Archive for category Films
Poem Analysis “Funeral Blues” W.H. Auden
Posted by asad123 in Films, Poems, relationships on January 22, 2012
(Poem #256) Funeral Blues
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
[If this poem sounds familiar to you, perhaps it is
because an actor reads it dramatically at a funeral
for the man he loves. W. H. Auden also
likely wrote it for a man he deeply loved.
I enjoy the following lines, "He was my North, my South,
my East and West,/ My working week and my Sunday rest."
These are the four cardinal directions.The beloved dominates
his sense of both space and time. This suggests he went
everywhere with him and spent every moment with him.
I hear echoes of a very ancient poem in this Auden piece.
The Roman poet Catullus wrote a love poem in Latin that
resembles this one.
(http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/Latin1000/Readings/1020B/25catullus2.pdf/ ) It almost seems
comical that he goes to such lengths to mourn a little bird,
but this was a pet that his beloved adored.
Not everyone can write a poem like this when someone dies.
Yet there is something about the feeling of the poem that
anyone who has lost a loved one will recognize.]
Song Analysis – “Poison & Wine” The Civil Wars
I know everything you don’t want me to
Your mouth is poison
Your mouth is wine
You think your dreams are the same as mine
I don’t love you but I always will
I don’t love you but I always will
I don’t love you but I always will
I always will
I wish you’d hold me when I turn my back
The less I give the more I get back
Oh, your hands can heal
Your hands can bruise
I don’t have a choice but I’d still choose you
Oh, I don’t love you but I always will
Oh, I don’t love you but I always will
I don’t love you but I always will
Oh, I don’t love you but I always will
I don’t love you but I always will(3x)
Please watch the video of the song. Pay attention to who says which words and also watch for the distance between the two of them as it becomes farther apart and closer together.]
Hadith Analysis – “Islam Is Sincerity”
What does it mean to be sincere? Does sincerity matter? Why or why not?
A crucial Hadith or Saying of the Prophet tells the believers, “Religion (Islam) is to act with sincerity” (Reported by Imam Muslim). In Arabic, it is ad deenu nasiha. A funny thing about this saying is that even though it is just two words, this Hadith is not easy to translate. This time English and Arabic can share the blame. “Religion” is a poor synonym for deen, which might be better rendered by the Chinese “Dao,” which means way, system, or philosophy. Nasiha poses problems because even in Arabic, it has no synonym and its range of meanings includes “giving good advice, directing toward the good, and being benevolent.” In fact, many translators render this Hadith as “Religion is sincere advice,” which is an honest mistake, but a mistake nonetheless.
Happily, there is a corollary to this Hadith that elaborates on its meaning. The Companions asked Rasulullah (S), “[Sincerity] to whom?” He replied, “To Allah, His Book, His Messenger, the leaders of the Muslims, and the common people.”
This second part makes clear that Rasulullah (S) did not limit the meaning of naseeha to sincere advice. Muslims could never give sincere advice to Allah or to the Quran. How can you possibly give advice to The Knower who is aware of everything? The Quran is a scripture so it does not make sense for a person to give advice to it. Muslims can no longer, though they once could, give sincere advice to Rasulullah (S). Some Muslims, regardless of the time in which they lived, could give sincere advice to the leaders of the Muslims. And all Muslims can give sincere advice to one another.
Yet using the larger meaning of “sincerity,” it is possible and crucially important for Muslims to show sincerity to Allah, the Quran, Rasulullah (S), leaders, and the masses.
Here is a chart summarizing how to show sincerity to different entities:
- Allah – by believing in Him, establishing what is obligatory, thanking Him, and bringing people to do this.
- His book – by learning it, acting according to it, and guiding people to this.
- His Messenger – Muhammad bin ‘Abd Allah (S) by following him, assisting him, and defending him.
