Although medical confidentiality is widely recognized as an essential principle in the therapeutic relationship, its systematic and coherent practice has been an ethically challenging duty upon healthcare providers due to various concerns of clinical, moral, religious, social, ethical and legal natures. Medical confidentiality can be breached to protect the patient and/or others if maintaining confidentiality causes serious harm. Healthcare professionals may encounter complicated situations whereby the divulgence of a patient's confidential information may pose a threat to one party whereas the concealment of such information may cause harm to another. After deliberating on the Islamic concept of harm (ḍarar), this paper focuses on the dual duty and conflicts of interests faced by healthcare professionals in the practice of medical confidentiality. Referring to serious infectious diseases with a special mention of AIDS, this study also provides discourse on how healthcare professionals deal with difficult scenarios of conflicts of interests and ethical dilemmas.
The practice of contemporary medicine has been tremendously influenced by western ideas and it is assumed by many that autonomy is a universal value of human existence. In the World Health Report 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) considered autonomy a “universal” value of human life against which every health system in the world should be judged. Further in Western bioethics, patient autonomy and self -determination prevails in all sectors of social and personal life, a concept unacceptable to some cultures. In principle, there are challenges to the universal validity of autonomy, individualism and secularism, as most non-Western cultures are proud of their communal relations and spiritualistic ethos and, thereby imposing Western beliefs and practices as aforementioned can have deleterious consequences. Religion lies at the heart of most cultures which influences the practice patterns of medical professionals in both visible and unconscious ways. However, religion is mostly viewed by scientists as mystical and without scientific proof. Herein lies the dilemma, whether medical professionals should respect the cultural and religious beliefs of their patients? In this paper we aim to discuss some of the limitations of patient's autonomy by comparing the process of reasoning in western medical ethics and Islamic medical ethics, in order to examine the possibility and desirability of arriving at a single, unitary and universally acceptable notion of medical ethics. We propose a more flexible viewpoint that accommodates different cultural and religious values in interpreting autonomy and applying it in an increasingly multilingual and multicultural, contemporaneous society in order to provide the highest level of care possible.
Jerebu merupakan fenomena pencemaran udara yang memberi impak negatif kepada kesihatan dan kegiatan sosial masyarakat serta negara. Isu jerebu dibincangkan dalam al-Quran iaitu sura al-Dukhan secara menyeluruh. Kertas ini bertujuan menganalisis perbahasan berkaitan masalah jerebu yang disebutkan oleh al-Quran dan tafsiran para sarjana Islam dalam konteks dan sudut pandang Islam. Kertas ini turut membincangkan punca dan kesan berlakunya masalah jerebu daripada perspektif sains. Kajian ini menggunakan kaedah kualitatif iaitu dengan merujuk kepada kaedah transdisiplin daripada perspektif Quran dan sains. Keputusan kajian mendapati terdapat tafsiran para sarjana Islam yang mentafsirkan surah al-Dukhan dan fenomena jerebu yang berlaku pada zaman Rasullullah SAW. Ia merupakan azab dan seksaan kepada kaum Musyrikin disebabkan oleh perbuatan mereka yang enggan menerima ajaran Islam. Fenomena jerebu merupakan peringatan Allah dan pengajaran kepada umat manusia supaya sentiasa taat kepada perintah dan meninggalkan segala larangan-Nya di samping bersama-sama menjaga keharmonian dan kesejahteraan alam semesta ini. Manakala para saintis pula mendapati fenomena jerebu yang berlaku adalah berpunca daripada asap dan habuk kesan daripada aktiviti antropogen dan semula jadi serta kesannya terhadap kesihatan tubuh badan manusia yang mengakibatkan hidung berair, masalah kulit, mata terasa pedih dan berair, batuk, sakit kerongkong, kesukaran untuk bernafas dan kesakitan di bahagian dada.
Diseases involving the nervous system drastically change lives of victims and commonly increase dependency on others. This paper focuses on senile dementia from both the neuroscientific and Islamic perspectives, with special emphasis on the integration of ideas between the two different disciplines. This would enable effective implementation of strategies to address issues involving this disease across different cultures, especially among the world-wide Muslim communities. In addition, certain incongruence ideas on similar issues can be understood better. The former perspective is molded according to conventional modern science, while the latter on the analysis of various texts including the holy Qur'an, sunnah [sayings and actions of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad (pbuh)] and writings of Islamic scholars. Emphasis is particularly given on causes, symptoms, treatments and prevention of dementia.
