Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Decrypting the Da Vinci Code from an Islamic perspective




By Mansur Ali

Deep in the darkest chambers of the Louvre museum, Dan Brown spins his magnum opus. A myriad of enigmas and cryptic codes, pagan symbolism and Masonic didactics, secret societies dedicated to the sacred feminine. From an array of Vatican conspiracy to gruesome corporal mortification. Da Vinci, Sir Isaac Newton, Jacques Saunière, Opus Dei, fleur-de-lis and the dark arts. Dan Brown includes them all in a fascinating and riveting read which made it to the big screen and like a bush fire in strong winds spread to the four corners of the globe. The book has already been translated into Arabic called ‘Shafeer Da Vinci.’
Nevertheless, the most spine chilling part of the book is its shocking conclusion, that our beloved Prophet Sayyiduna Isa (as) left offspring behind him. However entertaining the book or movie might be, but from a religious point of view, both Christian and Muslim, such a sweeping and preposterous theory, even at the level of pure fiction and entertainment, is highly insulting and offensive and to even entertain the very thought of it is deemed blasphemous. Here we go again… a fundamentalist speaking, bent out to obliterate all forms of pleasure from the face of the globe. However, this is not the case. In Islam we have a very good understanding of recreation and entertainment as it includes a part of the right that our body has over us. Saying this, the line has to be drawn. Religion cannot be compromised just to make people laugh or give them entertainment. It is a moral and religious crime to make symbols and aspects of religion that are revered by people as objects of entertainment or satire.
Sayyiduna Isa (as) a distinguished Prophet of Allah lived a very ascetic life, a life of celibacy where he completely annihilated himself to the cause of Allah. He fought no military battles and all his wars were spiritual of nature. Allah raised him to himself in the heavens and just before the end of time he will come back to the earth to become the Imam of the Muslims. He will fulfil aspects of his life as a human being which he did not complete previously, i.e. get married and have children. He will lead the Muslims against the kuffar army and on his hand will the Dajjal breathe his last. His whole life is a miraculous one right from its inception. His astounding birth is one conundrum that professor Langdon or Tom Hanks cannot decipher. Peace be upon him the day he was born, the day he will die and the day he will be resurrected.