- The leaders of the Muslims – those responsible for their affairs, by respecting them and obeying their orders in what pleases Allah and His Messenger Muhammad (S); “O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those of you who are in authority” (Sura Al-Nisa’, 4:59), and by correcting them when they err.
- Their common folk – by guiding them to what contains their happiness in the world and the afterlife, and offering them assistance and protection.
While this seems simple in theory, it can pose severe challenges in practice. A big part of naseeha is obeying rules. We all have had experience with rules that we did not want to obey, whether it’s a rule telling us to drive 35 mph or a rule that says how much of our income we must give to the state or a rule telling us not to eat candy. It is often more profitable in the short run to disobey rules. But a Muslim must maintain a long-term view as well as a short-term view so that he or she can see both delayed and immediate consequences to actions. Obedience is not easy. In the middle of my writing this essay, my father asked me for a calculator while holding a calculator in his hand. Immediately, I asked, “Why do you need a calculator when you already have one?” That was a mistake. I should have shown my father more respect by just getting one for him. Then I looked in the kitchen drawers and told him I couldn’t find it. He said to look in the study. Again I made a mistake, I should have listened better. Then I brought him one calculator and he said it was not the right kind. Perhaps I should have asked him exactly what kind he needed. I felt frustrated, but I pushed on. Finally I brought him the right calculator and he was satisfied.
Another aspect of naseeha is gratitude. We may think gratitude is easy but it is not always so. Part of gratitude is saying “thank you,” but a thornier part of gratitude is using resources well without wasting anything. After all, if one wastes something, one is acting ungrateful to the one who made the thing.
Naseeha also encompasses forbidding someone from doing wrong. We do not forbid Allah from anything because He does not do wrong. But our leaders and our neighbors may do things wrong. Some of us have no problem criticizing others and can do this with ease. Others are very reluctant to hurt other people’s feelings and may restrain themselves too much. When we have valid criticisms such as when a leader enacts an unjust law, we must stand up against it. Also if a neighbor creates a nuisance that disturbs the neighborhood, we ought to politely ask him or her to stop.
Look carefully and you will see that every act that a Muslim ought to do falls under the category of naseeha. So in essence, not only is Rasulullah (S) saying here that naseeha is essential in Islam, he is implying that there is nothing in Islam except for naseeha.
Song Analysis “When My Time Comes” Dawes
There were moments of dreams I was offered to save
I live less like a workhorse, more like a slave
I thought that one quick moment that was noble or brave
Would be worth the most of my life.
So I pointed my fingers, and shout a few quotes I knew
As if something that’s written should be taken as true
But every path I have taken and conclusion I drew
Would put truth back under the knife.
And now the only piece of advice that continues to help:
Is anyone that’s making anything new only breaks something else.
When my time comes,
Ohhhhh, oh oh oh.
When my times comes,
Ohhhhh, oh oh oh.
So I took what I wanted and put it out of my reach
I wanted to pay for my successes with all my defeats,
And if heaven was all that was promised to me
Why don’t I pray for death?
And now it seems like the unraveling has started too soon,
Now I’m sleeping in hallways and I’m drinking perfume
And I’m speaking to mirrors and I’m howling at moons
While the worst and the worst that it gets.
Oh you can judge all the world on the sparkle that you think it lacks.
Yes you can stare into the abyss, but it’s staring right back.
When my time comes,
Ohhhhh, oh oh oh.
When my time comes,
Ohhhhh, oh oh oh.
Oh you can judge all the world on the sparkle that you think it lacks.
Yes you can stare into the abyss, but it’s staring right back.
When my time comes,
Ohhhhh, oh oh oh.
When my time comes,
Ohhhhh, oh oh oh.
[Dawes is a band from Los Angeles. More specifically, they are from Laurel Canyon which has been a rich source of musical talent including Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, Carole King, and many others.
This is a song about belief, death, darkness, and light.
