Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| [ARTICLE] TV - the stranger |
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| Arsalan |
| 07/19/01 at 02:02:56 |
| Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah, There was an article that someone posted a while back which talked about this stranger that had began to live with a family, and how it affected their lives. At the end, you find out that that stranger is a TV. Anyone know where that thread is? Or if you have that message in your emails, can you post it here or email it to me? Jazak Allahu khairan. |
| Re: TV - the stranger |
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| se7en |
| 03/03/01 at 22:45:28 |
| The Stranger A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small Tennessee town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later. As I grew up I never questioned his place in our family. In my young mind, each member had a special niche. My brother Bill, five years my senior, was my example. Fran, my younger sister, give me an opportunity to play ‘big brother’ and develop the art of teasing. My parents were complementary instructors -- Mom taught me to love the words of Allah and Dad taught me to obey them. But the stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spellbound for hours each evening. If I wanted to know about politics, history, or science. he knew it all. He knew about the past, understood the present, and seemingly could predict the future. The pictures he could draw were so life-like that I would often laugh or cry as I watched. He was like a friend to the whole family. He took Dad, Bill and me to our first major league baseball game. He was always encouraging us to see the movies and he even made arrangements to introduce us to several movie stars. My brother and I were deeply impressed by John Wayne in particular. The stranger was an incessant talker. Dad didn't seem to mind, but sometimes Mom would quietly get up -- while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places -- go to her room, read her Quran and pray. I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave. You see, my dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions. But this stranger never felt an obligation to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our house -- not from us, from our friends, or adults. Our longtime visitor, however, used occasional four letter words that burned my ears and made Dad squirm. To my knowledge the stranger was never confronted. My dad didn't permit alcohol in his home - not even for cooking. But the stranger felt like we needed exposure and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often. He made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (probably too much too freely) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I know now that my early concepts of the man-woman relationship were influenced by the stranger. As I look back, I believe it was the grace of Allah that stranger did not influence us more. Time after time he opposed the values of my parents. Yet he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave. More than thirty years have passed since the stranger moved in with the young family on Morningside Drive. He is not nearly so intriguing to my Dad as he was in those early years. But if I were to walk into my parent's den today, you would still him sitting over in a corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name? We always just called him TV. |
| Re: TV - the stranger |
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| Arsalan |
| 03/04/01 at 02:58:25 |
| Jazaak Allaahu Khairan!!! |
| Re: TV - the stranger |
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| se7en |
| 03/04/01 at 1:11:42 AM |
| waiyyakum :) You do realize that this is an "islamized" version of the story? It mentioned the bible. |
| Re: TV - the stranger |
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| Arsalan |
| 03/04/01 at 5:07:20 PM |
| [slm] Hmm ... how can you be so sure? Because of the Christian names? The sentiments sound too "Islamic" to be coming from anyone who is a non-Muslim!!! |
| Re: TV - the stranger |
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| se7en |
| 03/04/01 at 5:16:24 PM |
| wa alaykum as salaam wa rahmatAllah, Hmm because I changed it myself :) Originally it said 'God' where it now says Allah, 'Bible' for Qur'an, and there was something about alcohol as well.. |
| Re: TV - the stranger |
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| PacificBreeze |
| 03/04/01 at 11:59:56 PM |
| salaams... umm...i'm not quite sure what's the origin..but i've received this as a reg fwd and once as a muslim fwd written by a candian muslim youth..the author's name was given too? so...je ne sais pas? wa salaams. |
| Re: TV - the stranger |
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| jannah |
| 03/04/01 at 12:03:53 PM |
| what was the name given? |
| Re: TV - the stranger |
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| PacificBreeze |
| 03/06/01 at 02:56:39 |
| i'll have to go dig it up insha'allah..i have it stashed in one of the accounts..i'll get back to you on that, insha'allah! :) Eid Mubaaaaarrrrriiiiiiiiikkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!! :) |
| Re: TV - the stranger |
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| PacificBreeze |
| 03/09/01 at 02:00:48 |
| weirdnesss, i can't seem to find it? i know i had it..i posted it up on islamica b/c i was surprised to find out it was written by a muslim youth in canada..i just don't remember the name? |
| Re: TV - the stranger |
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| se7en |
| 03/11/01 at 21:17:57 |
| ok but I found this on a Christian website and changed the terms. Perhaps it was written by a Muslim and then converted into a Christian-oriented version? I doubt it, but it's possible. |
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