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Review: winged migration

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Review: winged migration
se7en
07/13/03 at 16:49:02
as salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullah,

just got this email the other day.. looks awesome masha'Allah :)  




---

Assalaam Alaikum,

Insh'Allah this message reaches you all well... through the blessings
of Allah swt.

Just forwarding info about a unique documentary that is playing right
now in selected cities. You can check out the info in the email from
the brother below. A couple friends I know were able to check it out
last week, and their responses were nothing less then
"subhan'Allah!!". Insh'Allah some of you all in certain cities may be
able to check it out. Take care insh'Allah...w'salaam

your brother,
sohaib

------ Forwarded message -------


From: "Twist, Zachary" <ztwist@ansars.net>
Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 11:11:10 -0700

As Salaamu Alaikum,

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf had mentioned to a group of us the other day the
documentary film "Winged Migration" that is currently playing in some
theatres.  He suggested we see it.

I saw it on Sunday.

It is one of the most amazing films I've ever seen.  I strongly
suggest you see it. You will never look at birds the same way again.
The actual making of this film itself is an incredible achievement
(You'll be saying over and
over,"How did they do that?") and the film itself is so awe-inspiring
and so magnificently beautiful!!!

You can visit the movie's website at

http://www.sonyclassics.com/wingedmigration/index_flash.html

It may not be playing in your area for long so seek it out soon.

Do they not see the birds held (flying) in the midst of the sky? None
holds them but Allâh. Verily, in this are clear proofs and signs for
people who believe. (16:79)

Do they not see the birds above them, spreading out their wings and
folding them in? None upholds them except the Most Beneficent.
Verily, He is the All-Seer of everything.  (67:19)

Salaams,
Zakariyya




"And whoever keeps his duty to Allah, Allah will make a way out for him and provide for him from where he knows not.  And anyone who sincerely trusts in Allah, He suffices him."   -- Qur'an 65:3
08/24/03 at 14:29:33
jannah
Re: winged migration
Maliha
08/24/03 at 08:19:51
[slm]
Jazaki Allahu Khayran for sharing this Se7en I wouldda never known about it  :) Here's a spayshall  [] jus for you  ;)

What's written below is a big spoiler for those who haven't seen it...so if you wanna see it...skip this review and tell me whatcha think after you check out.... 8)





Since this post I have been bugging my hubby to go see this movie...Alhamdullillah, we finally went to see it last night and it's AMAZING ;D Subhana Allah:)

The cinematography is enuff to humble you into realizing what true specks of dirt we are...The fact that there is a whole *world* out there of birds alone, multitudes of birds in varying shades and beauty, living their lives in perfect uboodiyya to Allah is awe inspiring indeed.

The beginning of the movie set the tone for the whole migratory experience..."the birds undertake this migration every year for thousands of miles, risking their lives, overcoming hardships, all for single promise...
the promise to Return". I was silenced by the weight of that statement...The narrator continued to explain how the birds *needed* to go on this journey, for their survival. It was a matter of life and death. Aren't all our Quloob in flight to Allah? Whether we undertake this journey consciously or not, whether we die along the way before we reach our final destination, whether we uphold the "promise to Return" or not...is immaterial. No matter how comfortable the birds were in a certain place, when the time came, they did not question, linger, or even wait around for the alarm to sound off again...they simply took off and flew!
It was with this urgency that they took on their respective journeys, each one pressing forward, with one end in mind. The birds humbled me with their unquestioning devotion..they instinctively *know* what's good for them, what's needed for their survival, and they carry out their beautiful dances of life with such grace and unrelenting dignity. How many of us, despite our "knowledge" of what is needed for our Quloob to stay alive, are still dragging our feet? How many of us are stuck in the rut of our apathy in gross humiliation, wondering fleetingly how long it will be before we will get the "energy" to simply do what we need to?

The knowledge interwoven into birds' very being is truely Divine. How else would they figure out the exact path to undertake every year? the narrator commented that the birds sense of latitude and the magnetic fields of earth are as exact as a compass needle! Subhana Allah!
Don't all our Quloob have this natural compass impregnated into us? If only we would quiet the other signals to simply reorient our beings towards the only Qibla we should be striving for...Allah.

Their journey's were no simple undertaking...some birds fly for *thousands* of miles, across continents, negotiating natural forces around them, not a provision in hand...The state of utter Tawakkul was portrayed in every flap of their wing. Truely Allah is the Razzaq. I remember related to the concept of Rizq, our Imam had commented that if you really want to know Allah is the Razzaq, think about the birds...do you ever hear the president in preparing his budget go "yes, and we have allocated X money to the feeding of the birds"...no? I am happy these and other beautiful creation of Allah are not dependent on "us" to feed them. As these birds traverse lands of sometime nothing but parched desert they find their sustenance in the most delightful and hidden of places...like in one scene where they were joyfully drinking from a flowing source of water, in the middle of the desert, the water was coming from a broken down car at the edge of a long stretch of highway. Subhana Allah!

