ISDEV News

The family of ISDEV wishes all 'Eid Mubarak. May Allah SWT blessings be showered on us on this 'Eid-ul-Fitri as we strive to persevere and preserve the highest of iman and taqwa , InshaAllah .

Abdullah bin Buraidah narrated from his father: "The Prophet would not leave on the Day of Fitr until he ate, and he would not eat on the day of Adha until he prayed." [Reference: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 542; In-book reference: Book 5, Hadith 13; English translation: Vol. 1, Book 5, Hadith 542].

Razali  (seated third from, left) captures his triumphant moment with the Board of Examiners as well as his family members who were present throughout the viva session.  While most people are busy gearing up for the 'Eid festivities that is just around the corner, the opposite is true of ISDEV. The third viva voce session in Ramadhan took place on Wednesday, 23 July, 2014 at C06 School of Social Sciences. RISDEV (ISDEV Postgraduate by Research) student, Razali Othman was ready both physically and mentally to face the barrage of questions that would be posed to him. However it was obvious that coupled with spiritual readiness, Razali was all set to ensure that ISDEV clinch for the 10th time in 2014 the much coveted "Grade 1" award for his PhD thesis on " Penggunaan Wang Sebagai Instrumen Wakaf Tunai: Satu Kajian Teoritis " (The Use of Money as a Cash Waqf Instrument: A Theoretical Study). In the newly refurbished Masjid Al-Malik Khalid, ISDEV members standing in

Each year, upon the arrival of Ramadhan, ISDEV has never ceased to grab the opportunity to organize Majlis Berbuka Puasa ISDEV  (Ifatr).  This year's event was of no exception. In fact this year's Iftar which carried a theme on Ramadhan Disyukri Keberkatan Dicari was made much more memorable and special with the presence of the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Prof. Dato' Dr. Omar Osman as well as the principal officers of the university. Everything carried out as a jemaah - pictures of before and after  Iftar The annual programme was organised by a special committee consisting of students who called themselves ABI (ISDEV Associate Member). The programme was held on 18 July, 2014 at the Dewan Utama Desasiswa RST and began with the  Tahlil  recitation followed with a simple  Iftar  (the breaking of fast) with dates, drinks and Malay traditional  kuih  (cakes) and shortly after that the congregational  solat Mahgrib  and dinner. The congregational  solat Is

The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months [al-Qadr, 97:3].

 A fully composed Shahir Akram responding to the questions. There are three RISDEV (ISDEV Postgraduate by Research) students whose viva have been slotted during the month of Ramadhan. 17 July 2014 saw the second viva session which took place at C06, School of Social Sciences Conference Room. It took a mere one hour for Ustaz Shahir Akram Hassan Al-Hafiz to defend his PhD Thesis. He was able to breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing the great good news that he had been awarded Grade "1" for his PhD Thesis .  All in silence except the candidate - a picturesque of serene and tranquility during the viva session. Alhamdulillah. Praise is indeed to Allah SWT as Shahir serves as the ninth candidate to be presented  with a Grade "1" for RISDEV (Postgraduate by Research) students in 2014. His research on 'Aplikasi Kaedah Penaakulan Mantik dalam Penyelidikan Berkaitan Islam' (Application of Logical Reasoning in Research Related to Islam) also received the nomination f

The turnout for the ISDEV Monthly Graduate Supervision in June, 2014 at CenPRIS ISDEV held its Monthly Graduate Supervision for all its RISDEV (Postgraduate by Research) and MISDEV (Postgraduate by Mixed-Mode) students for the month of June, 2014 at the Conference Room of CenPRIS (Centre for Policy Research and International Studies). This monthly meet was held on Friday, 20 June 2014 at 9:30 a.m. However,  this time around, there were representatives from the Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara (UMSU)  Indonesia, who wanted to witness as well as take an active part in the monthly supervision.  Prof Syukri (centre) adressing ISDEV members on The ISDEV Story  Dr. Muhyarsyah,  Representative to the Rector (right), UMSU, giving some positive comments on his experience participating in the ISDEV Monthly Graduate Supervision  while Prof Syukri (left) listens attentively. As in all of ISDEV Monthly Graduate Supervision, a tazkirah  in the form of Tabiyyah Pengarah ISDEV was delivered by

