- in the name of Allah -



The time has come for some 'other' thoughts, of slightly out-of-the-loop ponderings, that I feel should have their own moment of lucidity. The (hor)crux of these concerns Harry Potter. My first run in with the series was back in 2000, in my 10th grade English class. My teacher was Mrs. McLaughlin, who gave extra credit if we did book reports on them. It was with that purpose I set out in borrowing the first few books from the library. Yet, here we are today, some 7 years later, where the whole journey comes to a close. What does it mean to care? How can we care about something that is complete fiction, that takes conventional theory of values and systematic society, puts it in a blender, and makes something from it in essence entirely different? What appealed to me most, what still appeals to me now about the whole series, is the many lessons to be found, the many recurrent themes, the eventual discernment that has to be made by the main characters between the things they value, and the choices they must make. As Dumbledore said in one of the books, it is about making the choice between what's right and what is easy. This is the knock on the global society at large, but nonetheless, the emphasis is always held on what choices were made, what path was chosen, by a main character who has the makings of any great leader, with an added bit of Western-styled notions of intellectual rebellion: He wants to be free of his burden, his desire for this is great, but never actually overshadows what he knows his true purpose to be. It's almost as if the entire sphere of Western and Eastern thought were combined, the best of both of them taken, and then an ideal frame of a human being carved out from the heap of molten ideas. To what end? Perhaps the answer lies in that, in this day and age more so than any that ever came before, there is a divide that needs unifying, a bridge that needs crossing, and an understanding from two different planes that needs to be understood. Who could have thought that a work of fiction could mean such a thing, but the actions undertaken by those in it would have so much symbolic significance, that they could propel men to care so much? Alas, caring is but the first step in what is known either as reform or redemption. Many people will read it, simply for the joy of reading and nothing more, glazing over some of the most important aspects of humanity that lay right underneath the surface. To take an example, the character of Severus Snape. What role could such a man play in the grand scheme of it all, given his portrayal by the author, by his relationship to the main characters? He was one disliked, despised, reviled, and downcast. Yet, it is about him which is only found near the end of the book, that redeems his past and present just about completely. Through it all, to what point though? He lived, and died, with a purpose, a goal that he defined (or had defined for him), that remained with him until the last breath he took. So what's to be derived? The very same, that there is more to this life than meets the eye (to semi-quote another almost-classic), that there is more to the notions espoused by religion and philosophy, that for perceptive beings, there can be no other end, no other more lofty ambition or recognition that there is, in fact, One God, and we are, in fact, His creation, made only to worship Him alone.