By: Abdul Hannan Faisal Tago  (From his memory “Climbing The Ladder of Success”) Series (11)

One of the advantages of studying in Egypt is the ability to develop leadership quality and use it for the benefit of management and human development. Many graduates from Al-Azhar eventually became leaders in their respective countries when they returned home.

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Maldives president from 1978 to 2008, was a product of Al-Azhar. So was Indonesia’s former president Abdurrahman Abdul Wahid.  Abdul Wahid was Indonesia’s head of state from 1999 through 2000, and was also the head of the world’s largest Islamic body, the Majlis Ulema of Indonesia.  He was not only a politician, but also an Islamic scholar and theologian.

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom attended Al-Azhar University in Egypt at the Faculty of Sharia and Civil Law. In 1966, he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Islamic Sharia and Civil Law, with honors. Gayoom came out first in the Faculty of Islamic Law and Studies at Al-Azhar University and was awarded his graduation certificate by Gamal Abdel Nasser. He later obtained his Master’s degree in Islamic Sharia. He completed English language course from the American University in Cairo.

By Huma Ahmad

Imagine yourself at the moment of your death.

What thoughts cross your mind? Memories of family and friends? Panic?  Regrets? Remembrance of Allah? What is death? What happens to us after we die? What is life in the Hereafter like, this new and strange world after death? Do we lose consciousness of this life? Where does our soul go? Do we feel and think the same?

The ineffable feeling of crossing the boundary between this world and the next cannot be described in words, nor imagined in the mind, but can be understood only through divine revealation and inspiration. Let us for the next few moments seek an understanding of this, death, the only certainty in life.

By: Abdul Hannan Faisal Tago  (From his memory “Climbing The Ladder of Success”) Series (9)

In the middle of my strenuous effort, amid the finishing touches of laying out the cover for my thesis, a surge of confidence in my work welled up inside my heart. I had a gut feeling that my essay might click in the competition after all. 

This was the reason that prompted me to put in extra effort during the run-up to the contest. I did everything myself, from editing to proofreading and submitted my contribution under the title, “History of Islam in the Philippines” before the deadline. 

Three months later, as I was returning to my dormitory, some friends of mine suddenly ran toward me and cheered with a loud voice “Abdul Hannan you are the winner, you are in the second place—congratulations …congratulations.”  

I saw a crowd checking out the list on the bulletin board. I was extremely happy to see my name among the top two out of the selected hundred entries with cash prizes and some valuable items for the winners.  The topper was from Nigeria and the third winner from Sudan. Our theses were evaluated by Egyptian historian Dr. Ahmad Shalabi, author of several books on history and also professor at Al-Azhar University.