Courage (1)

The most appealing thing about Hollywood movies is its ability to get the audience involved in the story, to get completely absorbed into the plots and characters, to feel how the characters feel and to sometimes even become the character.

Many Muslim parents sense a dilemma in allowing their children to watch these movies even the cartoons or childrens' fiction such as Harry Potter. No doubt even the most ‘innocent’ of movies will have subliminal messages, inappropriate romance, contradictions to our Islamic culture and values. However, there could potentially be positive lessons to be learned.

Human beings maybe easily influenced especially at a tender age but only if they are uninformed, only if we never taught them to critically evaluate the things they watch and the information that they receive. If we give them the correct information, values and ideas from our Islamic Aqeedah then InshaAllah they will be able to reject the contradictions and to emulate the positive aspects portrayed.

A positive message that stands out in these children’s movies is courage and bravery. 

Courage is defined in the online Oxford dictionary as the ability to do something that frightens one or strength in the face of pain or grief. 

Courage manifest itself when a person is able to overcome his/her fears and faces the thing that frightens them. It is the ability to get past this emotion and to face the challenges ahead.

Hermione: You'd be okay Harry. You are a great wizard
Harry: Not as good as you.
Hermione: Me? Books and cleverness....there are more important things like friendship and bravery.
(Harry potter and the philosopher stone)

Allah SWT says in the Qur’an surah 3: 160

إِن يَنصُرۡكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فَلَا غَالِبَ لَكُمۡ‌ۖ وَإِن يَخۡذُلۡكُمۡ فَمَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَنصُرُكُم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِهِۦ‌ۗ وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ  

فَلۡيَتَوَكَّلِ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ

If Allah is your helper none can overcome you, and if He withdraw His help from you, who is there who can help you after Him? In Allah let believers put their trust.

The Qur’an teaches the Muslims to have no fear. This courage and bravery comes from our believe  in Allah SWT and that nothing bad can ever happen to us without His permission. A Muslim relies on Allah SWT alone and we do not fear anything but Him.

We do not fear the created unseen (ghaib)

There are many things that are ghaib in this world. Allah SWT informs of the world of the unseen such as the Jinn, angels, Jannah and Jahannam. Malay movies are often plagued by fear of ghosts, hantu, jembalang and all kinds of scary creatures. In the movies, they promote all forms of ‘ilmu pati-geni’ and sihir. However, do we cultivate the attribute of courage and bravery? Do we get the characters to show strength of Iman in believing that these things cannot harm us without the permission of Allah? Do we encourage the audience to truly seek protection from Allah SWT against these khurafat? Do we highlight the fact that All Knowledge, All Power belongs to Allah SWT alone and that these things do not have any Power except that which Allah SWT has permitted for them?

What about sihir (black magic)? 

Surah al Baqarah: Harut and Marut (2:102)

And follow that which the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Solomon. Solomon disbelieved not; but the devils disbelieved, teaching mankind magic and that which was revealed to the two angels in Babel, Harut and Marut. Nor did they (the two angels) teach it to anyone till they had said: We are only a temptation, therefore disbelieve not (in the guidance of Allah). And from these two (angles) people learn that by which they cause division between man and wife; but they injure thereby no-one save by Allah's leave. And they learn that which harmeth them and profiteth them not. And surely they do know that he who trafficketh therein will have no (happy) portion in the Hereafter; and surely evil is the price for which they sell their souls, if they but knew. 

Allah SWT allows the existence of sihir as a test for those who choose to learn it, perform it and use it. Harut and Marut were sent as a test to the people of Babylon, offering to teach them this knowledge but it came with a warning. This 'magic' would cause the separation between man and wife and those who choose to learn from it were sinful. They will not harm anyone with it except those whom Allah allows. Hence, the test is for those who choose to learn and perform such magic.

Allah SWT warns us that Syaitan are ever so willing to mislead mankind and will use any form of vice such as alcohol, drugs, sexual relationships and whatever they can including black magic to tempt mankind into faltering and falling astray.

قَالَ فَبِمَآ أَغۡوَيۡتَنِى لَأَقۡعُدَنَّ لَهُمۡ صِرَٲطَكَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ (١٦) ثُمَّ لَأَتِيَنَّهُم مِّنۢ بَيۡنِ أَيۡدِيہِمۡ وَمِنۡ خَلۡفِهِمۡ وَعَنۡ أَيۡمَـٰنِہِمۡ وَعَن شَمَآٮِٕلِهِمۡ‌ۖ وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكۡثَرَهُمۡ شَـٰكِرِينَ (١٧) Surah al A'raf

He said, “Now that You have led me astray, I will certainly sit for them (in ambush) on Your straight path. (16) Then I will come upon them from their front side and from their behind, and from their right and from their left. You will not find most of them grateful. (17) 

Surah An Nisa':119 "(Syaitan said) And I will lead them astray and I will tempt them with false desires..."

However, this does not mean that we should not protect ourselves as no one is immune to temptation. We need to constantly remember Allah SWT, recite Qur'an and make dua to Him to protect us from these things. However, we should not fear the unseen but rather we should fear our own accountability and actions.

The only aspect of the unseen that we ought to fear is the fear of Jahannam. Jahannam is the fire whose fuel are men and stones. Everything else is the creation of Allah SWT whose purpose in life is to distract us from the worship of Allah, to distract us from being obedient to Allah. No doubt they have been given the ‘power’ to seduce, to enhance our feelings of desire, fear and negative emotions, to whisper to us, encourage us to enter Jahannam alongside them but that is the test that we have to face. To face such test, we must have courage and bravery.

NEXT: courage to face the enemy and to speak the truth.