And I guess he spent his whole life looking in the mirror, knowing that he needed to make a real change but just ended up ruining his entire life.
Yeah, so I’m gutted that Michael Jackson has died but how can one not be? For crying out loud, the guy was like the most famous person in the world ever, despite all his actions and ignominy. He was just so talented, so ajeeb, so loved by so many people, and then just his complete collapse into insanity was so so sad.
I grew up with him, with “I’ll be there” as a tiny kid and then “Billie Jean” when I was slightly older. Do you know that I learned the lyrics of “Man in the Mirror” by heart in about 20 minutes? And yes, I still remember much of it all this time later.
A classic story I can remember as a young student in Pakistan was when the local Tablighi elders would swear to me that “their people” had gone to see Michael Jackson in concert (!) and had confirmed – oh yes – confirmed that he was actually a Jinn. Yep, that Jacko was a real and bonafide Jinn. That was right after Jacko did the moonwalk. You heard it right here. And a hundred other places probably.
Jacko had that ability to hold the entire world’s attention from the most irreligious to the religious to the extremists. I remember many bizarre conversations with people who would gladly cut heads off of non-Muslims show affection to Michael Jackson. As for the normal Muslims then how desperate they were to believe all the regular stories of conversions to Islam! Truth be told, in his heyday he polarised us all.
I know it’s not good to publicise people who have done much wrong, but I’m sad at this loss of a human at the very least, and I’m sad for his brother Jermaine especially, and his family for their suffering. And the hearts aren’t held accountable for what they feel. And there’s no shame in that.
June 26, 2009 at 9:11 am
love you AE
We don’t know what was in his heart and whether or not he died as a muslim. We will let Allah SWT be the judge of him and all the people that surrounded him.
June 26, 2009 at 9:26 am
Assalamualaikum
“And I guess he spent his whole life looking in the mirror, knowing that he needed to make a real change”
=> hahaha..
people thought he was a jinn..lol..everything wierd in India or pakistan goes under the category of “jinn”.
MAshAllah a very good written post..
~Cool Muslimah~
June 26, 2009 at 11:48 am
http://www.newislamicdirections.com/nid/articles/upon_the_passing_of_michael_jackson/
June 26, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I really don’t see what all the fuss is about…He’s dead!
We know of so many of our brothers and sisters being blown up everday, yet we don’t seem to feel the same sorrow for them and their families.
Sometimes it feels as if we too hold non muslim blood dearer than muslim blood.
People say, oh! but he was an entertainer, he made sooo many people happy. Indeed he did, however, we as muslims know the reality of life and we know that this dunya is nothing but play and amusement.
I just think we should have this sense of sadness when we hear of our fellow muslims dieing.
June 26, 2009 at 1:43 pm
to be honest I feel no more sadness for his passing than any other non muslims’..some people’s shock at the news amazes me (as though these celebs are above being taken by Allah).
even though I was a fan in my days of ignorance and the guy was talented in a makruh/haraam/??(some say halaal) field (depending on what opinion you follow)…his and farrah fawcetts deaths just remind me to make sure my kids idolise the correct people and feel deep sadness by their deaths spending time reflecting about them instead
and sympathies do go to Jermaine…I know what it is like to have non muslim relatives pass away and bury them as disbelievers…with only a glimmer of hope that perhaps by some divine intervention and wishful thinking they took shahaadah before they died….it is hard
something many born muslims take forgranted..that they can continue to serve their dead parents through duaa’s and being a sadaqah jaariyah…for the rest of us its just a complete blow …not even a dua can be made for our parents
likewise we should never take forgranted that we could die in disbelief…it amazes me how confident we feel that we will stay muslim until we die…
if Barseesa `(the most religious man in his village) died bowing to shaitaan…imagine the most religious in your community…imagine it happening to them?? then look to where your imaan is??/
feel free to disagree…these are just my humble thoughts….
June 26, 2009 at 1:51 pm
“and the hearts aren’t held accountable for what they feel”
but the tongues are
June 26, 2009 at 1:55 pm
i agree wit u AE.. U the man!
June 26, 2009 at 3:23 pm
I never got what people’s obsession with this Geezer was.
But man, AE…couldn’t you instead jus give the Muslims some naseehah on the sarkozy’s (an equally queer – even if not in the trite sense – individual)bakwas and the harrassment he’s trying to cause to the Believing men and women, only for having Eman in Allah, jalla wa’ala.
Jzk
Wassalam alaykum wa rahmatullah
June 26, 2009 at 3:24 pm
..And hey while your at it, if you’re feeling genrous, you could even talk about the BNP, or something..
June 26, 2009 at 4:33 pm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8120129.stm
Jermaine announces news of death
he said “may Allah be with you Michael ”
I can imagine they probably want to cut that bit out …
June 26, 2009 at 4:39 pm
so was he or not hmmmm
However, last year Michael’s name came up again. A good friend who is a reliable source of information called and said that Michael had become Muslim. He had been working on an album with the well-known Muslim musician, Dawud Warsby, and another Muslim performer, and the two, sensing Michael’s troubled and depressed state had invited him to Islam. He accepted their invitation. Michael was no stranger to the religion, having been exposed to it by his brother Jermaine, who had converted to the faith in 1989.
