By Muhammad Siddiqui
Last month, my doctor sent me to the Laboratory for a urine test. The receptionist gave me a bottle on which my name “Muhammad Siddiqui” was written. I explained to her that I cannot urinate in a bottle on which my Prophet’s name is written, as it is a religious issue. She considered my request and gave me another bottle with my name abbreviated as: M. Siddiqui, which is better as it does not spell out “Muhammad”.
This may also happen with other Muslim friends who are sent for a urination test and whose names contain “Muhammad”, “Allah” or any other Prophets’ names.
Apart from religion, everyone has some respect for his/her name and probably do not appreciate urinating in a bottle that is labeled with their name. In Canada, every person has a care card number that can be used instead of the individual’s name to label the bottle.
A lot of the people may not realize the importance of this, but I would like to raise awareness of the Muslim community. Hopefully, this can lead to a change in the way urine test bottles are labeled and prevent us from having to urinate on names that contain “Muhammad”, “Allah” or other prophets’ names.
Thank you very much for considering my request,
