Superficial Religion By Saad Omar
Published by Saad Omar March 17th, 2007 in Islam, PoetrySuperficial Religion By Ghazali (Saad Omar) The song was written to resemble the melody of the body and bridge of Elton John’s “Sacrifice.” The song will be accompanied by drums and piano. I can’t wait till one of the singers I’m approaching takes up this project because the melody and piano really makes this song, you may not appreciate it with just the lyrics because I wrote this as a song, not a poem. You alone we worship You alone we ask for help Our anthem to our jobs Where we sell ourselves We claim Malcolm X But abandon his streets Those blacks with their rap, They’ll land on their feet Superficial religion, its all I see Just another expression of our vanity “Islam oppresses women” Now the MSA responds An all male board Where no women are found For Palestine We line up the streets Rawanda Genocide No one hears a peep Superficial religion, its all I see Just another expression of our vanity The niqab is on The Thob is long But when the plane reaches Paris All their clothes are gone And Imam Saab He’s a saint in the mosque But don’t follow him home Cuz he’s a pain in the house Superficial religion, its all I see Just another expression of our vanity Now Aminah Wadud, She’s big news No one stops to question The catalyst of her views When there’s a fundraiser For a good cause We hop in our Mercedes benz And head straight to the mosque Superficial religion, its all I see Just another expression of our vanity Fatima’s a good girl, Cuz she puts on her scarf But if the wind blows too hard Then her stock will fall And we trust in God Not with our daughter’s hand Now we only trust The seven digit man Superficial religion, its all I see Just another expression of our vanity Sufi Islam Join the newest niche Designer prayer beads Marketed for the rich Hamza Yusuf was our star He earned our fame September 12th 2001 Now we bash his name Superficial religion, its all I see Just another expression of our vanity Islam’s under attack So we change the picture Now we sell our religion Like a bumper sticker Islam raised Bilal It makes everyone equal Ask a black man Trying to marry an Arab girl Superficial religion, its all I see Just another expression of our vanity A talented gardener His beards in full bloom But if he meets a struggling farmer He speaks words of doom Monet is drowning His skies are filled with bombs War in the name of Christendom Planes in the name of Islam The new Cold war Superficial religion, its all I see Just another expression of our vanity Where we speak with precision, at the conference speech But we never change, our communities Superficial Religion…
May Allah
assist you all.. Amen.
What a true nurture of the soul!
Thanx for making this a serene night for me..
With respect,
wow
alhamdullah, i appreciate the kind words…i hope the message comes through, thats really all thats important to me
-saad
once agin bro Saad uve spoken da truth…btw wot did u mean bout
“Hamza Yusuf was our star
He earned our fame
September 12th 2001
Now we bash his name”
dats da only bit I dnt understand
salam hina..in response to your question..
in that line i was referring to the attacks that many of our most well known scholars received after 9-11 with people incorrectly labeling them “sell outs” and rubbish like that.
so its like, for 10 years we were all inspire by someone like Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and suddenly when we see him in suit or tie we make a website saying that he has sold his soul, thats part of lacking depth in religion.
-saad
As salaamu Alaikum,
I think it’ll have an impact once it is complete. When I was reading it, it made me feel responsible for all those errors in our ummah. The song has a “we” type of spirit that holds the reader responsible and also it makes the reader face the question, “what am I doing to improve this condition?”
Jazak Allah
i have to admit i didnt get some of it ;(
so true
Masha’Allah
,
Br. Saad Omar has come a long way from brainwashing siblings of important Muslim leaders :D. I thoroughly agree and relate strongly to the sentiments expressed in this song (or is it meant more to be a rap?).
I’d like to go a step further, if I may, and contrast this idea of religious superficiality with the sentiments you expressed in your previous essay, regarding the Muslim brother shortage. It often seems like sisters are quick to complain, nowadays, “there’s no marriage material muslim boys anymore!” In fact, this phenomenon has gotten so prevalent that even Imam Zaid Shakir is holding sessions with titles like “Muslim Guy Shortage”. But I’d like to (and I know I’ll get smacked for saying this) chalk some of the problem up to religious superficiality on the part of our sisters. To many, the “religious” guy is the one that wears the thickest, fullest beard, rocks the leather socks, was active and a leader in every muslim youth group and makes sure everyone knows he is, quotes Shaykhs and islamic institutions more than his own words, etc. I’m not saying these people aren’t marriageable material, just that you need to expand your scope and mindset. Some of our most pious brothers and sisters are the ones who perform their acts of iba’dah in pure anonymity, where it’s a matter between them and Allah
.
That’s the mental paradigm shift we need to make :P.
salam…
“br. saad omar has come a long way from brainwashing siblings of important Muslim leaders..”
hahaha…i don’t know who “kashmiraqi” is but its definitely someone from my childhood..
but on a more serious note, i do have to agree with what you said about many sisters also being superficial in what they consider religious in muslim guys” thats why i mentioned the beard in the following lines:
A talented gardener
His beards in full bloom
But if he meets a struggling farmer
He speaks words of doom
many sisters will be very disappointed to find out that they have an incorrect set of criteria in evaluating ‘religious’ or ‘practicing’ brothers and unfortunately i have seen many of my male friends becoming that ‘generic image’ of what sisters are looking for, i def don’t want to be another mass-made MSA boy that makes the “perfect husband”
thanks for the comment
-saad
Masha’Allah
excellent poem, I may consider putting it up on my blog if you don’t mind. It’s truly thought provoking.
“many sisters will be very disappointed to find out that they have an incorrect set of criteria in evaluating ‘religious’ or ‘practicing’ brothers and unfortunately i have seen many of my male friends becoming that ‘generic image’ of what sisters are looking for, i def don’t want to be another mass-made MSA boy that makes the “perfect husband”
So true brother, so true!!!
oh yeah…thats definitely ok with me if u want to put it up on your blog
-saad
my point exactly, as I was trying to say it but sisters started attacking me.
THank you Br. KashimirIraqi.
I was tryijng to say the same thing abuot sisters superficializaton of how muslim bros. should be.
same sentiments.
jazaks.