The speaker says, "So I pointed my fingers, and shout a few quotes I knew/ As if something that's written should be taken as true." There is a danger when a person quotes someone older and perhaps wiser. The danger is that we buy in too much, that is, we lend too much credibility, to words because of who said them. Wise people can still make mistakes. Also, isn't it better to speak from our own experience and our own intuition than to borrow either the experience or intuition of someone else? Part of a good education is learning that not everything that is written is true.
The speaker sings, "Oh you can judge all the world on the sparkle that you think it lacks." This is a jab at the idea that this world ought to be radically different from the way it is. He's saying you shouldn't look at everything with the eyes of a critic, trying to find fault. It is much better to look at things with the eyes of the destitute who tend to appreciate even tiny blessings. This is not to say that one should never try to change things for the better. We should all do that. We just shouldn't despair out of worry that things will never be perfect.
"When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you," wrote existential philosopher Friedrich Nietzche in an essay. (I would like to know which essay and if you know, please leave a comment.) This statement, echoed in the song by the verse, "you can stare into the abyss, but it's staring right back," has many meanings. It really depends on what you make of the abyss. The interpretation I favor is that the abyss symbolizes the darkness within our own souls. When we look out into empty space, we start to focus on the emptiness within us, then part of us which is empty looks back.
"So I took what I wanted and put it out of my reach/ I wanted to pay for my successes with all my defeats." These two lines make me think of Buddhism. In fact, this may be one of the most concise summaries of Buddhism I have ever seen. Buddhism says that existence is pain, or translated alternatively, existence is unsatisfactory. The root cause of the problems of existence, for Buddhists, is desire. Buddhists try to defeat desire by denying themselves wealth, food, and sex - the things people most desire. Buddhists also believe in karma which is nicely encapsulated by the idea of let me "pay for my successes with all my defeats." Although these ideas resonate strongly with Buddhism, they exist in other traditions. A Muslim fasts with similar intentions. She wants to defeat her desire for food, and by extension, for sin, so she denies herself what she wants. She struggles to emulate Rasulullah (S) and in so doing experiences many defeats. But with Divine Mercy, these defeats are merely prelude to eternal success. There will always be a price for being good and for some people the price is higher than it is for other people. I have mentioned Buddhism and Islam, but Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Sikhism have these concepts or similar ones as well.
The video of this song is on Youtube and it really touched me. It alludes strongly to the film "Cool Hand Luke." It's a great, classic film that's worth watching. It might not seem to connect with the lyrics but if you think about it, you'll see it does. A central issue in "Cool Hand Luke" is whether people are made evil or whether they choose to be evil. Luke is someone for whom the price of being good is very high and so he falls over and over again into evil. Yet can't even an evil man be redeemed?]
Chicago Blizzard of 2011
I am not going to apply a hyperbolic nickname like “Snowpocalypse” or “Snowmageddon” to the blizzard which has just his Chicagoland, but I will say this is the biggest snow disaster I have seen in my life. I have lived in Chicagoland for all of my twenty eight years.
It has shut down nearly everything. Private schools, public schools, and universities are closed today. It does not take a whole lot to shut down a suburban private school but CPS (Chicago Public Schools) only closes when public transportation in Chicago shuts down. CPS is closed today for the first time since 1999. Shops and restaurants are closed. Courts in Cook, DuPage, and Will County are closed. The only facilities I know to be open are hospitals, police stations, fire departments, and homeless shelters.
The estimated tally for inches of snow in Downers Grove is 23. Some of my readers may reside outside the snow-exporting states, so they may have a hard time comprehending what nearly two feet of snow looks like. It’s sort of like a freezer that hasn’t been defrosted for ten years. Except it’s your house and your driveway. Three people are at home today at my house and we have all been on snow duty. It’s nearly 2 p.m. as I write this and we can’t even get one car out of the driveway. Though it’s not much of a loss because our street is unplowed and even if it were clear, as mentioned before, just about everything is closed.
