This is especially dedicated to exam going students.
I got a msg from a sister who will be sitting for PIISI exam (final 4th year MBBS exam) in less than a month and it has triggered me to complete my unfinished article (which I have started composing after my PIISI exam). I hope this will be helpful to her and others in the same shoes.
The simplified version of what she wrote was ‘kak hani!!! cuak!!! Camne ni! Camne nak study during study break?’
Exams have always been terrifying, isn’t it? Those sitting for exams presented with a range of symptoms from palpitation, diarrhea, headache, insomnia to psychiatric symptoms such as mania & depression.
For me, life used to be so bad during exams but now I’ve found a way to conquer exams and I can go through exams without compromising my quality of life.
After trying for so many years to get pleasure from exams (since I think it is a waste of time to do something without enjoying it) I have finally come to realize that I was miserable during exams because I had the wrong mindset. Resetting my mind works wonders for me.
1. Intention for other than Allah -> Intention exclusively for Allah
Since we are here in this world to worship Allah and to call others to also worship Allah, we want everything that we do to be counted as Ibadah (act of worshipping Allah). In order for all our investment in exams to be Ibadah we have to always make sure that whatever we do is for Allah.
2. Exam is the most important thing in life -> Exam is important only to a certain extent
There is no doubt that exam is important but the importance is limited to a certain level and exceeding this level can be very devastating especially to our personal life. I feel that we should not give it too much space, up to the extent where it could affect our appetite, sleep, exercise, entertainment (the halal ones) and more importantly our solat (wajib or sunat), qiam, quran recitation & other ibadah that we usually perform.
Don’t forget that death can come anytime. We’ll be at loss if we die while we were so occupied by an exam. There’s no way we can prepare for exams without preparing for death. Just remember all the time that we are a servant of Allah not exams and act accordingly. So, let’s take control and never let exams control us.
3. Exam is all about luck -> Exam is not about luck but depends on individual rezeki (what Allah has determined for each of us)
We always hear people say that exam is all about luck. How can it be luck when Allah the Almighty is very precise? I believe that to excel in exams we have to please Allah up to the extent where He pities us and wants us to excel. Then only we can survive through difficult questions, mean examiner and other obstacles that may happen in exams.
Time is limited. Don’t waste time on forbidden thing that may hinder us from getting Allah’s blessings and help. Be sensitive about prayer times, aurat and the way we interact with the opposite sex. In the end what matters the most is ‘berkat’ not the amount we study.
Within the tension of exams, be it OSCE, viva or written exam, only Allah can help us. So why not turn to the One in power? He can open our hearts to study the topics that will be asked in exams, give us the idea to answer questions on topic that we did not study and soften nasty examiner. When we have no idea how to even start studying for an exam he can lead us to the most effective way of studying. We just have to ask him to guide us and for me the best time to ask is always during solat tahajud. Make du’a and cry, insyaallah He’ll guide us through this challenging time.
So the next time you feel down, turn to him. Don’t trouble your friends because they can’t really help you and you’ll be wasting their time. But this doesn’t mean that you can refuse when a friend needs someone to talk to or needs a shoulder to cry on.
4. Clueless on the practicality of Quran -> Quran teaches me how to study
I love the way Quran teaches me to study medicine. Medicine is too vast and everything is very much interrelated. Even though books divide the various subjects in medicine into chapters, a topic can never be studied within a chapter or a subject. In the beginning years of studying medicine when I was asked to study a subject matter I don’t know where to look up for it. On top of that different author may give different information and in exams there is only one right answer! So for exam purpose, studying medicine is not merely studying the various subjects in the course but also the books, the author, the exam as well as the examiner. Studying should be fun but this is not fun at all!
Then Al-Quran came into the picture because at the same time I was also trying to understand the translation of Quran. At first I found that it was difficult to understand the translation because it doesn’t go by organized topics as in other books and most topics were repeated everywhere. When I need to refer the Quran for something I don’t know where to get the suitable verse/s. This problem is very much similar to the problem I was facing in studying medicine. Later I realized that this book of wisdom is telling me that is how knowledge works. It is vast, there are always new discoveries and there is no one way to organize it. The most important thing is to be selective and focus on useful knowledge which can be applied in order to improve quality of life.
