75
21. Good night, Sweet Prince
TO
ALL YOUNG GIRLS AND MEN OF COMSATS WHO ARE PROSECTIVE SCIENTISTS
, MATHEMATICIANS AND ENGINEERS
Mustafa Mahfooz . A father fondly remembers
Good night, Sweet Prince
May flight of angels sing thee to thy rest
(William Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’)
I have been asked to write something about Mustafa , my beloved son ,
who died last week of Thalassemmia and other medical complications . I
am sure his friends and classmates knew more about the young man that
he was . In some respects , very close friends know a lot more about a
particular person than parents do.
He was determined to outshine others in all fields despite his
handicap . Even there , he was unwilling to let others know that he
was sick . And in that we shared that feeling . He immensely cared for
others . He was very humane . He never hurt others feelings . Whenever
he felt by others’ insensitive behaviour , he never showed it . An
indication of his true feelings towards man and beast can be viewed on
his wall on Facebook.
As long as Mustafa was young , I used to take him to PIMS . But never
in his youth , did he bother me . He used to go himself for his
regular blood transfusions or to meet doctors .
, MATHEMATICIANS AND ENGINEERS
Mustafa Mahfooz . A father fondly remembers
Good night, Sweet Prince
May flight of angels sing thee to thy rest
(William Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’)
I have been asked to write something about Mustafa , my beloved son ,
who died last week of Thalassemmia and other medical complications . I
am sure his friends and classmates knew more about the young man that
he was . In some respects , very close friends know a lot more about a
particular person than parents do.
He was determined to outshine others in all fields despite his
handicap . Even there , he was unwilling to let others know that he
was sick . And in that we shared that feeling . He immensely cared for
others . He was very humane . He never hurt others feelings . Whenever
he felt by others’ insensitive behaviour , he never showed it . An
indication of his true feelings towards man and beast can be viewed on
his wall on Facebook.
As long as Mustafa was young , I used to take him to PIMS . But never
in his youth , did he bother me . He used to go himself for his
regular blood transfusions or to meet doctors .
76
He
was a young man of fine tastes . While building our house , Mustafa
designed cupboards for the kitchen and the dining room which were
thoroughly liked by people who came to the house .
I had trained my children to read all available literature of each
medicine which is advised by doctors before using it . Mustafa and I
had read essays written by different authors about Thalassemmia .
Besides , he had been discussing his ailment with doctors of PIMS,
Shifa International and Excel Labs.
Since he was diagnosed in 1987 ,some of our friends and relations
have been asking us if we knew the limited life span of patients of
Thalassemmia. Our replies were always in the affirmative . We as a
family are born optimists . My family and I had been looking at the
positive side of things while praying for the Divine Mercy . Indeed ,
his death was a huge shock for us . However , looking at the positive
side, my family and I are fully satisfied that we did the best we
could .
We are educated people and education teaches us to love not only
healthy children but also those who are less healthy. My sick child
went to the same educational institutions as my other children ..We
tried to provide the best possible medical treatment to him. He got
care, love and affection at home ,at his educational institutions
particularly COMSATS and at the PIMS from the doctors and nurses
alike and by the staff members.
A couple of times, we took him to the CMH, Rawalpindi to be examined
there. Lt. General Muhammad Saleem, the former Surgeon General
Pakistan Army, went out of his way to help us. In 2006, when Mustafa
was hospitalized with Malaria at the Federal Government Services
Hospital, Islamabad, Dr. Iftikhar Malik, the Head of Medicine , paid
designed cupboards for the kitchen and the dining room which were
thoroughly liked by people who came to the house .
I had trained my children to read all available literature of each
medicine which is advised by doctors before using it . Mustafa and I
had read essays written by different authors about Thalassemmia .
Besides , he had been discussing his ailment with doctors of PIMS,
Shifa International and Excel Labs.
Since he was diagnosed in 1987 ,some of our friends and relations
have been asking us if we knew the limited life span of patients of
Thalassemmia. Our replies were always in the affirmative . We as a
family are born optimists . My family and I had been looking at the
positive side of things while praying for the Divine Mercy . Indeed ,
his death was a huge shock for us . However , looking at the positive
side, my family and I are fully satisfied that we did the best we
could .