This is one for the record books to be sure. Perhaps someday I will tell my grandchildren about the Great Chicago Blizzard of 2011. The news stations say this is the worst blizzard since 1967, though my mother, an Illinois resident since 1976, insists that the 1979 Blizzard was worse.
I suppose this is an appropriate time for religious reflection. It is amazing that Allah has endowed this planet and its surrounding atmosphere with the power to produce precipitation (the power to produce precipitation; try saying it five times fast) of this magnitude. But I already credit Allah with creating the entire universe ex nihilo so the fact that he can muster two feet of snow doesn’t tell me anything I didn’t elready know. I am grateful that Allah has decided in His Mercy to spare myself and my family from the potential calamities that such a storm could have brought. Alhamdulillah. (All praise is to Allah).
Make a Play: The Trailer for “Fordson”
Imagine an old Arab woman. A black veil obscures her wispy white hair. She has a fist in the air. She is chanting loudly. Zoom out and you notice with surprise that the woman is not praying, nor is she protesting. She is on the bleachers cheering at a high school football game. This is just one of the powerful images of a new documentary called “Fordson.” The film tells the story of Fordson High, a school in Dearborn, Michigan with a large population of Muslim students. The players on the football team endure not only the tremendous physical challenges of their sport, but the added challenges of fasting during Ramadan and the bigoted reaction to American Muslims on the anniversary of 9-11. Watch this trailer. Tell your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers about it. It’s a story that cries out to be told.
Abraham/Ibraheem
(34) And when Abraham said: My Lord! Make safe this territory, and preserve me and my sons from serving idols. (35) My Lord! Lo! they have led many of mankind astray. But whoso followeth me, he verily is of me. And whoso disobeyeth me – Still Thou art Forgiving, Merciful. (36) Our Lord! Lo! I have settled some of my posterity in an uncultivable valley near unto Thy holy House, our Lord! that they may establish proper worship; so incline some hearts of men that they may yearn toward them, and provide Thou them with fruits in order that they may be thankful. (37) Our Lord! Lo! Thou knowest that which we hide and that which we proclaim. Nothing in the earth or in the heaven is hidden from Allah. (38) Praise be to Allah Who hath given me, in my old age, Ishmael and Isaac! Lo! my Lord is indeed the Hearer of Prayer. (39) My Lord! Make me to establish proper worship, and some of my posterity (also); our Lord! and accept my prayer. (40) Our Lord! Forgive me and my parents and believers on the day when the account is cast.
Prophet Ibraheem (A) also known as Abraham and Abram, was a father. He was the father of Ismail (A) and Ishaq (A). Ismail was an ancestor of Prophet Muhammad (S). Ishaq (A) was the ancestor of many prophets including Yaqub (A), Yusuf (A), Musa (A), and Isa (A).
This passage of the Quran from a chapter named for Ibraheem (A) is a beautiful prayer expressing the prophet’s hopes and dreams for the future. He asks first for safety, reflecting his role as a caring father. He implores Allah to protect his family from idol worship. Ibraheem (A) was the son of an idol maker, so he knew the dangers of idol worship, which the Quran calls shirk.
He expresses concern about the settling of his family in Arabia, the land of the Kaaba, which he built with his older son, Ismail (A). He knows that it is rough territory. Yet he believes that Allah (SWT) can provide with no limits.
He thanks Allah (SWT) for giving him his two sons. He testifies that Allah (SWT) is the “Hearer of Prayer.” Knowing that he has prayed to Allah (SWT) and that He has answered him time and again, he expresses his deep gratitude to his Creator. How many of us remember the prayers Allah has answered when we ask Him for something new?
He closes with a sentence that is succinct yet all-encompassing. In conclusion, he says, “Our Lord! Forgive me and my parents and believers on the day when the account is cast.” He looks to the present, asking for his own forgiveness. He looks to the past, asking for forgiveness for his parents. His father made idols, but Ibraheem (A) still holds on to the hope that Allah (SWT) will pardon him. Then he looks to the future, asking for forgiveness for the believers that will come after him, a group that, Inshallah, includes us.
