“We enjoined the human being to honor his parents. His mother bore him, and the load got heavier and heavier. It takes two years (of intensive care) until weaning. You shall be appreciative of Me, and of your parents. To Me is the ultimate destiny.” (31:14). This is the welcoming verse on the delivery suite of a Jordan hospital.

As part of my medical degree, we get the opportunity to discover medicine in another country. I chose Jordan. The reaction I received from fellow medical students at the teaching hospital I am attending in Jordan was, why here? To start, seeing the verse on the wall filled me with, what I thought was, realistic optimism. Seeing other signs quoting the hadith of our beloved Prophet (PBUH) reminding us that smiling in the face of our fellow brothers and sisters was charity, my optimism began to reach, what I was to very soon find out was ‘unreaslitic’ optimism. 

Jordan’s healthcare system is a mish-mash of publicly and privately funded services. The hospital I am attending is a government funded teaching hospital. Uninsured patients attend, but have to pay private prices. Given this finance structure, it’s a common occurrence that patients who come through Accident and Emergency have to put their emergency off until they’ve settled their payments at the accountant desk- either through their insurance or instant cash payment.

A slight problem when it comes to something like giving birth. It proves quite difficult to control things like labour pains, so generally patients take this into consideration and attend a couple of hours in advance. This is all fine, I hear myself think. It’s the health care structure Jordan has chosen for itself, very similar to other countries like that of the United States of America. What struck me however, was the mannerisms of the medical population.

After the initial introductions to the delivery suite, I expected two things- smiles and respect for the labouring pregnant woman. How inflated my expectations were and how deflated they soon became! It’s really difficult to describe how disappointed I felt- medicine is arguably one of the more compassionate professions in a society but what I saw was a cocktail of an unethical, control-freak attitude. As I write this I feel I am being harsh but it’s only because I feel we have no excuse that I am voicing these concerns. As Muslims, we have the tools, they’re in our hands and in our faces in the verses and hadiths on the hospital walls, yet we still choose to throw the tools aside, turn our hearts away from the pearls of wisdon and use our bare untamed hands and heads.

Why is it that patients don’t have the right to know what is being done to them or what is wrong with them? Why is it that they don’t have the right to be educated about pregnancy? Why is it that when I ask a doctor why this attitude is so rife, they default to accusing the patients of not being educated? Who’s fault is that, the doctors who don’t bother to educate or the patients who are still programmed to accept a paternalistic medical approach?

My initial reaction was anger. Anger at the doctors, for not trying to change attitudes. But then the anger turned towards the patients. Why don’t they object, why doesn’t someone sue a doctor to shake the profession to make them realise that nobody is unaccountable. But then again why does the medical profession have to get sued to realise that? What about Allah (SWT)? Are we not accountable to Him? Doesn’t the very verse on the wall of the delivery suite serve as a potent reminder that we will return to Him?

On a personal note, I rebelled. It was an internalised rebellion- I found it difficult to bring myself to go back to the hospital for a couple of days and to see the same attitudes. It was the wrong reaction- it was a negative reaction. I knew I would be doing myself an injustice and more importantly Islam an injustice if I didn’t change my own attitude. The beautiful positive attitude portrayed in Surah Ya-sin was a great reminder- when Allah (SWT) sent three messengers at one time to guide a group of people but they rejected all three messengers and the message they brought. Yet this did not stop a believer, who was not a messenger or a prophet from trying to change the state of his people “Then there came running, from the farthest part of the City, a man, saying, “O my people! Obey the apostles” (36:20). I have no excuse really, I am definitely not a sole person and the gravity of the current situation is far less taxing. What I clearly forgot however, was that I don’t need to worry about the outcome, I need only worry about my own attitude. I’m worried. I humbly request that you pray that we all act positively in whatever situations we may face.

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MAB Youth has a long history of events in Glasgow and residential events around Scotland.The next project for Glasgow is to set up a Muslim Scouts group, following the successful model implemented in Edinburgh. To make it a success, we need volunteers! Please contact sohaib@mabyouth.com for more details.

MAB Youth has been running events in Edinburgh for a number of years now, and has recently developed regular activities and is looking to work with you to bring about more!Achievements so far include founding the first Muslim Scouts group in Scotland together with a growing team of local volunteers. The group recently won the “Community Service” prize at the Young Scottish Minority Ethnic Awards hosted at the Scottish Parliament (5th September 2008).We also run a weekly Brothers’ Circle on Thursdays. It’s on pause from the usual schedule during Ramadan, but details will be made available once we’re ready to restart.During this month, we’ll hold some special iftars in place of the circle. (See “Young Heroes of the Sahabah” poster.)Our public talks during the past year have featured Idris Tawfiq (”My Journey to Islam”), Fadel Soliman (”Achieving Humility in Prayer”) and Abo Sondes (”Salaheldin”).Please get in touch with any ideas, or to get involved: sohaib@mabyouth.com