Argumentative Essay
"Alhamdulillah"
Rosemarie O’Connor
Mrs. Manugo
Dual Enrollment English 112
23 April 2015
Alhamdulillah: Rosemarie’s new perspective in “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini
“Alhamdulillah” is a word spoken by millions of Muslims all over the world to give praise to god. Uttered after wrestling achievement from the grips of hardship, this word is truly the heartbeat of Khaled Hosseini’s novel A Thousand Splendid Suns. The breath of the novel can be found in this quote from the Quran, “If Allah finds any good in your heart, He will give you something better than what has been taken from you” (The Quran, 08:70). In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, its main character Mariam starts out life with very little. Throughout the course of the novel more and more is taken from her; her mother, her father, her pride and eventually her life. Yet, at the end of her road she is still thankful for what she has been given, because it outnumbers the loss she has felt by the thousands. Mariam is so grateful for the life she was given because of her unshakeable faith, even when much of the suffering she felt was under the guise of religious adherence. Whether from the Taliban who caused devastating destruction and justified it by twisting Islamic scripture or from Rasheed who never failed to preach what he himself did not practice; there is no lack of suffering to be had, supposedly in the name of god. Yet at no point does Mariam blame her religion for the Taliban or Rasheed’s actions, she always uses her religion to strengthen her and lift her up. In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseni uses symbolism and irony to show that even through the use of religion as a tool of violence by some, others still find comfort in it.
To Muslims Islam may symbolize many things, from a sense of community, tradition or even comfort in times of need. In Khaled Hussanis novel A Thousand Splendid Suns the religion of Islam symbolizes a myriad of things to the characters. Some use their faith for good, while others ironically twist what are meant to be positive words into their own terrible schemes. A prime example of this is Mariam’s and Laila’s husband Rasheed. Rasheed imposes his religious values on his wives but does not follow the scripture himself. Before taking her out in public, he gives Mariam a burqa, a loose outer garment that covers one’s face and body, to wear. Rasheed wishes Mariam to be traditionally modest, in contrast to the women who visit his shop, “I have customers, Mariam, men, who bring their wives to my shop. These women come uncovered, they talk to me directly, they look me in the eyes without shame. They wear makeup and skirts that show their knees. Sometimes they even put their feet in front of me […] for measurements…” (70). Rasheed claims to be disgusted at these women’s modern nature. He says he is only trying to protect Mariam’s honor and pride, in turn protecting his own. However when Mariam is cleaning she finds a pornographic magazine in his drawer, “A woman’s face, he’d said, is her husband’s business only. Surely the women on these pages had husbands, some of them must. At the least, they had brothers. If so, why did Rasheed insist that she cover when he thought nothing of looking at the private areas of other men’s wives and sisters?” (83). Rasheed expects women to follow the tenant of modesty yet he does not “lower his gaze”, another tenant of Islam, meaning one must refrain from looking at forbidden things. This irony of holding others to one standard of religious adherence while not expecting the same from oneself is prevalent in the character Rasheed. He does not pray five times a day as is required for all Muslims, nor does he fast during Ramadan or treat his wives with respect as it is required in the Quran. Rasheed is the foil to Mariam’s devout nature, illuminating her unwavering faith in the face of adversity perpetuated under the guise of religious conviction.
The Quran is the holy book of Islam. Its words are believed to be verbatim from God, sent by his messenger the prophet Muhammad. This book symbolizes their religion, Islam, and holds its guiding truths and principals. However, it also symbolizes traditions passed down for generations. Some use it as source of strength in times of hardship, leaning on the sturdy spine. Others find endless love, comfort, forgiveness and knowledge from a higher power within its pages. Unfortunately, as seen in the novel, those with ill intentions seek to abuse this power the religion holds and commit violence in its name. Still Muslims hold tightly to their faith in the words of the Quran as those in power twist the holy phrases to subjugate its believers. This irony is seen in A Thousand Splendid suns, as Mariam prepares to meet her death at the hands of the Taliban she recites “O my Lord! Forgive and have mercy, for you are the best of the merciful ones” (Hosseni 371). This scene comes soon after the Taliban’s Mullah justifies his decision to allow the execution of Mariam by saying, “I am tired and dying, and I want to be merciful. I want to forgive you. But when God summons me and says, But it wasn’t for you to forgive, Mullah, what should I say?” (366). As the Mullah shows his lack of compassion for Mariam, she still holds faith that her god will be merciful to her. The Mullah shows the true lens with which he views Islam, as a vehicle for his own selfish unsympathetic means. He ignores the Quran’s urges to show kindness and compassion to others, “Indeed, Allah enjoins justice, and the doing of good to others; and giving like kindred; and forbids indecency, and manifest evil, and wrongful transgression. He admonished you that you may take heed” (The Quran, 16:91). Mariam still does not blame the Mullah or The Taliban for their decision to execute her, she maintains faith that her god will be merciful to her soul in contrast to the injustice she has felt from mortals who claim to represent him in life.
