My favourite love em’ video this week in the non-Islamic Category is:
A tie between Independence and When Dreams change.
My favourite love em’ video this week in the Islamic Category is:
How Am I Going To Serve Allah? – Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan
First, I have to say that although I haven’t really watched as many videos as usual this last week, still the decision to pick one as my favourite was nearly impossible and I really should have given it more thought, before going out on a limb on this series. The videos that I’ll list here are all excellent videos in my opinion. All are in their own way totally different and lay different emphasis on different things.
While in the series A year to think a real life family of four gives up everything to take a year out to think, grow, earn and reflect, through travelling the world, growing closer as a family and uploading many wonderful short-films. One of my favourites was the Call for obvious reasons.
KIN on the other hand is totally fantasy and about telling a fable, its cinematography is spectacular, though those unfamiliar with the video game fable (if I’m at all right in making that connection) may easily get lost in a sea of meaning, as I was.
Independence and When dreams change both have to do with the sometimes very hard journey that life is and invite the viewer to think, to reflect and ponder.
Independence involves a young man wanting to try his luck as a musician in Los Angeles but ends up with his car bust in the middle of nowhere at a Motel in Independence CA. It’s about doubting oneself, the world around us, and finding the confidence to carry on and of course about our drive to become independent.
Reflecting on it and what it could teach me about myself, I remind myself that Allah swt. has a plan for us. For every single one of us. Everything that happens on our way trough this life is intended to make us stronger, to find Allah swt. The people we meet, the situations we find ourselves in all have potential to get us closer to Allah swt. to work for Him, to serve Him and then the people around us. That I think is true independence. As long as we are trying to please other than Allah swt. we will always be dependent on the dependent.
“You know there are times when we feel out of sorts with ourselves, with the world. And we need to be grateful for that…because in that distortion we discover who we really are.”
This quote is one of the best to take away from this film. In every situation, we are tested for who we really are. Allah swt. chose us to be Muslim, are we Man/Woman enough to take that chance to prove ourselves?
When Dreams Change is about what happens if independence is forced upon you. It takes us on a little emotional journey as a 18 year old girl comes up with a lie to tell her little 5 year old sister, about what happened to their parents.
This film is about coping with what life gives you, if life gives you lemons you make lemon juice with it. It reflects real life, in that again from a Muslim viewpoint, every single hardship that we go through has a meaning, whether we see it in this life or not. The story makes me ponder about children that are in these and worse situations. Children that may end up in prostitution or dead. I wish I could give every child on this planet a safe home, this wish like wishing for world peace may be naive but we can dream and maybe that will come true one day. Until that day maybe what we should be doing is what we can to raise awareness. To start with bettering the livelihood of children in our neighbourhoods.
Among some Muslims and Islamophobes there is this prevailing idea that Adoption in Islam is completely prohibited. That is not the case, what is prohibited is the loss of the child’s heritage. I think Osama can and is maybe also more qualified to talk about that.
We need to create a culture where caring for and taking in orphans and abandoned children isn’t the last resort only to be taken if a couple is unable to have children. But as an act of Mercy on those children, for the sake of Allah swt. The prophet saw. said in an authentic hadith.
The Prophet (saw.) said, “I and the person who looks after an orphan and provides for him, will be in Paradise like this,” putting his index and middle fingers together.
Last video in this category for this week is Water part of the Life at 212° series. This video kinda surprised me to be honest. I was drawn in by the look of the video, the style of the guy as well of course. It gives a strong message about making that extra degree of effort to change the community for the better.
The Life at 212° series is actually a series of talks at The Father’s House Church in NY and while the video is mainly aimed at Christians, we as Muslims should also make that extra degree of effort as originally coined by Sam Parker and Mac Anderson in their motivational book 212°: The extra degree and as Nouman Ali khan tells us in this Khutba.
A khutba about what our purpose in Life should be, about aiming higher and expecting more from ourselves. Questioning us about what we define success to be, and how we can make Islam a reality for us and serving Allah swt. and our community through it.
Sorry is Boonaa Mohammed’s new video. A reminder in the form of a poem, a slap in our face and an apology to those we’ve wronged including ourselves. Thought-provoking and definitely worth checking out.
Next up is Aiman Azlan’s (feat. Zeyara) video on a conversation about friendship. A very relevant topic to us as youth, and one that I struggle with as well. What makes a good friend and what not? How do we reprimand one of our friends and how do we keep in contact with friends. One thing I’m especially bad with. : /
Another awesome video is 10 reasons to have a super cool Sunnah beard, it is in German but with English subtitles, made by Muslim Media. Check that out too!
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And that’s it for this week, this post grew monstrously and I will definitely cut it down to 3 nominations next week hopefully.
Wa Salam,
Abdur-Rahman
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