To Love, But Not To Hold

After many reviews I received of this movie and the full-house attendances at the theatre, I finally succumbed and watched Ayat-Ayat Cinta today - commonly translated as "Verses of Love" but after watching it, I thought an Arabic translation as "Proofs of Love" seemed more accurate.

The jury on Ayat-Ayat Cinta is still out there. What seemed to divide these diverging views is firstly on the issue of polygamy portrayed in the movie. After watching it today, I opined that to be a dense perception of the whole point the movie was about and the message it was trying to portray. I also differ on the other contentious point that it was a religious love story - it was a love story as universal as any other, irrespective of faith - and it was literally illustrated in the movie when the Muslim male lead married his second wife, who is an Egyptian Coptic Christian.

At the core of this movie is truly the story of true love - each of its character trying to achieve the level of selflessness, purity and unadulterated love that he/she yearns. It represents the journey which all of us embark - but the marked consciousness of the characters in journeying through this is remarkable. None of the decisions they made were easy ones: Fahri's decision to be married with the right wife, Maria's silent suffering for the love of her life, Aisha's consent to her husband's second marriage ... and the list goes on even with the other minor characters.

It was about searching, and for some blessed ones amongst us, finding what we seek. But despite, the movie reminds us of faith when we don't get what we want. A moving example is when the accused in the same prison cell with Fahri spoke of the tests faced by Prophet Joseph (as) as inspiration to move on and to remain steadfast of our faith in The Almighty. A poignant point was delivered by Maria, when on her deathbed and despite being married to Fahri, she finally understood the difference between loving and holding on to the one whom she loves - hence the title of this entry.

But love is not simply a bed of roses, and neither is faith. We have to work to acquire and maintain faith. True love, requires sacrifices. Each of the character displayed an understanding of this concept remarkably. At the end of the movie, despite them not arriving at the audience's ideal life's conclusion, we somehow feel happy and relieved for them because they have arrived at their own mecca, on their own terms, and that is sufficient. These are indeed "Proofs of Love".

It was only after this, that the issue of faith comes into the picture for me, if I must. The virtues spoke of, the misconceptions cleared - are well-known. The 2 concepts which permeated through this movie: patience and sincerity, were beautifully exemplified - but the characters need not necessarily be Muslims to proof that point.

I have not read the novel of which this film was based on, but I suspect that in many years to come when the euphora of the movie has subsided, it will remain a classic when the public matures through the literal aspects of the novel to understand the subtlety of the powerful love messages Habiburrahman El Shirazy intended.

I like the movie, a lot. Perhaps I am a sucker for such things, well...

A bonus reason is that it has Ungu's song at the conclusion: Tercipta Untukku (t: You Were Created For Me). Now, what is there not to like :)