdulillah. This was organized by our Muslim Student Association-Alumni brothers and sisters from different campuses and in coordination with the Islam in Focus (IIF) Productions-Manila . The symposium themed: “Virtues of the Holy month of Ramadhan” was held at Kapatiran-Kaunlaran Foundation, Inc., at Sampaloc, Manila from 1:30 to 5 PM. The symposium, although simple, was attended by more than a hundred Muslim brothers and sisters throughout Manila. Sheikh Ahmad Javier (in black shirt) with the other ulama during the symposium There were two main lectures followed by the usual open-forum part. The first lecture entitled “Virtues of Ramadhan” by Sheikh Ahmad Javier who is also the director of IIF-Manila. He talked about the great value every Muslim should place on Ramadhan and we should never let Ramadhan pass us by without us reaping its bountiful rewards. He also emphasized...

Bismillah the Island of Siasi with Bud Siasi on the background Last summer I spent more than a week in Siasi, a smaller island in Sulu. I went there not to spend a wonderful vacation with my family, but to do something bigger, something greater: to conduct my first one-week community immersion! As one of the Regionalization Program (RP) students in the college, we were required to return to our community every summer and conduct our own community immersions before the next school year begins. This is one of the requirements that we have to accomplish for us to be allowed to enroll for the next Learning Unit (or year level). And so, being one of the only two students (out of 160) representing ARMM in our batch, I chose Siasi, Sulu to be my immersion site for the next five years of my stay in Medschool (in shaa Allah), and perhaps until I become a licensed physician someday (Ameen). Now, what did I do in my one-week stay in Siasi? I might not be able to tell all the th...

Bismillah In tiyap-tiyap panagnaan subay tuud pagsaddiyahan. Mataud jumatu amun dih ta kaingatan, bang kita wayruun nakasaddiya asal. Ha wala’ pa dimatung in kunsum, subay ha biháun pa kaingatan mu na bang unu in tudjuhun mu. Ha supaya bang dumatung na in adlaw yadtu, di’ nakaw maglawag pa sin dán, bang harap kaw pakain. Subay ra isab pagsaddiyahan in kaibanan manga prublima manjari jumatu ha susungun, ha supaya makasaddiya da isab kaw.  Biya’ da isab sin kabuhi’ iban kamatay. Ha wala’ pa dimatung in kamatay subay saddiya na kita bang unu in hinangun bang in waktu yadtu dumatung na. Tumtumun ta sin in kita ini dih da laung maglugay diy ha dunya ini. Misan pa ayn biya’diin in daya mu, in taud sin sinapang mu, in taud sin lahasiya’ mu, in kusug sin kawasa mu, tantu in katan yan ha panagnaan sadja. Di’ da lumugay, dumatung da isab in hinapusan niya. Malawa’ da sila katan. Biya’ sin dunya ini, biya’ da sin kabuhi’ mu, tantu awn hinapusan niya. Asal in tiyap-tiyap panagnaa...

Bismillah. Every year, there comes a very special visitor that Muslims are always looking up to. This is a very special event that lasts for one month: the Holy Month of Ramadhan. As this month draws near, you will see most Muslims getting more excited and eager for the first day of that month to come. This is one of the mysteries that non-Muslims are always curious about. What is Ramadhan? What is so special about it? Why do Muslims celebrate with joy when Ramadhan comes? In shaa Allah this post will answer these questions posted by our non-Muslim friends so that when this year’s Ramadhan comes, they will be more aware about it. What is Ramadhan? Ramadhan is the 9 th month of the Hijra or Islamic Calendar. This is one of the special months for Muslims wherein one of the five fundamental pillars of Islam happens: As-sawmu Ramadhan or fasting in the whole duration of Ramadhan. For 29 to 30 days, Muslims would abstain from eating, drinking, having sexual contact with their ...

Bismillah. “Ahmad! What were you thinking! Why did you decide to make your first 3 weeks in LU-4 in utter toxicity?!” Well, that was what I thought before the first day of my second year in Medicine started when I accepted the offer of becoming a Liaison Officer (LO) of our first subject/course for this year: HS202 Biopsychosocial Dimensions of Illness or BDI... They call this level as “HELL-U 4” because of the hellish experiences you students will experience compared to LU3 (freshmen year), and I already made my first week hellish than the rest of the class by being an LO. But as that first day as an LO came to an end, I finally realized why I accepted that challenge… I wanted to try it. I know being an LO is not a good joke. You have to coordinate with the professors from different departments for their class schedules, announcements and exams. This first module will be composed of 5 different departments namely: Departments of Pathology, Parasitology, Microbiology, Psychia...

Bismillah. Ha lawm lima minit sumulat aku, In shaa Allah… sin unu-unu na in sumuwd pa lawm utuk ku, hisulat, hitayp mari… sari na madtu magkulang-maglabi. Biháun “kahawa” in mabaya’ ku pagbissarahan. Unu baha’ in awn ha kahawa mayta matagi in manga Bangsa Sug kaniya ini. Bang kaw madtu pa tiyanggi nalibut kaw sin kahawahan. Luba na bang kaw madtu pa kagimbahan, misan wayruun tinda magdaragang dih da malawa’ in kahawa ha kakusinahan sin mga tau. Basta laung niya awn da Tausug duun, awn na hadja Kahawa Sug (Native coffee).  Mapasu’-pasu’ pa… nag-aasu… huyup-huyupun ampa higupun madtu… aruuu rayang, way na mabisa dayng hadtu… Depende na kaymu bang kaw mabaya’ mapait-pait, atawa maimu’-imu’… atawa kan tublak-tublakan mu pa sin tinapay,.. na! Masarap sayan magkahawa bang mahaba’ in pag-isturihan niyu, sibu’ da kan tau maas atawa manga tambay ha higad dan… basta awn kahawa iban bang-bang sug atawa juwalan, OKs na, wayna paglawag dugaing ha butangan. Misan bihayni in i...

Bismillah. Alhamdulillah, another year in Medschool had just started. It’s June already and I still can’t believe that I am already done with my first year, and I am now starting my second year here in UP College of Medicine. Really, I am still grasping the truth that those were not dreams at all! Am I still dreaming? The letter I received carrying the Good news Alhamdulillah. I can still remember last year, some days before the results of the official List of students accepted to the UPCM will be released (these 160 guys and gals will later be known as the UPCM Class 2017). I was getting anxious and hopeless then, as days go by and I still haven’t received any confirmations from them. UPCM was the only Med-school I applied for (because I am so lazy working on another application papers) and most of the students who applied are all exceptional (and except for me). And due to the impending desperation then, I already started filling-up another application form from another...