A NAS A WEEK - 15 RABBI'UL AWWAL 1434

Abu Wa'il said, "'Abdullah used to remind the people every Thursday. Once a man said to him, 'Abu 'Abdu'r-Rahman! I wish you would remind us every day!' He said, 'That which prevents me from doing that is that I do not want to bore you and I pay particular care and attention to using admonition as did the Prophet out of the fear that we might become bored.'" [Hadith from The Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, Chapter 3: The Book of Knowledge (XII: On the one who appointed fixed days for the people desiring knowledge), Hadith Number 70].

ISDEV MONTHLY GRADUATE SUPERVISION - JANUARY 2013

The turnout at the University Conference Hall (or DPU) of Universiti Sains Malaysia

9 Jan - The first ISDEV Monthly Graduate Supervision in 2013 proved to be unique indeed. As a start the venue for ISDEV members to congregate was at the momentous University Conference Hall (or DPU) of Universiti Sains Malaysia instead of the usual C06 or C23. Not surprisingly the stately looking hall was quickly filled up by RISDEV, MISDEV' 11 and MISDEV'12 students as well as the amiable lecturers of ISDEV. Among those present were Dr Zahari Hamat, Dr. Fadzila Azni Ahmad (Chairperson of the Islamic Development Management Section of the School of Social Sciences). Dr.Mohd Shukri Hanapi chaired the session.

ISDEV Director, Professor Muhammad Syukri Salleh stressing a point during his
tazkirah while ISDEV Deputy  Director Dr Zakaria Bahari looks on

Post Tazkirah  session - Prof. Syukri  flanked by Dr Mohd Shukri on the right
and Dr Zakaria on the left

At 9.30 am sharp the graduate supervision started with the recitation of the ummul kitab Al-Fatihah and the recitation in one voice of asma ul husna. ISDEV Director, Professor Muhammad Syukri Salleh delivered the  tazkirah which is the third in series of the Tarbiyyah Pengarah ISDEV . This time, Prof Syukri presented on the topic of '3 strengths in ISDEV' which are core to ISDEV strength and existence. They are faith (iman), brotherhood(silaturahim) and consistency of common comprehension, thought and action (fikrah). However for this session the focus was only on the first that is 'Teras kekuatan ISDEV- Iman'.

On a serious note - Dr Zakaria Bahari, ISDEV Deputy Director
delivering his lecture on a serious  topic "Problem Statement"

The supervision then continued with ISDEV Deputy Director, Dr Zakaria Bahari's lecture on "Problem Statement". The lecture with the Q&A session took almost 2 hours. Dr. Zakaria presented a general guideline on how to write a written proposal and thereafter focused on how one needs to tackle the 'Problem Statement'. In his lecture he reminded students about the strong relationship between the 'Background' with the 'Problem Statement'. Some students were asked to share on how they had approach writing their 'Problem  Statement' while a few were tested on the strength of their proposed 'Problem Statement'. The Q&A session which ensued provided the opportunity which was well utilized by the students. Useful information as well as detailed instructions were passed on that day to help students in writing their "Problem Statement" in particular and their thesis as a whole in general.

Some of the beautiful sisters present for the
ISDEV Monthly Graduate Supervision

The program ended that day with the recitation of surah al-asr and tasbih kaffarah and closed at 1.30pm.

A NAS A WEEK - 9 RABBI'UL AWWAL

Your companion (Muhammad) has not strayed, nor has he erred [al-Najmu, 53:2].

ISDEV MEMBERS IN BRUNEI

A Confident Dr. Zakaria Bahari presenting his paper:
"Teaching of Islamic Economics: An Analysis of Tawhidic Paradigm"

7 Jan - 4 ISDEV members consisting of ISDEV Director, Prof. Muhammad Syukri Salleh, ISDEV Deputy Director, Dr. Zakaria Bahari together with Dr. Mohd Shukri Hanapi and Wan Norhaniza Wan Hasan were in Brunei from the 3rd until the 9th of November 2012. The delegates were there to present their research papers at The 2nd International Conference Sultan Omar' Ali Saifuddin Centre for Islamic Studies (SOASCIS), Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

ISDEV Director, Prof. Mohummad Syukri Salleh with his paper
"Human Account in Development Studies: An Islamic Analysis"

