By Syafiah Sakirin
GOMBAK, 2 March 2023: Creating further awareness of Arabic literary writings in the eyes of the whole community in Malaysia is the current endeavour by Prof. Dr. Rahmah Bt Ahmad H. Osman, an expert in Arabic Literature in the Department of Arabic Language and Literature of Abdulhamid Abusulayman Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (AHAS KIRKHS).
Currently conducting a study sponsored by an international institution, entitled œLiterary Writing of the Ulama: the Impact of the Societal Well-being, Prof. Dr. Rahmah underlined that her research focuses on the contribution of Muslim scholars through literary writings such as poems and short stories.
œSome scholars such as Imam Shafie and Imam Al-Haddad are known for their Islamic studies, yet their contributions in terms of literary writings needs to be further exposed, said Prof. Dr. Rahmah whose interest is also in Arabic literature by Muslim scholars.
She further expressed her hope to make her research studies as beneficial as possible for the general public.
œThere are many things that our community needs to know about Arabic literature writing, which has not been revealed because most of it is in the Arabic language. My mission is to translate what I have written into Malay and get it published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka and in Dewan Sastera for everyone, she explained.
œThis is what I want to leave as my legacy. Hence, I would like to expose and train my students in the Arabic specialization so that they can conduct research studies and publish them in journals which is possible with collaborations, she informed IIUMToday.
Asked about the challenges she has been facing throughout the research process, she explained that her ability to multitask is very limited due to her increasing age and she has to remind herself that she is no longer able to do things quickly as she once did in previous years.
œAnother obstacle that Im facing is the difficulty to get people to work together as most of them are still confined in their comfort zone by refusing to be involved in research and community engagement,” Prof. Dr. Rahmah said.
She also said that collaborations from many parties could be seen when it comes to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and scientific research studies, but there are still very few collaborations with regards to Islamic Studies.
Prof. Dr. Rahmah has served IIUM for 32 years so far with many past remarkable experiences and achievements including among others:
- 2003- 2005: Principal of Mahallah Safiyyah
- 2007-2009: Principal of Mahallah Maryam
- 2010- 2012: Deputy Dean of Postgraduate Studies, KIRKHS, IIUM
- 2014-2016: Deputy Director in the Office of Institutional and Academic Quality Management (OQM), currently known as Office of Knowledge for Change and Advancement (KCA), IIUM
- 2016-2017: Dean of Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (KIRKHS).
- 2017-2018: Deputy Rector of Research and Innovation for the Office of the Responsible Research and Innovation, IIUM.
- Â 2019- 2020: Director of the Education Malaysia Division in the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia.***