Praise is to Allah by Whose grace good deeds are completed.
I am delighted to share the news that after 5 gruelling years, Alhamdulillah I have succesfully completed my PhD from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), 20 years after first leaving my family in Zimbabwe to study abroad.
After thanking Allah, there are many people who have played a pivotal role on my journey that I must thank. My deepest gratitude to my supervisors for their guidance and support. I would like to thank all of my teachers from the various academic institutes that I have studied at, as well as all those that I have studied with in a traditional setting, over the past 20 years. I must acknowledge my first Sheikh in Zimbabwe, Ismail Menk (Mufti Menk), who initially inspired and encouraged me to go abroad to study, long before the days of social media.
My sincere appreciation to the 30 plus Shariah experts from the UAE and KSA who kindly shared their insights with me for my research. My gratitude also extends to all of the Shariah experts and other experts that I have worked with in the Islamic finance industry over the years.
I would like to thank my paternal family from the United Kingdom and maternal family from Zimbabwe, as well as my siblings, who have always supported me at different stages of my life. A special thanks to my dear mother, who struggled as a widow and made many sacrifices in order to give me a good education as well as supported me being away for so long. My gratitude to my beloved wife and children for their unwavering support, patience and understanding throughout this arduous task that took much of their time and rights over me away from them.
Last but not least, I would like to thank friends and mentors who have supported me directly and indirectly.
May Allah reward all of the above and have mercy on those from among them who have passed away.
Ameen.
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing and the PhD process has been mentally draining. Juggling between work and academia was exhausting. After a long day of reviewing hundreds of pages of transaction documentation for Shariah issues and then sitting through the notorious Riyadh traffic on the way home, the last thing on my mind was researching and writing.
Everyones PhD journey is different.There are many internal and external factors beyond your control. At times, I felt as though everytime I would take a step forward, I would end up taking two steps back. On numerous occasions I came very close to stopping all together. It is only with the encouragement of those close to me that I continued.
Finally, after completing two Bachelors, a Masters and now a PhD what do I actually know? A small drop in the ocean of knowledge. The more you learn the more you realise how little you actually know. May Allah always keep us humble and thirsty for beneficial knowledge. Ameen.
Abu Salih (Dr. Asim Kamal)
