By Nurin Najmina Zaidi
GOMBAK, 26 November 2023: œEvery single Muslim must improve him or herself every time to earn new knowledge and so we set foot in learning together and also help each other, mentioned a married couple from Algeria who received their Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Heritage (Fiqh and Usul Al-Fiqh), together at the 39th IIUM Convocation Ceremony, yesterday.
It was a truly memorable experience for the couple, as Mohamed Chourana whose PhD research study was entitled, “Islamic Financial Governance in Algeria: An Analytical Study in the Light of the Malaysian Experience,” was conferred his PhD on stage together with his wife, Sana Ben Sayah who did her PhD research study on, “Arbitration between Spouses in Algerian Family Law: An Analytical Purpose Study”.
In an interview with IIUMToday, Mohamed mentioned that he was determined to pursue his PhD after he completed his Master’s degree at the IIUM. Coincidentally, his wife, Sana, also completed her Master’s degree, albeit in Algeria, and she had the same intention as well. Thus, both of them enrolled at the same Kulliyyah, AbdulHamid AbuSulayman Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (AHAS KIRKHS) in 2018, to pursue their ambitions.
When asked about the challenges that Mohamed and his wife faced while studying, he said there were some difficulties such as not having any sponsor or scholarship to support them financially. Since they were married with children while studying, they also needed to take care of their children at the time. However, that did not falter their motivation.
œDespite facing many difficulties, Allah SWT will help you a lot, said Mohamed who referred to a Hadith on this. Other than the PhD which they did at the same time, the couple also memorized the Quran that served as an added motivation for them to complete their PhDs.
They also helped each other whilst studying; financially, Mohamed contributed to the household by conducting tuition and teaching Arabic while his wife helped him by running the household.
œBoth of us did our parts and we managed to focus on our studies, and finally managed to stand on the stage together, said Mohamed.***
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