The Deep Ocean
The Deep Ocean
Not with my hands, but with my soul
Not to her grave, but to her soul.
The fragility of her tiny hands
The deep ocean of her soul
The wrinkles on her face
Told the story of her soul
She did not worry about our careers
But was concerned about our souls
The problems the world faced
She saw answers in our souls
Allah put an end to her pain
Returning her to the form of a pure soul
6/12/2010
Zaynab Speaks
[This is a unique post in honor of a special day, Ashura. Muslims commemorate Ashura on the tenth day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. On this day, the Children of Israel escaped the oppression of Pharaoh (possible Ramses II)'s Egypt. Jews fasted on this day since the time of Prophet Moses (A). Muslims fasted on this day as well, even before they began fasting in Ramadan. A generation after Prophet Muhammad (S)'s death, his beloved grandson, Husayn (R), fought valiantly against the army of Yazid Bin Mu'awiyah, on Ashura in Karbala, in what is now Iraq. (The Arabic "Bin" means "son of" so Yazid Bin Mu'awiyah was Yazid, son of Mu'awiyah.) He became a martyr and Yazid imprisoned the women and children of his family, of the Prophet's family.]
In the Darbar (Court) of Yazid Bin Mu’awiyah
Lady Zaynab [(R)] Speaks in the Court of Yazid
After the massacre of Imam Husayn bin ‘Ali [(R)] and his companions at Karbala, the forces of Yazid bin Mu’awiyah took the children and women of Husayn’s caravan as prisoners. They were taken from Karbala to Kufa and from Kufa to Damascus, the capital and stronghold of Umayyid power.
In Damascus, the women and children were presented into the court (darbar) of Yazid. Yazid had assembled all the dignitaries and officers of his capital for that occasion. When the prisoners where brought in, they saw that Imam Husayn’s head was at the foot of Yazid’s [throne]. Yazid was joyfully reciting some poems in which he openly rejected the Prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) and called on his ancestors (who were killed by the Muslim army in the battle of Badr) to witness the revenge which he had extracted from the family of the Prophet.
It was under such an emotionally charged circumstances that Zaynab bin Ali [(R)], the courageous daughter of a courageous father, stood up and gave a very moving speech in response to Yazid’s statements.
In the name of Allah the, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Universe,Allah’s blessings be on His Messenger’s Family altogether.
Allah says: “Then the end of those who do evil deeds is that they reject the verses of Allah and ridicule them”. (Quran 30:10)
Oh Yazid! Do you think that by making us prisoners in such a way that we are being taken from one place to another in humiliation – do you think that by this you have humiliated us in the sight of Allah and have earned respect for yourself?!
This apparent success of yours is the result of [the] grandeur of your might and [the] lofty status for which you are proud. . . . You feel that you have conquered the whole world and your affairs are [organized] and that our domain is now under you control. . . . And are you forgetting that Allah has said:
“Surely those who have bought unbelief at the price of faith shall do no harm at all to Allah, and they shall have a painful chastisement”. (Quran 3:177)
Then Zaynab reminds Yazid that his grandmother and other relatives came into the fold of Islam only after the fall of Mecca at the hands of the Muslims. Since Mecca was taken without any war or bloodshed, legally the entire inhabitant could have been made the slaves of the Prophet. But the Prophet, out of his mercy, declared to the people of Mecca that ‘I release you from the bonds of slavery, you are free.’ In other words, Zaynab wanted Yazid to remember that his ancestors were the ‘freed slaves’ of her grandfather. Look at the courage of Zaynab! Standing as a prisoner in the court of Yazid, she does not hesitate to remind him of his reality.
Is it justice, O son of the freed slaves!, that you provide your ladies and slave-girls with hijab, whereas the daughters of the Messenger of God are held prisoners? You have insulted them by taking away the covers; you have exposed their faces to the enemies — from one city to another. Everyone irrespective of his high or low status stares at their faces. These ladies do not have their [gentlemen] or protectors with them.