Napping/siesta during the day is a phenomenon, which is widely practised in the world. However, the timing, frequency, and duration may vary. The basis of napping is also diverse, but it is mainly done for improvement in alertness and general well-being. Neuroscience reveals that midday napping improves memory, enhances alertness, boosts wakefulness and performance, and recovers certain qualities of lost night sleep. Interestingly, Islam, the religion of the Muslims, advocates midday napping primarily because it was a practice preferred by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The objectives of this review were to investigate and compare identical key points on focused topic from both neuroscientific and Islamic perspectives and make recommendations for future researches.
Environmental sustainability is one of the contemporary discourses that has abundant values embedded in the Quran and Sunnah teachings. Islam gives great emphasis on environment as it is preserved and protected under the Maqasid al-Shariah (Objectives of the Islamic Law). The general outlook of Quranic paradigm on utilizing natural environment is based on prohibition of aggression and misuse. It is likewise founded on the construction and sustainable use. Thus, this article attempts to elaborate key concepts of the Quran and Sunnah teachings that reveal imperative values for environmental sustainability. Research method employs in this paper is an analytical study of Quranic verses with special highlights of tafsir bi al-ma'thur (explanation based upon traditions), tafsir bi al-ra'yi (explanation based on reasoning), and historical narrative. In short, this paper brings to light the relevance of classical and contemporary works of Quran and Sunnah studies that have meticulous values for shaping the better world of human-nature's interaction.
Arabic script is highly sensitive to changes in meaning with respect to the accurate arrangement of diacritics and other related symbols. The most sensitive Arabic text available online is the Digital Qur'an, the sacred book of Revelation in Islam that all Muslims including non-Arabs recite as part of their worship. Due to the different characteristics of the Arabic letters like diacritics (punctuation symbols), kashida (extended letters) and other symbols, it is written and available in different styles like Kufi, Naskh, Thuluth, Uthmani, etc. As social media has become part of our daily life, posting downloaded Qur'anic verses from the web is common. This leads to the problem of authenticating the selected Qur'anic passages available in different styles. This paper presents a residual approach for authenticating Uthmani and plain Qur'an verses using one common database. Residual (difference) is obtained by analyzing the differences between Uthmani and plain Quranic styles using XOR operation. Based on predefined data, the proposed approach converts Uthmani text into plain text. Furthermore, we propose to use the Tuned BM algorithm (BMT) exact pattern matching algorithm to verify the substituted Uthmani verse with a given database of plain Qur'anic style. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is useful and effective in authenticating multi-style texts of the Qur'an with 87.1% accuracy.
This study was conducted to identify and describe the patients' perceptions of Islamic medicine based on gender, age, marital, educational level and working status among the Malaysian Muslim population. A nationwide interviewer-administered questionnaire survey was conducted in 2013. An open-ended questionnaire pertaining to Islamic medicine was used to increase the probability of capturing maximum data. This survey implemented a multistage design, stratified by state, proportionate to the size of the state population and was representative of the Malaysian population. Post-survey classification of results was performed accordingly. Complex data analysis was carried out using SPSS 16.0. The discussion was identified and categorised into various sections. The paper concludes that Islamic medicine has a major influence in the Malaysian Muslim community compared to other alternatives. Further, its potential for growth and importance especially for treating spiritual ailments cannot be denied. The respondents indicated that two factors motivate Islamic medicine in Malaysia: (1) the Muslim community opts for alternative healing because of their dissatisfaction with conventional methods; (2) Islamic medicine focuses only on healing spiritual-related problems. The average perception of respondents is that the function of Islamic medicine in healing physical diseases is undervalued and that it is not suitable to replace the functions of modern health institutions.