Now Michael is gone. Hopefully, he had found peace in Islam. Hopefully, the tears he cried in the privacy of his oftentimes lonely world, tears described by Smokey Robinson as those of a clown, shed when no one’s around, had dried. Michael was an icon, a pain-filled, troubled icon, and like many of comparable stature before him, and inevitably many after him, his fall was sudden and unexpected. Hopefully, his faith cushioned that fall. In any case, he is gone. In conclusion, I can only echo the words of his brother in blood and faith, Jermaine, who tearfully prayed this afternoon, “May Allah be with you Michael, always.”
imam zaid
June 26, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Salams all
“and the hearts aren’t held accountable for what they feel”
but the tongues are
Wallahi true, nas’alullaha al-’afiyah.
Clearly this topic will divide Muslims but I haven’t had so much demand to write something more about it since, well, I don’t know! Thus, see the following post very soon insha’Allah.
As for the niqab/burqa’ then I wrote a little about it last time this raised its head:
http://asmasociety.typepad.com/mlt/2006/10/you_wanted_a_de.html
As for Sarkozy then put it this way: he is the voice of Europe and perhaps I should say he is the voice representing Kufr in its general sense. Anyone who has been reading the papers recently, monitoring the net, holding frank conversations with friends and colleagues etc and then also saw Question Time in the UK last night will surely come to realise the deep depths of hatred and racism held towards the Muslims as a whole.
The niqab is just an easy target to vent it all out on. In fact as someone said, their attack on the veil is a very thinly veiled attack on the Muslims. And of course this is something which we always expected – Brown/Obama are the sweetened version of the similar call to secularism despite the unique fanatic nature of laïcité – and the recession has come at a bad time for us generally as I mentioned in a previous post. Economic difficulty always starts the blame game amongst people, and the non-Muslims are not slow to show their opinions if not by their guns then by their feet and their voting in thugs like the BNP.
Sure there are still good people from the non-Muslims out there helping the Muslim community remain strong and proud of their identity but people should definitely buckle their seat belts and get ready for a rough ride. Just remember, however life gets stressful for you because of restrictions on your deen, or your beard/niqab/hijab getting hated on, there are always millions of Muslims out there who are suffering far more than you are.
And glad tidings to those who suffer with patience.
June 26, 2009 at 6:58 pm
islam came as a strange thing and will leave as a strange thing..blessed be the strangers
when the going gets tough it certainly separates the men from the boys…those who say they believe and those who actually mean it
and we still have the fitna of dajjaal to face yet..so we and our descendents also need to remain FIRM and STEADFAST….
lastly I hear Imam Zaid is coming to UK promoting aid for Africa on behalf of one of the charities…will be in Manchester 7th July I think
Most muslims help Palestinians (arabs and non arabs)
Swat fundraisers (usually arranged and promoted by non arabs only) but i’m yet to be proven wrong
Africa (well only a few do fundraisers for them…why is that?)
June 27, 2009 at 12:11 am
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh,
On the subject of mirrors…
Do you know the meaning of the hadeeth which goes something like:
A believer (or muslim?) is a mirror for his brother.
June 27, 2009 at 6:42 pm
“…the description of his being a ‘mirror’ is very precise and profound showing the culmination of brotherhood and solidarity. So your brother, O servant of Allah, is an image of you yourself. So if he behaves badly it is as if you are the one who has behaved badly, and if he makes a mistake, it is as if you have made a mistake. So he is a mirror for you and then an image of you yourself! So do not treat him except with mildness and gentleness. If you do not behave with
your brother in this manner, then this will be something which weakens…” – Al Shakhsiyat’l Islamiyah by Halabee
Moreover, his mistake, is a reminder for us, of our (many) mistakes. And just as one who notices dirt/blemish on one’s self, likewise he too will not le his brohte remain heedlessly in error, but will rectify as much is within his ability.
And tawfeeq lies only with Allah, and He, jalla wa’ala, knows best.
June 29, 2009 at 11:23 pm
Jazaaka Allaahu khayr akhee,
I appreciate your answer. I’ve been looking for the answer to this question for some time now.
Assalaamu alaykum
June 27, 2009 at 12:21 am
http://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/NewsDetails2.aspx?id=128
June 27, 2009 at 11:10 am
[...] Man in the Mirror « AE [...]
June 28, 2009 at 9:18 pm
This is my new favorite blog! Awesome job! May Allah reward you with barakah in everything you do!
June 29, 2009 at 9:35 am
I heard from a realible source he took shahadah two months ago.. Allah knows what state he died in. May Allah have mercy on him. ameen
June 30, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaah,
A brother was mentioning the hadeeth of how a person does good deeds all his life then at the end he switches and does bad deeds and the opposite, a person lives his life as a person who does many bad deeds (or mixed up bad and good) and at the end he starts doing good.
If MJ did accept sincerely then I hope Allaah saved him while he was still a muslim and new to The Deen.
Assalaamu alaykum
July 2, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Assalamu’ alaykum
My 2 cent is that yes undeniably MJ was very talented in his field but he was claerly duniyah material – someone who’s work was jsut a test for us Muslims from Allah. He may have made/composed the most thought provoking lyrics etc but still i feel it should be seen as a test and i think shaytaan has a way of making things appear beautiful to us.
I too was deply involved in music in my teenage yrs and still whenevr i walk into a public place where music is playing it is very hard for me not to get involved with the song but i will never thru the Mercy of Allah go back to it – and Allah has given me a love for many other things in return Algh…i believ if u sacrifice for Allah…Allah takes care of you so if you’ve given up music for Allah’s sake dont ever look back and it’s sad to see so many Mulsims who got so caught up in his death…someone even said she couldnt sleep that night…what insane behaviour and i agree we show half as much emotion when a b/s is killed in those war torn countries.