Who do you swear by?

Category: Americas, Faith & Spirituality, Featured, Life & Society Topics: Oaths Views: 8563
8563

People have taken oaths since the dawn of history, calling upon God to witness the truth of what they say or do, and to express their determination to speak the truth or to keep a promise. Members of religious, political and professional groups have taken oaths to keep the honor of their professions.

A Physician's Oath:

One of the oldest oaths in history is the Hippocratic oath that Physicians in the west have been taking before commencing their medical duties. Written in antiquity, its principles are held sacred by doctors to this day. With the advent of secularism a Modern Version of the Hippocratic Oath was introduced. Today this modern oath is practiced along with some other variations of this oath.

Whereas the original Hippocratic oath had references to gods and goddesses the modern version deletes everything that directly or indirectly relates to God. The American College of Surgeons, and the Geneva Declaration of Medical Ethics provide the commitment in a doctor's oath that states " I pledge myself".

Are these oaths a meaningless relic or do they provide a moral guide? A number of physicians feel that the Hippocratic Oath and variations of it are inadequate to address the realities of a medical world that has witnessed huge scientific, economic, political, and social changes, a world of legalized abortion and physician-assisted suicide.

The Islamic Medical Association of North America proposed and later adopted in the 1970's a medical oath, which is a composite oath from the historical writings of Ibn Sina, Luqman Al-Hakim and contemporary writings from the physicians in the Islamic world. Prior to adopting the oath of a Muslim Physician, the Islamic Medical Association pointed out the grave errors in Hippocrates' oath and other statements in oaths that place emphasis in belief in multiple gods or the absence of God.

Muslims believe in the irrevocable truth revealed in the Quran and in the traditions of Prophet Muhammad . As such, Muslims cannot take the Oath of Hippocrates because it refers to gods and goddesses. Other oaths stress certain personal behavioral and ethical traits of a physician, which have no relation to the medical profession.

Muslim belief is based on making a covenant with God, being accountable to Him and following the guidance He has provided in the final revelation, the Quran. For a physician who takes an oath based on these principals and considers him or her self subservient to a Divine natural order, takes the oath as absolute, binding, solemn and with sincerity. Even if the physician is confronted with a situation that is not specifically mentioned in the oath, he or she is still bound by the principals of doing good for humanity as specified by the Creator of humanity.

The oath adopted by the Islamic Medical Association of North America is given below:

"Praise be to Allah (God), the Teacher, the Unique Majesty of heavens, the Exalted, the Glorious, glory be to Him. The Eternal Being who created the Universe and all the creatures within, and the only Being who containeth the infinity and the eternity. We serve no other God besides Thee and regard idolatry as an abominable injustice".

"Give us the strength to be truthful, honest, modest, merciful and objective".

"Give us the wisdom to comfort and counsel all towards peace and harmony" 

"Give us the understanding that ours is a sacred profession that deals with Your most precious gifts of life and intellect"

"Therefore, make us worthy of this favored station with honor, dignity and piety so that we may devote our lives in serving mankind, poor or rich, wise or illiterate". 

Mohammad Yacoob is former Vice Chairman of The Islamic Center of Southern California in Los Angeles and the former President of Masjid-Ul Islam in Inglewood.


  Category: Americas, Faith & Spirituality, Featured, Life & Society
  Topics: Oaths
Views: 8563
 
COMMENTS DISCLAIMER & RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
The opinions expressed herein, through this post or comments, contain positions and viewpoints that are not necessarily those of IslamiCity. These are offered as a means for IslamiCity to stimulate dialogue and discussion in our continuing mission of being an educational organization. The IslamiCity site may occasionally contain copyrighted material the use of which may not always have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. IslamiCity is making such material available in its effort to advance understanding of humanitarian, education, democracy, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.


In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, and such (and all) material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.


Older Comments:
TAWA FROM U.S.A said:
I'd like to find out about the oath taken by immigrants to the U.S on becoming citizens. This is especially if one has to become a citizen in order to bring his spouse to the country and delaying could cause fitna. Thanks.
2003-12-11

AHMED ASGHER FROM BAHRAIN said:
Salam H.A.

"I AM VERY GLAD IT CAME FROM A WOMAN probably from a Muslim Land." these are your words in response to Nuraini from Malaysia which IS a muslim country and not "probably" muslim country. so let us pray your logic is better than your geography.