Then Zaynab reminds the audience of the origins of Yazid: his grandmother, Hind (the wife of Abu Sufyan), had ordered her slave after the battle of Uhud to cut open the chest of Hamzah, the Prophet’s uncle, and chewed upon his liver to ‘quench’ her anger for death of her father and brother who were killed in Badr.
But, of course, how can we expect protection from him whose mouth spits out the heart of the pious people, whose flesh has grown from the blood of martyrs? And why should he not hate us who is jealous of us and shamefully say: ‘I wish my ancestors had seen me today; they would congratulate me and pray that my hand would never be weak’. He is saying this while, he is hurting [with his cane] the teeth of Husayn, the leader of the Youths of Paradise.
Why should he not say these things — he who has cursed his feelings and sores by spilling the blood of Muhammad’s family, the stars of the family of ‘Abdul Muttalib.
You call your ancestors hoping that they will answer you. You will be put together with them and then you will regret and say had my tongue become dumb so that I would not have said what I said.
O Allah! Give us our right, and avenge those who have oppressed us; and send your anger upon those that spilled our blood and killed our protectors
By Allah! O Yazid, by killing ‘Husayn you have not torn but your own skin and you have not cut but your own flesh. You will be brought to the Prophet with the crimes of spilling the blood of his children and humiliating his family.
“The oppressors will know when the time changes [against them].
(Taken from Pakistan News (Chicago) Jan. 17 to Jan. 23, 2008, Compiled by Mehdi Ali Mirza, Karbala map from Wikipedia)
Live Like a Traveler
“Live Like We’re Dying” is the latest single by Kris Allen, the reigning American Idol. It’s not a bad song. It’s even mathematically correct, which is rare for a pop song, because it says “We only got 86 400 seconds in a day.” Geek that I am, I took out a calculator and multiplied 60 by 60 by 24, and it came out to exactly 86,400.
I don’t know if you felt this way, but when I first heard the song, I thought to myself, “Haven’t I heard this before?” Which is weird because it’s a brand-new single, released this year. It turns out that Tim McGraw has a recent song with a very similar title, “Live Like You Were Dying.” Also, Lenka has a song called, “Live Like You’re Dying” I don’t think I’ve heard the Lenka song, but I’m pretty sure I’ve heard the Tim McGraw one.
But this is not about pop music. It’s about an idea. There is this idea in our culture that if you think you’re going to die, you should live your life to the fullest, meaning you should travel to exotic places, eat rich food, jump out of a plane, etc.
But it takes just a little thinking to realize that this is a fantasy. This is not the way most people die – in any culture. First, most people don’t have any certainty about when they will die. Second, even people with a high certainty that they will die soon, as in a few months, don’t live their last days this way. Living one’s life to the fullest, in the sense of taking a fancy vacation or buying a Harley requires two things that people who are dying typically don’t have. These two things are health and wealth.
Prophet Muhammad (S) told Ibn Umar to “live in this world like a stranger, or a traveler.” A traveler leaves home with what he or she will need for the journey. The word “need” here is crucial and it’s different from “want.” One may want to bring along one’s collection of neckties, but most can meet their needs with just one or two. The true test of a need is the “sine qua non” test. The Latin phrase “sine qua non” means “without which, [there is] nothing.” Our needs are the things we cannot do without, like water, medicine, and clothing.
But how does one apply this analogy to life? If life is a journey, where are we going? Whether we choose to believe it or not, we are all going to the world of the Hereafter, of Heaven or of Hell. We cannot bring our bodies or our wealth into the next world, but we can bring our deeds.
The best deeds are not huge acts of generosity but small acts of good done daily. Reading a few verses of the Quran before bed, listening to one’s parents, calling one’s siblings, and perhaps writing in a blog to inspire others to do good.