From my observation, there are two types of movies that Malaysians like to watch: horror and romantic. I myself loved to watch horror films when I was young. I dared myself to watch the most scary films and trained myself to be calm (I looked calm but inside I was terrified!) during the gripping suspense before the devil shows its face. I also love the ghost stories that my aunt used to tell me when I was small and to read the Malay magazine "Mastika" that had its fair share of people succumbed by black magic.
That was me when I was in primary and a few years into secondary school. But as I get a bit older, I realize that horror movies turned me into someone I was horrified of.
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| Credit to Comfreak |
1. I feared and focused on the wrong things
For one, I became afraid to sleep at my grandparents' house when I was little just because the house looks quite shabby inside. It's pathetic of me not to spend more time with my grandmother (although I was always at her house after school, gobbling down my grandmother's delicious cookings). Now that the house has been renovated into a common city home, I really miss the historic-Malay-village-house facade; especially during Eid ul Fitri. It's true, "you only know a good thing till it's gone" (Kris Allen).
The worst part of it is, I learned and memorized certain chapters and verses of the Quran for the sole purpose of guarding myself from evil spirits. Why? Because I see religious people in movies recite the Quran to get rid of evil spirits! God, I am so sorry for being so shallow and narrow minded before!
Thanks to ALLAH, I come to embrace and understand that the Quran is more than that; it's a book that provokes human to think, it's a book that calms the heart, it's a book that brings glad tidings, and much much more. Bringing the point home, the Quran's purpose is much larger than getting rid of evil spirits.
2. I feared the evil supernatural entity more than I feared God
When I was in secondary school, I really love to go camping in the woods. I was a girl scout, you see. Whenever we set up tents, we were told (I won't give names) that we should ask permission from the spirits that live in the woods. We were told to behave.
I obeyed. Besides, that's what people in the movies do too. But wait, didn't ALLAH say in the Quran:
"HIS is the dominion of the heavens and earth. HE gives life and causes death, and HE is over all things competent". (Surah Al-Hadid: 2)
Yes, the woods belong to God so we should have asked permission from God. I should fear God, not the spirits! Plus do you know what kind of mentality that these movies taught me? That I need to behave only in the woods while elsewhere I can do whatever I want even if it's wrong. Stupid movies. Such a silly girl, I was.
3. I didn't gave much attention to good supernatural entity
As a Muslim, it is mandatory to believe in the Six Pillars of Iman and the second pillar is to believe in the angels. I didn't realise that angels were also supernatural entities. I mean, I did believe in the angels when I was small (still do), but I didn't acquire more knowledge about them which I was supposed to! Why? Because I was too embroiled with the knowledge of the djinns (why don't you google that yourself) and how to avoid from being the victim of withcraft ! I still can't fathom why I want to know about the dark rather than the light. Oh I know why...it's because of the horror movies (And to be honest, because Malaysian children were made scared of evil spirits so we would behave)!
For him (each person), there are angels in succession, before and behind him. They guard him by the command of Allah...” (Surah Ar-Ra'd: 11)
It is liberating to get personal with the above verse. It makes you feel privileged to have angels near you. I couldn't believe that I was terrified of the devil's slaves. I am so sorry, my Lord.
4. I was unable to appreciate the beauty of nature
In the Malay lore, there's this evil spirit called pontianak which is sort of like a woman vampire (of course there is no such thing as a pontianak, it is a major sin to believe in the existence of this creature). This creature likes to perch on tree branches to scan its victim; wearing all white, red eyes and long eerie black hair. Because of this, I didn't like to see huge trees at night for fear of meeting eyes with it. Again, this was a major defect I had. Let's read this beautiful verse from the Quran:
Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, and the [great] ships which sail through the sea with that which benefits people, and what Allah has sent down from the heavens of rain, giving life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness and dispersing therein every [kind of] moving creature, and [His] directing of the winds and the clouds controlled between the heaven and the earth are signs for a people who use reason. (Surah Al-Baqarah: 164)
It's a shame that I had averted my eyes from the signs of ALLAH. It was a total waste of my time for not using the intellect that ALLAH had bestowed to me...to us.
Were (Are) you a horror movie fan? Have (had) you experience the above horrors?
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