As for your style of arguing, I applaud you in choosing to do so with your muslim brother and sisters instead of non-muslims, for indeed if we are to change muslims in general must change and it must come from the heart. Let us all pray to Allah that He alone lead us to the path of eternal peace.

But let me say this to you my brother. "and argue with them in the best possible manner" or "wa jadeloohum be alati hia ahssan." and again " 'and do not be like one whose heart is hard and they will avoid you." or "wa la takoonu fadhan ghalidh al qlab fa yanfaru mink." These words are addressed to the a no lesser person than the Prophet himself (p.b.u.h.).

So if you were to lead by example then you would choose your words more wisely and be kinder to folk so they will cherish your words and seek your company like being attracted to a garden full of beautifully scented garden. and do not exclude other non-muslims either for they too are deserving of our kind words and exemplery logic.

May peace of God be upon us all.

Ahmed Asgher
Bahrain
2003-09-29

H.A. (HULK AGITATOR) FROM SHAITAN PROVINCE, PAKISTAN said:
Hello Nuraini,
Before I wrote my other comments, I knew that someone would ask me "WHY I DON'T DO something or why I don't start fixing the problem myself instead of picking on others?" and I AM VERY GLAD IT CAME FROM A WOMAN probably from a Muslim Land. We need women like you to remove ills from our society.

I picked on other Muslims because I am a Muslim. I always like to pick on myself and my group of people, instead of picking people of other faiths/groups etc. Whatever I said are still very true in the country in which I was born and raised. You won't believe how self-fish and how much Muslims hate one another. All of these stupidities take place because PEOPLE DO NOT READ THE QURAN AND EVEN IF THEY DO, THEY DO NOT APPLY IT IN EVERYDAY SITUATIONS.

I recently heard a comment from a Muslim MAN who said...Why Should I take care of my father now b/c he did not take care of me well when I was young? Doesn't this go completely aginst Islam?

I agree that things are improving, but you can still see and hear that the Talibans are making a comeback. None of the Muslims countries objected or did anything to improve women's situation there. In fact, Pakistan and Iran facilited the oppression of women siding with and aiding the Taliban.

Reading many of your comments, I have a feeling that some of you thinking that I LOVE THE WEST and hate the East and Muslim countries. Let me reiterate my views about the WEST.. it's the most morally corrupt, sick, and hedonistic place in our galaxy. However, it is not as SATANISTIC as being portrayed by many Muslims in Muslim countries. There are a lot of good things here.

Also, I do not like to take sides. If a Israeli kids get killed, you and others should be expressing the same horrors as when a Palestanian kid is killed by Israeli missile. If any Muslim who does not feel this same way, he/she does not understand what's in the Koran.
I hope Mr. Khan from Canada did not take things personally.
2003-09-24

H.A. (HULK AGITATOR) FROM SATAN COUNTY, IRAN said:
Hello Kovitz,
Why are you all taking things so personally and so emotional? It seems to me you going to eat me alive if you ever find me in Canada.
Cheer UP!!!
You are blaming me for not being constructive? What about you? You did not even explain how I am spreading hate? Explain my mechanisms of spewing hate. Give examples. Explain constructively so that we all can learn from one another. Explain why my words are so cheap? Explain what biological, enviromental or any other factors making my words cheap? What ingredients are responsible for making words cheap? WHY? HOW?

It's OK to criticize other peoples' ideas and engage in discussion. That's why it's a commentary site. No one should be taking things personally. I am a Muslim. I started with criticizing problems in my own community. We all should be criticizing ourselves first, instead of criticizing Christians, Jews or others. That was my whole point.

Regarding the word "Mozlem", don't you have CNN in Canada? Everytime someone, mostly non-Muslims, pronounces the word Muslim, it sounds like Mozlem. It was NOT meant to be offensive. People constanly call me Mozlem, Mozlem and you a are Mozlem.. I am NOT offended by it b/c they do not know that Muslims or people in Muslim countries pronounces the word Muslim as Mussslim, instead of Mozzzlem.