Background: Numerous studies have been carried out on the impacts of brand equity and service quality of higher education institutions (HEIs) on their reputation and students' satisfaction. This research aimed to compare the impact of brand equity and service quality on universities' reputations, namely Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) in Indonesia and International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in Malaysia, and Indonesian students' intention to choose the universities, which is moderated by study expense (price). UIN and IIUM are HEIs with a similar university concept, and Indonesian students have recently shown a high interest in them. The two universities have faculties not only in the field of Islamic studies but in general fields of studies as well, which are usually held by non-Islamic Universities. Therefore, their competitiveness against non-Islamic universities, especially the University of Indonesia (UI) has increased. Methods: The statistical measurement tool used was structural equation modeling (SEM). The number of items stated in the questionnaire was 45. Therefore, minimum data to be collected were 5 × 45 or 225 which rounded up to 228 from Indonesian students at UIN and IIUM (114 UIN students, and 114 Indonesian student respondents from IIUM). Results: The study results show that the universities' reputations are strongly affected by their brand equity and service quality, which then affect students' intention to choose the universities. Students had a higher intention to choose IIUM than UIN. The limitation of this research is that the effect of study expense on the intention of Indonesian students to study at UIN or IIUM has not yet been conducted. It will be conducted in the next study. Conclusions: These results are expected to be useful to UIN, IIUM, and especially Politeknik Negeri Jakarta (PNJ) in determining a strategy to enhance their reputations and the intention of Indonesian students to study there.
Kertas ini mengkaji sumbangan Ibn Abī Dunyā (208-281/894) dalam mengembangkan pemikiran tasawuf Islam dan peranannya dalam merumuskan falsafah kesufian yang diungkapkan oleh ahli-ahli sufi yang besar yang berkembang dengan meluas di abad ke 3 Hijrah. Penulisan dan karya-karya tasawuf yang dihasilkan oleh Ibn Abī Dunyā banyak memberikan pengaruh kepada perkembangan ilmu tasawuf di abad pertengahan dan pemikirannya dikutip oleh ulama sufi yang muktabar yang mengasaskan manhaj kesufian Islam yang utama seperti Imām al-Ghazālī, al-Qushayrī, al-Shādhilī, Ibn ‘Arabī, al-Sulamī, al-Kutubī, al-Birgivī dan sebagainya. Cetusan dan fikrah tasawuf yang digagaskannya dizahirkan dalam karya-karyanya yang monumental seperti Dhamm al-Dunyā, Dhamm al-Malāḥī, al-‘Uqūbāt, al-Jū‘, Makārim al-Akhlāq, al-Riqqah wa’l-Bukā’, al-Ṣabr, Iṣṭinā‘ al-Ma‘rūf, al-Muḥtaḍirīn, al-Mutamannīn, Ṣifat al-Nār dan sebagainya. Kertas ini akan menganalisis pemikiran dan sumbangannya yang signifikan ini dalam disiplin tasawuf dan melihat relevensinya dengan idealisme tasawuf moden.
This paper aimed to summarize kratom's psychological effects on users and the Islamic views on kratom use. A literature survey of published kratom studies, teachings based on the holy Qur'an, the Sunnah, and views of several Islamic scholars based on qualitative methodology through text analysis was conducted. The results demonstrated that despite its beneficial therapeutic effects, the harm induced by kratom outweighs its benefits. We concluded that kratom use for medicinal purposes is only warranted if useful constituent mitragynine can be extracted and used on its own, and if more rigorous human studies demonstrated good safety profile and efficacy of mitragynine for therapeutic purposes.
Bawang merah merupakan tumbuhan yang mengandungi pelbagai khasiat dan telah dijadikan sebagai makanan dan
ubatan sejak dahulu lagi oleh pelbagai kaum dan bangsa. Kajian ini dilakukan bagi mengenal pasti khasiat bawang
merah terhadap tubuh manusia dari perspektif sarjana-sarjana perubatan Islam dan kajian-kajian saintifi k. Data-data
literatur telah dikumpulkan dari empat buah buku perubatan Islam dan 14 artikel daripada pelbagai jurnal berkaitan.