Ziyad related to me from Malik that he had heard a man he trusted of the people of knowledge say, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was shown the lifespans of the people (who had gone) before him, or what Allah willed of that, and it was as if the lives of the people of his community had become too short for them to be able to do as many good actions as others before them had been able to do with their long lives, so Allah gave him Laylat al- Qadr, which is better than a thousand months." [Hadith from Malik Muwatta', Book 19, Hadith No. 706] .

After the viva has come to an end, Wan Norhaniza Wan Hasan (right) captures the moment  by  taking a photo with the Board of Examiners.  It is the semester break. It is Ramadhan. To some it is a time to rest and relax. But not so in ISDEV. The semester break and Ramadhan has not slowed down ISDEV pace. In fact they may act as the catalyst that propel ISDEV further to excellence. Thus conducting a viva voce in the blessed month of Ramadhan has not marred ISDEV spirit to strive for excellence. Two viva voce are slotted for this month alone. The first was held on Thursday, 10 July 2014 and immediately a week apart, the second viva voce will be held on Thursday,  17 July, 2014.  Wan Norhaniza (front) calmly but superbly answered the questions.  The first  viva voce  was for RISDEV (ISDEV Posgraduate by Research) student, Wan Norhaniza Wan Hasan, which is a testimony of ISDEV commitment to excellence regardless of the period and time.  Alhamdulillah. Indeed praise is only to Allah SWT. As

The first official meeting of ISDEV since its upgrade as a CoE. After officially being upgraded to a Research Centre of Excellence (CoE) on 17 April 2014, ISDEV  conducted its first internal meeting on 4 July 2014 at the Meeting Room, C05. The main purpose of this meeting was to discuss the latest updates and development of ISDEV students after ISDEV upgrade to the CoE status. In addition, the meeting also focused on the direction of ISDEV future and the planning of various programme and activities that will be held around the corner. ISDEV members giving their full attention during the meeting The meeting which was almost 3 hours long was chaired by ISDEV Director, Professor  Muhammad Syukri Salleh. It was also attended by ISDEV Deputy Director, Dr. Zakaria Bahari and two other ISDEV lecturers, Dr. Fadzila Azni Ahmad and Dr. Mohd Shukri Hanapi, ISDEV statistician, Encik Aziz Tahar, ISDEV ASTS as well as 3 supporting staff of ISDEV. Prof Syukri delivering a tazkirah as his opening rema

O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous [al-Baqarah, 2:183] .

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'There has come to you Ramadan, a blessed month, which Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, has enjoined you to fast. In it the gates of heavens are opened and the gates of Hell are closed, and every devil is chained up. In it Allah has a night which is better than a thousand months; whoever is deprived of its goodness is indeed deprived."' [Reference: Sunan an-Nasa'i, 2106; In-book reference: Book 22, Hadith 17; English translation: Vol. 3, Book 22, Hadith 2108].

The chairperson (left) introducing the four panellists. (From right to 2nd left) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Noor Shakirah, Prof Syukri, Dato' Al-Ustaz Ellias  and Prof. Dato' Omar. "The basic attitude that should be in every individual to excel is ' taqwa '", this opinion is shared by ISDEV Director, Professor Muhammad Syukri Salleh in the recent programme on " Diskusi Ilmiah: Ramadhan & Kecemelangan Universiti " organised by the Pusat Transformasi Insan (Centre for Human Transformation), USM. The well attended programme was held at Kompleks Cahaya HEPP, Universiti Sains Malaysia, on 2nd July, 2014. The programme also featured three other panellists made up of USM Vice Chancellor, Professor Dato' Omar Osman, Dato' Al-Ustaz Ellias Zakaria, Director of the Center for Human Transformation and Assoc. Prof Dr. Noor Shakirah Mat Akhir, Senior Lecturer of Islamic Studies with the School of Humanities. The chairperson of that day was Amirullah Zainal Abidi