That's all for now. Take Care!!!
2003-09-24

ISAAC COHEN FROM USA said:
Hello, I have something important to say for
Mr. Henry Borja. First of all, your comment is beautiful, I appreciate it. However, I think your
comment is appropriate for the people of those religions of eastern traditions, not for the follower of monotheistic faiths(Islam, judaism, christianity ). For instance, what you have posted, is the sole principle of Islamic faith. Your comment is a precise defination of 'Towheed'
- part of the first pilar of Islam. Therefore,
you are a Moslem by your heart even though you dont know it!!
2003-09-23

NURAINI FROM MALAYSIA said:
h.a., where i come from, literacy for women was brought about by islamic reformists and not the western colonials. today most who finish university are women, and we score higher than the guys too. but they seem better at practical work, which we find mildly annoying. anyway, i know this isn't true everywhere in the world, but it has been done and can be done elsewhere too. there are movements and people working very hard under impossible conditions to bring education to women in places like Pakistan etc. and i wish them the best.

yes, more and more of us seem to be heading in the other (wrong) direction. and yes, talk is cheap, but you never know - maybe those people who post their 'haughty' comments at home spend time discussing difficult literary works with their daughters, maybe they are kind and supportive to their working wives. maybe they help their nephews and nieces who do not have money to pay for a degree in IT to be able to go to university. maybe they go to the mosque every dusk and together with others there think up ways to make the neighbourhood secure, and to promote goodwill with neighbours, some of whom are not there, i.e. non-Muslims. perhaps some of them are too much stuck in traditional modes that they cannot imagine why women want to be educated, but nevertheless would move heaven and earth to get their daughter to university because she wants it. i have seen parents who do not care, but i have also seen and heard of the above i have described. and even though they never do anything grand like form a movement to eradicate female illiteracy in the region, their love for their family causes succeeding generations to change to a more positive, learned people.

yes, talk is cheap, so why don't you do something? maybe you already are, but don't assume nobody else is doing anything. inspire others with your example, which means that you need to make sure you are yourself a good example. be humble, for you learn things from others too.
2003-09-22

NURAINI FROM MALAYSIA said:
you know, H.A., people ARE doing these things. where i come from, most of those who finish university are girls. we score higher than the guys too, only they seem better at practical work, which has always been mildly annoying. our top heart surgeons are women, and the legal Chambers are dominated by women. so, maybe this does not happen all over the world, but it does happen, and can happen elsewhere too. and there are people working very hard on this in places like pakistan and india and iran.

why women do not fight for rights? i don't know. we should, but women in general do not like to be confrontational. and women tend to provide for their loved ones first before they would think of themselves. so if she's from a poor family, she would almost certainly care more about the feeding and education of her child than herself. and i suppose if they do not know what it's like to be educated and independent, it is much easier and 'safer' to continue depending on parents and husbands, especially if you've got good ones.

where i come from, the wealthiest are the Buddhist chinese, simply because they are thrifty and excellent in business. but others - the Malay Muslims, the Hindus, the christians etc. are learning. jews in iraq and most parts of the middle east have, until israel, enjoyed financial success and trade freedom.

but i do agree that many Muslims are becoming materialistic, knowing less and less of their religion, drinking alcohol and losing their modesty.

yes, talk is cheap. so why don't you do something? read history, about world culture, inspire people, make an example from yourself. i never used to think people paid attention to me. but after four years of being the notoriously (unpopular, unorthodox )independent girl in university, one day i realised that my submissive, quiet girl friends of first year had learned from my example and were now debating points, brave enough to make their opinions heard, etc. so yes, go ahead and do som
2003-09-22

KOVITZ FROM TORONTO, CANADA said:
Response to the comment 17909, by H.A. Satan Conntry, USA.
First, correction "Muslims" not "Mozlems".
Second, from reading ur comments u don't offer any constructive criticism...instead u spew out cheap words of hatred.
2003-09-21

H.A. FROM SATAN COUNTY, USA said:
I get the feeling that Mozlems, formerly known as Muslims, who posted comments here are so proud of Allah and Islam. HOW COME THEY DO NOT APPLY THIER religion in real-life situations?

Didn't Allah sent Prophet Hazrat Muhammmad (PBUH) to be as role model, whom Mozlems can imitate?

Did Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) urged Mozlems to follow his examples?? THEN....

Why Mozlems do not encourage women to get higher education?

Why don't they get along w/ their neighbors? or why don't they care about their neighbors? Some eating lobster dinner and his or her neighbor is living mud hut and eating "Oxygen" during every meals.

Why Muslims do not share their wealth w/ Muslims, Jews, Christian, Buddhist and other neighbors???