Dr. Mohd Shukri Hanapi presenting his paper : "From Ignorance to Islamic 
Worldview: In Search of an Islamic Philosophical Construct"

Wan Norhaniza Wan Hasan presenting her findings through her paper work:
 "Education Indicators in Development Index: An Analysis
from the Perspectives of Islamic-based Development"

The International Conference was also participated by well-known academicians. They are Distinguished Professor Tan Sri Muhammad Kamal Hassan of the International Islamic University Malaysia, Professor Datuk Osman Bakar (who is also the organizer) of the Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Professor Yasushi Kosugi of Kyoto University, Japan, Professor Abdul Fadl Mohseen Ebrahim of University of KwaZuluNatal, South Africa, Professor Jamil Lee Hee Soo of Hanyang University Seoul, South Korea, Associate Professor Yusuf Ma Zhan Ming of Ningxia University, People's Republic of China, Dr. Alim Fadil Achmat Salie of University of Detroit Mercy, USA, Professor Dato' Md Salleh yaapar of Universiti Sains Malaysia, and Professor Datin Azizan Baharuddin of the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia.

Among the conference presenters that were present

In addition the delegates from ISDEV took the opportunity to discuss on the prospects of an academic joint venture with the three main universities in Brunei Darussalam. The three universities are Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) dan Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan (KUPU SB). This academic joint venture in the form of research collaborations are nearly realised.

(Right to Left) Professor Muhammad Syukri Salleh in discussion with Professor Datuk Dr Osman Bakar , Chair Professor of SOASCIS while Assoc. Prof. Dr. Azman Ahmad, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Universiti Brunei Darussalam looks on

Among the suggested fields of joint research are Hisbah and Ethics in Islamic-based Development (ISDEV-USM with SOASCIS_UBD); the Islamic-based Development Politics in Brunei and Malaysia (ISDEV-USM with UNISSA) and Waqf Development Through Istibdal in Brunei and Malaysia : A Futuristic Study (ISDEV-USM with UNISSA).

At the end of the discussion session with UNISSA representatives

An informal discussion with Deputy Rais KUPU-SB (on the extreme left)

A NAS A WEEK - 2 RABBI'UL AWWAL 1434

 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah related from Abu Hurayra that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah has not sent down an illness without sending down a cure for it." [Hadith from Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, Chapter 79: The Book of Medicine, Hadith Number 5354].

MISDEV'11 PRESENT FINAL DRAFT DISSERTATIONS

One the slides prepared by a MISDEV'11 student

7 Jan - A total of 18 MISDEV'11 students have successfully presented the final draft of their dissertations before they completed their tenure as postgraduate students of ISDEV. The presentations which took place for two days on 26 November 2012 and on 29 November 2012 were held at the Conference Rooms of C06 and C23 respectively of the School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia.

A serene Sister Yusra after presenting her final dissertation

No seat was spared in C23

ISDEV students were all required to attend the presentations for both days to participate and engage in the academic exercise in accordance with the spirit of al-birr (helping one another for betterment) and al-taqwa (piety). ISDEV members provided additional inputs through opinions and comments on how the students in the MISDEV'11 cohort can best improve their dissertations. Simultaneously the sessions exposed MISDEV'11 students to a near real situation of a viva voce as well as provided the platform for them to hone their public speaking skills.

Some of the lecturers (left to right):
 Dr Mohd Shukri Hanapi, Dr Zakaria Bahari and Professor Muhammad Syukri Salleh

In a serious mood - ISDEV Deputy Director, Dr Zakaria Bahari (centre)
stressing a point

ISDEV lectures including ISDEV Director, Professor Muhammad Syukri Salleh, ISDEV Deputy Director, Dr Zakaria Bahari, and ISDEV lecturers Dr. Zaini Abu Bakar, Dr. Zahri Hamat as well as Dr. Mohd Shukri Hanapi attended the sessions and collectively evaluated each student's dissertation. They provided key inputs to MISDEV'11 students' dissertations which were definitely useful to streamline and improve the contents of their researches  before finally submitting the final copies for examiners' review.

A NAS A WEEK - 24 SAFAR 1434

O you who have believed, fear Allah and seek the means (of nearness) to Him and strive in His cause that you may succeed [al-Maidah, 5:35].