V Stay into every valley

The Artists in the entertainment industry- The poets

This is critically relevant to our time

The arabs did not have hollywood, they didn't have the music industry, they did not have video games, but human beings have always wanted to entertain themselves, it has always been a part of human life. We love entertainment and Allah tells us as much in the Quran...

So how did the arabs entertain themselves? They had poetry, they used to watch movies in their head... The poet's job was to tell a story so elaborate that they could sit by a bonfire and watch it play in their head... That is back in the day, version of a concert... The poet is 'spitting' his rhymes in front of his crowd.. This was their entertainment industry... Not much has changed really, entertainment still boils down to music and story telling today...

This ayah is about the artists not the industry, the entertainer then was the poet... The poet played two roles:

i.) the music and movie (story telling) entertainer...

ii.) The philosopher ,

Philosophy on life and death, love and hate, good and evil etc came from their poetry. Their entertainment and their philosophy were tied to their poets...

i.) The entertainer

We know about musicians and movie actors...

When an artiste comes out with a song and it goes platinum, they become extremely wealthy and popular as a result, they end up with an award...etc.. Is that the end of their career? No, Now they have to come out with the next big hit

But the next song they come out with, is not as entertaining, It is not as popular as the first one... This applies to movies as well, the sequel was not as good as the first movie... Not as many sales, didn't top the charts..

Now the artiste starts feeling desperate, slowly they see their own decline. There is one thing more than money that an artiste wants: fame (comes with appreciation and acknowledgement) but after failed songs and movies; they start getting criticism and thumbs-down... Their popularity begins to wane..

They start thinking long and hard on how to keep themselves relevant... So they come up with a new song that is a little more controversial, more indecent, more shameless so that It might get more popular... This happens all the time... And if that fails, then they start looking at new things, they may drop the standards of decency even further

And if it still doesn't happens, they could shave their head, get drunk, get arrested or adopt a child from africa. So if they can't be mentioned at the award ceremony at least, they will be mentioned in the tabloids... At least, they will be mentioned somewhere.

What does that illustrate about the artiste ? whose life is to entertain people and be appreciated... They become more and more desperate to remain in the limelight and they are willing to try anything.

The poet is like that as well, The poet make a nice poem about a war, next week he come back with another poem about war.... The audience would say: We already heard that, give us another topic.. The poet has to look for a new genre now, he needs to come up with something new... He can't keep doing the same thing... He keeps doing this because he has to stay relevant.

Allah says about the poet:

أَلَمۡ تَرَ أَنَّهُمۡ فِى ڪُلِّ وَادٍ۬ يَهِيمُونَ (٢٢٥

Alam tara annahum fee kulli wadin yaheemoona

Didn't you see?, they go venturing into every valley there is (Surah 26:225)

They go off in every direction, Every valley here actually means every subject, they will go into every subject... They will scoop down to any low... They will go into any matter at all, they won't have any discretion... No consideration, Is this going to be a corruption or not?... Will i mess people up if i do this??.. There are no red lines...

We know artistes have power to influence the minds of millions of people. What you listen to, affects your thoughts and therefore your behavior and speech. The stuff you take in, is what comes out. If we take in a lot of entertainment and filth, what will come out is a lot of entertainment and filth.

Let's talk a little about the expression in the arabic language:

The expression in the Arabic Language is used for a camel when it gets lost. When a camel is lost and it is looking for water, it goes from valley to another.. Aimlessly wandering looking for water..

This is how Allah describes the artiste... The entertainer is aimlessly looking for fame, for acknowledgement, for recognition in every valley.

So what else was the poet's role? The philosopher

ii. The Philosopher

Anyone who has taken a philosophy course knows the nature of philosophy.

Philosopher love going into any valley, same with the arab poet.....

What if? Going into any valley beginning with the words 'what if?'

Some famous what ifs:

What if God could make a boulder so big, He can't even pick it up himself?

What if there is a God?

What if there is no God?

What if it is just aliens that are sent down these books?

What if it was all changed?

What if we are not alone?

What if we are alone?

What if Muhammad (S.A.W) never existed?

Once you start 'what ifs' there is no end to it because every valley is now open.... They venture into every valley. When you live in a world of what if, you are denying what is...

The reasoning in Islam is Inductive reasoning based on what is... Look around you..... Look at the mountains, the stars, the ruins of old nations, the birds, yourself, the sky, the earth, the camel, your fingers...

Pay attention to what is around you... look at reality, don't look at the abstract... The Quran overwhelming deals with what is... The problem with people who lose their faith is that they start venturing into every valley with 'what ifs' and forget what is...

In one ayah, Allah describes certain groups of artistes and philosophers as people straying aimlessly into every valley.... Subhana Allah...