Why have they become so materialistic?

Why their children are swimming in the wave of wine, in the name of freedom?

Why don't they learn to do things for themselves, instead of expecting Allah to come down from up there and to solve all their problems???? Didn't Allah say that ".. I do not change you situations unless you take steps to change your situation...""???

Why Mozlem womens do not fight for their rights? Why are they so submissive to their parents, society/culture, husbands and family?

Why more men knows how read and write than women in Muslim countries???

Talk is cheap!!! Instead of being proud/haught, Mozleems need to get down to work and imitate the examples of ____________???
2003-09-20

GULAM MAHOMED AHMED PATEL. FROM DEM.REP.OF ONGO said:
Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem.
Assalaamualaykum Warahmatullaahi Wabarakaatuh.
Dear All,
Since years when some of us talk about Allaah, they use the words God and Lord. I think, we started to correct our calling of Allaah. The simplest argument is that, when one say God, he/she, unknowingly tends to think Indian Gods and Godesses. When one says Lord, right away he/she thinks about Europeon Lord. When I am saying Indian and Europeon, I do not mean their nationalities. Gods or Lord do not have nationalities according to their believers. Do you not agree it is time, Intellectual people like you explain the people concerned who is God, Lord and Allaah. It will be nice if we use appropriate calling of Allaah, that is Allaah, when we talk about Allaah.
Your's,
Brother.
2003-09-18

SHAKIR EBRAHIM FROM INDIA said:
Make an alternative oath appealable to all, don't exclude non-muslims from it as is currently sought
2003-09-17

C M SARWAR FROM UNITED KINGDOM said:
Asslam o alaikum,
You are doing very good for islam. I will be highly obliged if you please send me the actual text of the oath we are disscussing and its traslation if the oath is in other than english,so that we can analyse the further direct and indirect implications.
Best regards
C M Sarwar
2003-09-15

HENRY BORJA FROM USA said:
When we as Human Beings start understanding that there is only one GOD for all Humans. We all catogorize ourselves that there is a different God for different religions. Let's stop this B.S. and stop fooling ourselves. Why do we have to compartmentalized ourselves into beleiving different Gods. We are all children under ONE GOD.
2003-09-15

C M SARWAR FROM UNITED KINGDOM said:
Assalam o Alaikum,
You are doing a great work for Islam.
I will be highly oblieged if you please send me the text of the Oath we are discussing and its translation if the oath is not in English so that we can further analyse the implications in other areas.
May Allah help you in your good work.
Best regards
C M Sarwar
2003-09-15

SAUSAN FROM BANGLADESH said:
Article which talks on a topic that few people know about. Therefore its a very important topic. Also, it is very interesting. To the one who wrote this, " u've done a good job"
2003-09-15

ABDUL NASIR MUSAH FROM GHANA-KUMASI,ABOABO NO:1 said:
Its not normal anyway mankind to envolve himself swearing to any thing rather than the creator almighty God(Allah).
Why should we swear?,we envolve our selves swearing when there was reseach of throuth through our beleave from who creat the univers as for a purpose only.
We swear to him the only one God as a matter of faith and beleave so that ,understanding will come strongly within our selve through what we submit our faith with, that Almighty God(Allah).
Thus it has becomes nessacery to all menkind so to enable us achieve our aim, from the religious factors we all known.
Abdul Nasir Musah.
2003-09-15

ISAAC FROM MAURITIUS said:
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

2:18. Deaf, dumb, and blind, they will not return (to the path).

Dear Muhsins,Muk'mins & Muslims,

The holy Qur'an acts like a criterion and the verse 2:18 is a direct statement from Allah s.w.t.
Knowledge does not mean guidance!

That's why, every ritual in Islam is based on seeking refuge () and praying for guidance.

AL-FATIHA (THE OPENING)

People either get HUDA or D'AARLAAL.

Belief links everything.

Jazaak-Allah
2003-09-15

SREEDHAR GANAPATHY FROM INDIA said:
This is wonderful bulletin. Do send more.The article on oath was very interesting
2003-09-15

KOKO ADEREMILEKUN SAKIRAT FROM NIGERIA said:
This is really a wonderful piece and I pray that Allah(SWT) continues to replenish the knowledge of the writer and may He makes the write up a blessing to all muslims and may he teach us to always abide by his Laws and teachings(Amin)
2003-09-15