ISDEV News

So set thou thy face steadily and truly to the Faith: (establish) Allah's handiwork according to the pattern on which He has made mankind (fitrah): no change (let there be) in the work (wrought) by Allah: that is the standard Religion: but most among mankind understand not [ar-Ruum, 30: 30] .

ISDEV NEWS on behalf of all ISDEV members, wishing all Muslims throughout the world a happy Eid-ul-Fitri. May Allah s.w.t. accepts our endeavours in seeking His pleasures during this Ramadhan, hence qualifying us to celebrate this Eid-ul-Fitri in a real sense.

On 12 September 2008, ISDEV organised an iftar evening, an occasion held every Ramadhan since the outset of the establishment of ISDEV. About 50 participants consisting of ISDEV Management Committee Members, ISDEV Fellows, ISDEV Post-Doctoral Fellow, ISDEV Research Associates, ISDEV Research Officers, ISDEV supporting staff, Islamic Development Management graduate students, School of Social Sciences staff and their wives and children gathered at Interactive Hall, School of Social Sciences to break their fast together. Tarawih prayer was also held after the breaking of the fast.

Narrated Aisha: "With the start of the last ten days of Ramadan, the Prophet used to tighten his waist belt (i.e. work hard) and used to pray all the night, and used to keep his family awake for the prayers" [Hadith from Sahih Bukhari, Book No. 32: 'Praying at Night in Ramadhaan, Hadith No. 241] .

The Night of Power (Lailatul Qadr) is better than a thousand months [al-Qadr, 97: 3] .

The Star Sunday September 7, 2008 HEADING FOR THE PEAK BY Karen Chapman and Simrit Kaur After much speculation, the country’s first apex university was finally named this week. ALTHOUGH there have been other ratings and rankings exercises, the one that really mattered was the accelerated programme for excellence (apex). The country’s four research universities were the frontrunners and it was no surprise when all four made the short list. However, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) was the sole institution selected. Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said that the university with apex status has the greatest potential among Malaysian universities to be of world-class standard. In last year’s Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings, Universiti Malaya (UM) was the highest ranked Malaysian university at 246, followed by USM (307), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (309) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (364). Mohamed Khaled says quantitative and qualitative crit

The Star Thursday September 4, 2008 USM GETS APEX STATUS By Simrit Kaur and Karen Chapman PUTRAJAYA: Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has been granted apex status. With it, USM can expect hundreds of millions of ringgit in additional funding to transform it into Malaysia's first world-class university. Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said that quantitative and qualitative criteria were used to select USM under the accelerated programme for excellence (apex). Announcement time: Khaled flanked by deputies Dr Hou Kok Chung (right) and Datuk Idris Haron with a copy of the statement announcing USM as the country's first apex university. “The selection committee evaluated each university's state of readiness, transformation plan and preparedness for change. “After a thorough evaluation, the committee decided that only one university truly met all the criteria, namely USM,'' he told a press conference yesterday. The Cabinet had agreed to USM being

Narrated Abu Hurairah: The Prophet salallahu 'alaihi wassalam said, "Whoever established prayers on the night of Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven; and whoever fasts in the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven" [Hadith from Sahih Bukhari, Book No. 31: Fasting, Hadith No. 125].