Thesis...o...Thesis...
Every now and then, I am asked by friends and dear loved ones here and back home, about the progress of my thesis: when are you coming back? why it took you so long? bla...bla... Unfortunately, the answer is not a very straight forward one. For those who have undergone the process, such as my dear Dr. Lukman Ismail of UTP, a PhD graduate of Heriot-Watt University, who recently posted on my blog below, knew what it entails on being a PhD candidate.
I am at present working on my final draft, but I must admit that I am far than satisfied with my work. Always, I found errors, or new ways of improving the thesis, new ideas that have not surfaced before and new materials that worth cited. Anyway, at some point of time, you need to send it in for examination no matter how much your discontentment is. I hope I'm able to officially submit it before the Christmas holiday, Insya Allah.
It alleviates one's pressure to some degree when one knows that one is not writing for a Nobel Prize [Read: "It's a PhD, not a Nobel Prize"(pdf)]. But what still worries me and everyone else who has been in the same boat is'nt about not winning the Nobel Prize, but rather not successfully passing our viva (may God forbid); whether our work is up to the scholarly standard or not, from the perspective of the examiners. Will I pass the viva? Pass with major correction, minor or resubmission or what? Alhamdulillah, I have two great supervisors, who keep on advising me on which 'screws' I should further tighten. I took their advice and don't mind delaying submission a little while so long as I wouldn't face serious problem in the examination, naudhu billah.
At the end of the day, it reminds me of the saying of Imam al-Shafi'e (may Allah have mercy on him) that I came across while reading the Reliance, who after having his al-Risalah re-checked for forty times, still discontented with it and believed it was a sign that 'Allah has refused to give divine protection from error ('ismah) to anyone besides his prophets' (Sheikh Nuh Keller, Reliance, xii).
O Allah! please make ease for me in this endeavour.
Allahumma la sahla illa ma ja'altahu sahlan...
Please make du'a for this faqir, O my dear friends and readers.
May Allah help us all.
I am at present working on my final draft, but I must admit that I am far than satisfied with my work. Always, I found errors, or new ways of improving the thesis, new ideas that have not surfaced before and new materials that worth cited. Anyway, at some point of time, you need to send it in for examination no matter how much your discontentment is. I hope I'm able to officially submit it before the Christmas holiday, Insya Allah.
It alleviates one's pressure to some degree when one knows that one is not writing for a Nobel Prize [Read: "It's a PhD, not a Nobel Prize"(pdf)]. But what still worries me and everyone else who has been in the same boat is'nt about not winning the Nobel Prize, but rather not successfully passing our viva (may God forbid); whether our work is up to the scholarly standard or not, from the perspective of the examiners. Will I pass the viva? Pass with major correction, minor or resubmission or what? Alhamdulillah, I have two great supervisors, who keep on advising me on which 'screws' I should further tighten. I took their advice and don't mind delaying submission a little while so long as I wouldn't face serious problem in the examination, naudhu billah.
At the end of the day, it reminds me of the saying of Imam al-Shafi'e (may Allah have mercy on him) that I came across while reading the Reliance, who after having his al-Risalah re-checked for forty times, still discontented with it and believed it was a sign that 'Allah has refused to give divine protection from error ('ismah) to anyone besides his prophets' (Sheikh Nuh Keller, Reliance, xii).
O Allah! please make ease for me in this endeavour.
Allahumma la sahla illa ma ja'altahu sahlan...
Please make du'a for this faqir, O my dear friends and readers.
May Allah help us all.
posted by salik at
2:34 PM
2 Comments:
Amin ya Rabbal Alamin... buat sehabis baik (atau sesetengah org kata buat secukup 'rasa'), pah tu tawakkal. InsyaAllah selamat dan lancar hendaknya... Apabila sahabat dan keluarga bertanya, itu tandanya kami ini menunggu-nunggu berita bahagia. Kami jua berdebar sebagaimana tuan empunya diri. Submitting the thesis is the most significant moment of one's academic life.
Terima kasih Dr. atas doa dan ingatan.
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