Every single scene was a movie in itself. So picturesque, so breath taking, truely the intricate patterns of  Allah's design in creation is enough to shatter the most majestic of mountains into specks of humble dust. The arresting scenes of the rest of Allah's Khalq so peacefully coexisting, in a perfected system of symbiosis, was directly and rudely contrasted to the human presence. As we were raptly following a set of birds migration across continents, gliding through all elements of nature, they flew across America (go figure)  so close to their final destination...when one shot...two..three...and one by one the birds fell...Of course humans need their entertaintment and what better way to indulge the beast within than simply murder a couple of birds for sport?!!!! It was painful to even watch.
Another scene of this sheer irresponsibility was portrayed by the exhausted birds who decided to take refuge in non other than an oil refinery right by the sea...as the birds tried to wade their way through the muck and disgusting layer of soot, a huge propelling machine came their way...they decided to simply take off and fly...leaving one behind. stuck. the bird couldn't extricate itself from the dense layers of our filth. It simply sat there and cried resignedly. Another heart wrenching example of the crimes we commit, as witnessed by the rest of the Khalq, was recorded in the enchanting forests of the Amazon. The most gorgeous of animals live there. The birds were so colorful, diverse, and rich in beauty and splendor, simply dove in and out of the trees, water, rejoicing in the abundance Allah bestowed on them. From the corner of the river...a canoe, made its way...my heart stopped, for I knew this was not good news. And sure enough atop the canoe, rested many cages, each cage imprisoning another delightful species...The camera zoomed into the eyes of those animals as each struggled, to get across the bars, and finally surrendered so sadly to the cruelty without. The image of a monkey, laying its head in this sorrowful way broke my heart. At least there was a "happy" end to one of the birds who negotiated the wooden lock and managed to free herself into the endless horizons of the skies...The examples of humanity's baseness, although not the main point of the movie, were many...and tragic to say the least. Are we not the protectors and maintainers of this trust Allah gave us?

The birds make their way each year...they flow with the seasons, they glide with the winds, they use the ocean currents, they set with the sun, and rise with the transcendence of the moon...the "elderly" birds "show" the young ones the way...warning them of the dangers, pointing out the landmarks they need to recognize for their survival...One sheikh had commented that if we want our children to be righteous then *we* ourselves need to walk the arduous path to Allah..how else can we guide them? How else can the "hands of Quloob" hold their "little hands of their Quloob" and share in the intimacy and solace of obedience to Allah? Truely those who know not, can not be taken as guides. Truely those who follow their own desires over Allah's Law are the worst of companions.

Each year birds from all corners of the globe made their way to one destination for a converging of the Wider community. They share joyfully in ecstatic dances, commune with each other, and sweetly part again to undertake their own personal journeys and tend to their young ones...one scene of literally *thousands* of penguins on a plain along the sea shore mesmerized me...thoughts of Hajj penetrated my being, and I was awed that even in other forms of creation, this sort of annual gathering of quloob in flight takes place. I saw another documentary befora, of the Monarch butterflies that journey thousands of miles simply to reach this "paradise" of other butterflies shrill in their glorious bliss of converging....the birds eloquently sang, raising their wings, lowering their heads...Truely all of creation sing praises to Allah in ways so distinctly, so uniquely Divine. Yet how many of us are simply blind?

At one scene when a set of birds finally made it to their tropical paradise...i felt tears tugging at my heart. The place was so majestic, lush with an overgrowth of beauty, songs of creation so thick in the midst of life, and multitudes of *different* kinds of birds, trees, shrubs, insects, creation simply bursting with the Glory and praise of Allah... my heart reflected on Jannah and the sudden painful thought of "what if I never make it?" I knew that the utter bliss I was bearing witness to, was still nothing compared to what delights Allah has in store for His grateful servants...and somehow in the dredges of my existence I knew that i could not begin to envision what the wretched agonies of Jahannam were...the least tormenting of which is seeing the people of paradise in their bliss. I felt the weight of fear, this paralysing terror that engulfs me each time my being registers the torments awaiting my arrival at my final destination, clutching a mere handful of deeds, desperate, pathetic...i felt my throat starting to constrict and my heart clench....I had to cling to the fervent hope of the Most Merciful. Truely none of us would enter Jannah on the merit of our deeds, save for His Rahma.

Subhana Allah, i did not mean to write a whole essay..i could go on forever, for each single moment captured, encapsulated such eloquent metaphors...each single note carried with it a clear and poignant song...the song of life...reminding us tearfully of a long forgotten promise withering in asphixiation somewhere within us...the promise to finally Return.

[center]To the righteous soul will be said "O (thou) soul, in (complete) rest and satisfaction!

"Come back thou to thy Lord,- well pleased (thyself), and well-pleasing unto Him!

"Enter thou, then, among My devotees!

"Yea, enter thou My Heaven!"
(Suratul Fajr :27-30)
[/center]


May we be amongst those who return to Allah's pleasure and our blissful abodes.

[wlm]
Winged Migration?
deenb4dunya
09/07/03 at 22:07:24
Assalmau Alaikum,

Is Winged Migration played in theaters or IMAX places?

Is it out on video yet?

Wassalmau Alaikum,
Deen :-)
Re: Winged Migration?
momineqbal
09/09/03 at 01:45:30
[slm],

I think blockbuster had the DVD for sale. And a couple of theatres here in LA are playing it.


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