Data terkumpul dianalisis menggunakan Nvivo10.0 bagi membentuk kategori bersesuaian seterusnya menghasilkan
dapatan kajian. Hasil kajian menunjukkan terdapat sekurang-kurangnya 17 khasiat bawang merah yang merangkumi
enam khasiat dari perspektif sarjana perubatan Islam seperti merawat penyakit mata sentiasa berair, merawat masalah
dalam telinga, merawat jangkitan dari gigitan anjing, meneutralkan racun, merangsang syahwat dan merawat penyakit
akibat air tercemar. Manakala 11 manfaat lagi dikenal pasti daripada kajian-kajian saintifi k seperti ia merupakan agen
antiplatelet, agen anti-pembentukan lemak, agen antioksidan, agen antitrombotik, agen antikarsinogen, agen antidepresen/
antimurung, agen antiinfl amasi, agen antiasma, agen antibiotik, menurunkan tahap hiperglisemia dan mengurangkan
risiko penyakit aterosklerosis. Justeru kajian ini mencadangkan agar bawang merah diketengahkan sebagai salah satu
rawatan organik serta alternatif kepada rawatan konvensional sedia ada.
The Lembah Bujang archeological complex near Sungai Petani, Kedah consists of various structures constructed at different times and spread over a wide area. This paper reports on the thermoluminescence (TL) dating of one of these structures. The structure was found to be 350 ± 90 yrs old. This is very young as compared with other structures that are from the 4th to the 16th centuries. This structure is suspected to be remnant of a Muslim Mosque whereas the other structures were Hindu and Buddist temples.
In recent time, there has been a great influx of numerous processed foods into the market. The utilization of improved technologies in food ecosphere has not only led to the emergence of complex foods but has also raised concerns about their nutritional, safety and halal status among consumers. Consumers are confused whether to reject or adopt the proceesed foods and have become divided into various groups based on their eating habits. In order to ameliorate their concerns, consumers seek the adoption of knowledge-based eating habits. This review provides details on the nutritional perspectives of eating habits by early Muslims. Islam, as a complete way of life, entails well-defined eating habits as a comprehensive guide for mankind.
In this paper, attempts will be made to study and understand the lawful and unlawful foods in the light of Islamic Medical law focus on ethical aspect that has been practiced during Islamic civilization. We will realize that lawful and unlawful foods are not, as some imagine, mere pretense, but rather constitute the divine command which protects against many diseases. In order to present such a law, the jurists of Islam needed great acuteness and power of reflection to make them understand the matters relating to lawful and unlawful foods in Islam. To attempt to follow these jurists, in their treatment, of the different school of thoughts (madhahib) would take us far beyond the limits of this research. Thus, we will rather confine ourselves to those laws which are clearly stated in the Qur’an and tradition (hadith), as well as a few of the most important issues dealt with in the different school of thoughts (madhahib).
Islam merupakan satu agama yang menitikberatkan kesihatan manusia termasuklah sistem pencernaan manusia. Najis
(tinja) manusia yang dibincangkan dalam kajian ini merupakan hasil buangan manusia yang menjadi salah satu kaedah
untuk melihat sudut kesihatan manusia. Objektif penyelidikan ini ialah untuk mengkaji fizikokimia dan ciri-ciri najis
serta kegunaannya daripada perspektif sains dan sudut pandangan Islam terutamanya mengenai diet yang diamalkan
oleh Rasulullah SAW. Kajian ini dijalankan dengan menggunakan ulasan literatur secara deskriptif. Kajian mendapati
bahawa sistem pencernaan merupakan satu sistem yang rumit. Tinja terdiri daripada 75% air dan 25% bahan pepejal
serta ciri-ciri tinja seperti bentuk, warna dan bau memberi kesan kepada kesihatan manusia. Daripada sudut Islam
warna, bau dan rasa tinja merupakan perkara asas yang dititikberatkan semasa proses pembersihan najis terutamanya
bagi memulakan sesuatu ibadah. Selain itu, diet, senaman, umur dan jantina merupakan faktor-faktor yang membezakan
jenis tinja bagi setiap individu. Malah, kajian ini juga merungkai beberapa alternatif yang kini diguna pakai bagi
mengurus najis-najis manusia dalam menjamin kesihatan dan pemeliharaan alam sekitar. Kajian ini kemudiannya
mengupas diet makanan-makanan sunnah yang terdapat di dalam Al-Quran dan hadis yang terbukti kaya dengan serat
dan sihat untuk manusia terutamanya bagi sistem pencernaan manusia. Oleh itu, najis (tinja) manusia daripada sudut
sains mampu menggambarkan kesihatan seseorang dan amalan diet makanan-makanan sunnah sangat baik dalam
memelihara sistem pencernaan manusia.