salaams all,
i think i may have missed my last update, but inshallah with this new reminder system i'll stay on track. residency life has officially started with me now that intern year is over and i'm finally doing what it is i actually want to do. and for all those brothers struggling through medical school, all i have to say is: its all worth it in the end. now i know what everyone is thinking..."that's cuz derm is an easy residency." while that is true from a work-hours standpoint, i will say that i worked far less during my intern year...actual work that is. i had a pretty chill prelim year in a community hospital so i may have been in the hospital for long hours, but i wasn't really doing too much during that time other than sitting around in the lounge. but despite the "chillness" of it, i didn't truly enjoy what i was doing, and i just did it to get through it. but when you've really found something that you love, it doesn't matter if the hours are long or short, i can truly say that i enjoy what i do now and i don't regret any portion of the journey of getting here. the learning curve is pretty steep so there is a TON of reading to do pretty much everyday...on par with medical school to be honest...but most of it relates to what i do on a daily basis, so its much more interesting to read. and despite all that, not having to work weekends and taking call from home are pretty sweet alhamdulillah :).
a real quick hadith for everyone to think about...i'm sure you have all heard it many times:
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "By Allah! I ask for forgiveness from Allah and turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times a day."( Bukhari)
none of us even come close to the piety and perfection of the Prophet (SAW), but even he would make istaghfar 70 (and in some hadith, 100) times a day. just think about all the small things we do each day that we could be asking forgiveness for and try to make istaghfar after every prayer. it only takes a few minutes more and its quite possibly the simplest way of erasing smaller sins, so it seems ridiculous NOT to do it.
in other news, i'm really sorry to have missed out on the festivities at bilal's wedding, the pictures were awesome! and a big congrats to imad for getting engaged!
--zain
