Telemovie: Ghifari

Assalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

Just a movie review and its a Malay movie. This is the title of a tele-movie aired in al-Hijrah channel from Astro satellite channels. I watched it after Isha' prayer service because there were so many people at the corridors that made me entering the TV room at our hostel. I just feel like not normal anymore because I don't feel like mingling with people anymore or maybe because I don't feel any necessity to talk with people anymore. 

Urmm, to be honest I am not that person who listens to nasheed like those sung by local teams like Inteam, UNIC or whatever Malay nasheed groups in Malaysia or in modern Indonesia (because they also use a version of Malay language but unique to their own with the mixture of Javanese and Sundanese terms). It is not like I am mengada-ngada (how to translate this Malay word? Being a bitch perhaps?? LOL) by not listening to national language stuffs but I just think that some of the lyrics in those nasheed has no significance and meaning at all. They just make some love songs or pop ones with instrumental music sounds and labelled them as nasheed in which I think as out of the way. I just listen to nasheeds about prophets, Holiest Names of the God, and stuffs which actually has prayers in it and most of them are in our ancestral tongue, Arabic. Though I was raised as a Malaysian but I still feel foreign in my own country and I can't lie to people that I can't really mingle well with Malay compatriots and relatives. Maybe because of my experience and environment around makes me feeling like that. I listen mostly to Arabic songs, while last time when I wasn't returning to the Path I just listen to Chinese and Thai songs as compared to national languages song because I lived in the environment like that.

However, I watch few Malay movies which has some religious connotation although not entirely religious according to what I watched. Examples are like this movie and other one that I watched like Di Antara Garisan featuring Ismail Abdul Aziz, Nur Khairiah, Amani and etc. I only watch and listen things if I could learn something from them. It's not about language or prejudice.

Movie Synopsis

Ghifari is about a driver whose name is Ghifari. He was doomed in his business because he was cheated by his friend so he has to start from the beginning again. One day he met his schooling ex-classmate, Murad. Murad is a rich businessman and he offers him the job as his driver. In the same time, Murad has some heart diseases which he actually has an ill-feeling to Ghifari since their schooling time although Ghifari did nothing to him. He simply was jealous to Ghifari because Ghifari was a well-loved student though an average one. When Ghifari became his driver, his grudge also being served.

Another part of the movie shows that Murad later has some psychological problem because he manufactured products and marketing it without taking care on their quality so suppliers refuse to deal with him. He is so anxious that he could not eat anything as he has lost his appetite and he could not sleep well. He began to ask Ghifari, why he is still happy though he was cheated by his business partner and has to be a domestic worker for his ex-classmate? Why he could have a peaceful mind though his life is just an average life as compared to him who has everything in term of materials. Ghifari says, he just think positively and never assume anything bad to people around him. Then they went to fishing together and Murad skip his business for a moment to listen to his friend which is also his worker. Ghifari gives him advices and also telling him about finding the peace in salat. He told Murad about Hadith of prophet s.a.w regarding four diseases of heart. Then he advised Murad to never forget Allah no matter how busy we are because sometimes we do not realize that His grace is far more wider than difficulties and obstacles that we faced in life. Murad went to doctor and he was diagnosed without any problem. Only after he eats simple things prepared by his friend's wife and sitting on an old mat from his friend's house that turns on his appetite. Murad also asked Ghifari to stay one night at his bungalow with his wife and children while he sleep at Murad's little house behind his bungalow. He could sleep well there too. So, Murad and his wife learned new things from Ghifari and his wife while Ghifari also learned new thing from Murad. 

Another angle of the movie is about Amir who was a guard in an organization. He was also a schoolmate of Murad and Ghifari but he ends up as a guard. He was a splendid students and he gets A for all of the subjects taken during his schooling time. He could not accept the facts and he wanted to have a good life too. So, he also doing some part-time job with his colleague which is stealing. One day he decided to be a burglar. One night his colleague has to return home and not accompanying him broking people's house as what has been planned as his colleague's wife delivering the baby. So, Amir went to the bungalow alone but he was an amateur. He failed to steal anything from the house instead he meet his ex-classmate which is Ghifari who coincidentally sleeping at the couch of Murad's house. They talked until the morning and Amir told Ghifari about the problems in his life. Ghifari says that we should stop blaming people around or thinking that the God hates us. He loves us but we do not see it because we refuse to reflect ourselves.

Some Lessons

Overall, I learned about great soul through this movie though I am not a fan of any of those actors in the movie, hahaha. Starring Murad (Zain Ruffedge), Ghifari (Akashah), Ghifari's wife (Ayu Raudhah), and many more.

Ghifari is the tribe identification of one of prophet Muhammad s.a.w companions who was known as Abu Dzar al-Ghifari. The significance of this name is that, Ghifari tribe was a small and poor tribe. Abu Dzar was already a monotheist and also an ascetic even before he proclaim his witness over Muhammad s.a.w prophethood. Abu Dzar al-Ghifari is one of my role model apart of other Ahlul Bayt and Sunna Imams. Most of all, Abu Dzar is also my friend and brother in soul because he was a poor person. We should read more about the life of poor companions of prophet Muhammad s.a.w. The poor are our friends and brothers.

Terms and Meanings of Terms

When watching this movie, I could substitute the terms with Sanskrit ones such as Mahatma (great soul) and Seva (service). Mahatma was quoted by Krishna from Vedas and it was a verse in Bhagavadgita. Krishna is a character in Mahabharata and Bhagavadgita is a discourse of Krishna and the Arjuna of Pandava during Battle of Kuru Field. We also have the subject about Hindu literature translated from Javanese sources into Malay Hikayats during A-Level but I didn't take this subject while being an A-Level student. I just read them from my elder sister and dad reference books other than getting the Hindu sources from library and listening to lectures from medias. Sanskrit in South East Asia was once like Greek or Latin in Europe and like Arabic and Farsi in the Islamic world. It was the language of the court where the first Indian Brahman/Brahmin kingdom of South East Asia mainland was founded in Cambodia, known as Funan. 

When we forgive people and forget everything, it will flow over like nothing happen but the process to forgive and forget is actually difficult. That is why it causes us great pain when we try to liberate our mind from these psychological diseases that burden our mind and heart. This is the meaning of great soul.  

When we perform services to others, we actually activate positive charges around us and diseases or pain moves out from physical body. Instead it helps us to heal our pain though we see it as tedious or causing us trouble.

This is what I listened from Hindu teachers last semesters but I still remember it until now. Urmm, these philosophy of Mahatma or Seva has nothing to do with Islamic teachings. I am not trying to Islamicize everything because we have to be careful and not exceeding the limits prescribed by guidelines and scriptures. This is more to cultural terms and psychological in nature.

Notes

I've got something to deal tomorrow besides a class in the afternoon. I have to begin weekly fasting again to purify whatever has been tainted during last semesters and to ask forgiveness from the God on my hidden and obvious sins. Check the sunnah on what should be taken and prescription before beginning the fast, insha Allah. Pray may Allah reminds us to wake up early may He forgives us, amin!

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace, and love, amin!