We are educated people and education teaches us to love not only
healthy children but also those who are less healthy. My sick child
went to the same educational institutions as my other children ..We
tried to provide the best possible medical treatment to him. He got
care, love and affection at home ,at his educational institutions
particularly COMSATS and at the PIMS from the doctors and nurses
alike and by the staff members.
A couple of times, we took him to the CMH, Rawalpindi to be examined
there. Lt. General Muhammad Saleem, the former Surgeon General
Pakistan Army, went out of his way to help us. In 2006, when Mustafa
was hospitalized with Malaria at the Federal Government Services
Hospital, Islamabad, Dr. Iftikhar Malik, the Head of Medicine , paid
77
great
attention to him. While my son was hesitant whether or not to go
in for a PhD programme, given his health , I gave him my full support
saying that there are many MSc (Maths) in Pakistan .But to do a PhD in
the subject would be a rarity in Pakistan . Always remember increase
your demand . Please read the essay written Dt. Pervaiz Hoodbuoy
‘Education in Pakistan’.
I also take this opportunity to take my mission further . Placed
below is a copy one of my letters on the same topic that was
published by the daily ‘ Pakistan Observer’ in June 2010 .
‘My (late) son is doing his PhD in Applied Mathematics. Yesterday I
was going through his papers. At the end of the paper, there was a
long list of references of the authors and their books or papers on
that particular subject. There were only a couple Muslim authors among
them was son’s Professor/Supervisor. In the past Muslims occupied a
prestigious position in sciences. Al Khawarzimi, Omar al Khayam and
many more. Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper, I appeal to
the Muslim youth to strive hard and excel in basic sciences without
which the dream of Muslims advancement will be futile.’
The Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) advised
every Muslim man or a woman to seek knowledge even if you have to go
to China . If his advise was confined to religious knowledge , the
best seat of learning was the Masjid e Nabvi . I also take this
opportunity to recommend two books to the students of this illustrious
seat of learning namely COMSATS . A French Scholar ,Dr . Maurice
Bucaille has written two very good books ‘ The Quran , the Bible and
Science ‘ and ‘The Quran and Modern Science’ . Dear students of
science , please read the Quran carefully . There are many allusions
to science in it: the earth , the sun, the moon and the stars , the
atom and universe.
79
in for a PhD programme, given his health , I gave him my full support
saying that there are many MSc (Maths) in Pakistan .But to do a PhD in
the subject would be a rarity in Pakistan . Always remember increase
your demand . Please read the essay written Dt. Pervaiz Hoodbuoy
‘Education in Pakistan’.
I also take this opportunity to take my mission further . Placed
below is a copy one of my letters on the same topic that was
published by the daily ‘ Pakistan Observer’ in June 2010 .
‘My (late) son is doing his PhD in Applied Mathematics. Yesterday I
was going through his papers. At the end of the paper, there was a
long list of references of the authors and their books or papers on
that particular subject. There were only a couple Muslim authors among
them was son’s Professor/Supervisor. In the past Muslims occupied a
prestigious position in sciences. Al Khawarzimi, Omar al Khayam and
many more. Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper, I appeal to
the Muslim youth to strive hard and excel in basic sciences without
which the dream of Muslims advancement will be futile.’
The Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) advised
every Muslim man or a woman to seek knowledge even if you have to go
to China . If his advise was confined to religious knowledge , the
best seat of learning was the Masjid e Nabvi . I also take this
opportunity to recommend two books to the students of this illustrious
seat of learning namely COMSATS . A French Scholar ,Dr . Maurice
Bucaille has written two very good books ‘ The Quran , the Bible and
Science ‘ and ‘The Quran and Modern Science’ . Dear students of
science , please read the Quran carefully . There are many allusions
to science in it: the earth , the sun, the moon and the stars , the
atom and universe.
79
Always
remember your forefathers viz Al Kwararzimi , Jabir bin Hayyan
, Omar Khayyam , Farabi , Al Razi etc were great scientists who
derived their learning from the Holy Quran .
MAHFOOZ UR RAHMAN
, Omar Khayyam , Farabi , Al Razi etc were great scientists who
derived their learning from the Holy Quran .
MAHFOOZ UR RAHMAN
Islamabad
October
15 , 2010
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