Al-Quran is a book of knowledge that is very concise. It tells us in the right amount of details the things that human minds cannot decide like the unseen, history and laws. As for the knowledge in which human minds are given the potential to explore and discover as in mathematics and science, it only states the principal part of the knowledge. These words of Allah are arranged in a way that readers can find out answers to a lot of issues by reading only a few verses or surah as one surah covers more than one fundamental issue of life.
In striving for knowledge, the Quran asks us to read and ask the people who know the matter that we are studying. The issues written inside have taught me to be selective, the way it was arranged has taught me to be thorough and the way it was sent down has given me the idea to advance gradually (in small stages). Understanding the Quran does not solve the complicatedness of studying medicine but it teaches me to accept it positively and put things into perspective
So, I hope you’ll refer the Quran at least once a day because not only it has the answer to your questions but it can also cheer you up.
5. People who have succeeded motivates me -> Rasulullah pbuh as a role model and motivator
For motivation, I used to look up to the people who have succeeded in the exam that I was sitting for. However, there are only a few people who can really be a source of motivation while the rest end up giving me more headaches.
At last I resort to Seerah (history) of Prophet Muhammad pbuh for motivation and it works. I always think of exams as the battles that Rasulullah pbuh has participated in and I’ll be inspired to study. I feel that his taqwa, patience, tolerance and tawakal are something that we have to follow to in order to conquer exams.
6. Exam is a problem -> Exam is a blessing
Allah loves us and always gives us chance to be close to him through trials and difficulties. However people often seek help in other than Allah. Exam is one condition in which no one can help us and we have no choice but to turn to Allah.
So make full use of the fear of exams to be closer to Allah. Turn to him wholeheartedly, ask for forgiveness, please him more by increasing the amount and quality of Ibadah and work harder to free ourselves from committing sins.
For daies who have been working hard to spread the deen, just remember and do believe that Allah has promised that He will help those who help Him. With His help, exams will be easy for you and that experience will strengthen your believe and inspire you to work more for him in future Insyaallah.
7. Exam is an excuse from other obligations -> Exam is not an excuse from other obligations
I used to excuse myself from other obligations during exams. Later I realized that is not the way to deal with life because in life all happen at once. I mean life doesn’t wait for us to finish the exam to give us problems or other life events. Sickness, accidents, death, birth, break ups, relationship problems, birthdays, weddings, reunion and other events that may affect us tremendously usually take place during exams. If we wait until an exam is over to please or help the important people in our lives we might end up regretting as we might not get the chance to do so afterwards.
So, our tight schedule during exams should not stop us from calling our parents or helping friends in need. Here I would like to also remind myself and others to help our brothers and sisters in Palestine by boycotting products that are known to give profit to Israel. Restraining ourselves from using or eating something is always better than killing our own brothers and sisters. Don’t forget that by helping others we can get Allah’s blessings and we really need that for exams.
8. Success is getting good grades -> Success is becoming a better person
Exam is a man-made tool to measure how much a student knows. As other man-made tools, it is very defective. It doesn’t accurately measure knowledge as there can be errors at every level – students memorizing instead of understanding the answer, copy other student’s answer, examiner giving answer or too strict, wrong level questions and the list is endless. Even though everybody knows this and continuously make fuss of the system, people still allow themselves to be affected by it.
Exam however is useful in the sense that it is an effective tool for character building if we deal with it correctly. Whatever result that we get is okay as long as after the exam we become a more humble servant and a more reliable person to others. We can always work on the grade later, right? But without righteous character, knowledge would be totally useless and even harmful for others.
What are the characters that should be built within us? I think it can be best summarized in 10 points:
1) Strong belief/ aqidah
2) Proper Ibadah
3) Good conduct (akhlak)
4) Knowlegeable
5) Physically fit
6) Value time
7) Having self control
8) Systematic
9) Independent
l0) Useful to others
After I change the way I think, I can deal with exam stress better. The fear and nervousness can be defeated immediately. At the end of the day it all boils down to one point – our result is ultimately determined by Allah and He’ll give us the best. I hope you’ll go through this exam happily and may this exam be a meaningful turning point for you insyaallah.