In the heart of every faithful person lies the knowledge that there is something more than the hardship or success on earth. Even when faced with abuse justified in the name of what she holds most dear and pure, Mariam’s faith does not waiver. Even though some may use religion for malicious purposes others do not lose faith in what they believe to be a positive force. Until her end by the Taliban’s hands she seeks solace in her god, the same one they use to justify her death. This proves that the faith in one’s heart is stronger than the pain in one’s body.
Works Cited
Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns. New York: Riverhead, 2007. Print.
Ganeri, Anita. The Quran. London: Evans, 2002. Print.
Mrs. Manugo
Dual Enrollment English 112
23 April 2015
Alhamdulillah: Rosemarie’s new perspective in “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini
“Alhamdulillah” is a word spoken by millions of Muslims all over the world to give praise to god. Uttered after wrestling achievement from the grips of hardship, this word is truly the heartbeat of Khaled Hosseini’s novel A Thousand Splendid Suns. The breath of the novel can be found in this quote from the Quran, “If Allah finds any good in your heart, He will give you something better than what has been taken from you” (The Quran, 08:70). In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, its main character Mariam starts out life with very little. Throughout the course of the novel more and more is taken from her; her mother, her father, her pride and eventually her life. Yet, at the end of her road she is still thankful for what she has been given, because it outnumbers the loss she has felt by the thousands. Mariam is so grateful for the life she was given because of her unshakeable faith, even when much of the suffering she felt was under the guise of religious adherence. Whether from the Taliban who caused devastating destruction and justified it by twisting Islamic scripture or from Rasheed who never failed to preach what he himself did not practice; there is no lack of suffering to be had, supposedly in the name of god. Yet at no point does Mariam blame her religion for the Taliban or Rasheed’s actions, she always uses her religion to strengthen her and lift her up. In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseni uses symbolism and irony to show that even through the use of religion as a tool of violence by some, others still find comfort in it.
To Muslims Islam may symbolize many things, from a sense of community, tradition or even comfort in times of need. In Khaled Hussanis novel A Thousand Splendid Suns the religion of Islam symbolizes a myriad of things to the characters. Some use their faith for good, while others ironically twist what are meant to be positive words into their own terrible schemes. A prime example of this is Mariam’s and Laila’s husband Rasheed. Rasheed imposes his religious values on his wives but does not follow the scripture himself. Before taking her out in public, he gives Mariam a burqa, a loose outer garment that covers one’s face and body, to wear. Rasheed wishes Mariam to be traditionally modest, in contrast to the women who visit his shop, “I have customers, Mariam, men, who bring their wives to my shop. These women come uncovered, they talk to me directly, they look me in the eyes without shame. They wear makeup and skirts that show their knees. Sometimes they even put their feet in front of me […] for measurements…” (70). Rasheed claims to be disgusted at these women’s modern nature. He says he is only trying to protect Mariam’s honor and pride, in turn protecting his own. However when Mariam is cleaning she finds a pornographic magazine in his drawer, “A woman’s face, he’d said, is her husband’s business only. Surely the women on these pages had husbands, some of them must. At the least, they had brothers. If so, why did Rasheed insist that she cover when he thought nothing of looking at the private areas of other men’s wives and sisters?” (83). Rasheed expects women to follow the tenant of modesty yet he does not “lower his gaze”, another tenant of Islam, meaning one must refrain from looking at forbidden things. This irony of holding others to one standard of religious adherence while not expecting the same from oneself is prevalent in the character Rasheed. He does not pray five times a day as is required for all Muslims, nor does he fast during Ramadan or treat his wives with respect as it is required in the Quran. Rasheed is the foil to Mariam’s devout nature, illuminating her unwavering faith in the face of adversity perpetuated under the guise of religious conviction.
The Quran is the holy book of Islam. Its words are believed to be verbatim from God, sent by his messenger the prophet Muhammad. This book symbolizes their religion, Islam, and holds its guiding truths and principals. However, it also symbolizes traditions passed down for generations. Some use it as source of strength in times of hardship, leaning on the sturdy spine. Others find endless love, comfort, forgiveness and knowledge from a higher power within its pages. Unfortunately, as seen in the novel, those with ill intentions seek to abuse this power the religion holds and commit violence in its name. Still Muslims hold tightly to their faith in the words of the Quran as those in power twist the holy phrases to subjugate its believers. This irony is seen in A Thousand Splendid suns, as Mariam prepares to meet her death at the hands of the Taliban she recites “O my Lord! Forgive and have mercy, for you are the best of the merciful ones” (Hosseni 371). This scene comes soon after the Taliban’s Mullah justifies his decision to allow the execution of Mariam by saying, “I am tired and dying, and I want to be merciful. I want to forgive you. But when God summons me and says, But it wasn’t for you to forgive, Mullah, what should I say?” (366). As the Mullah shows his lack of compassion for Mariam, she still holds faith that her god will be merciful to her. The Mullah shows the true lens with which he views Islam, as a vehicle for his own selfish unsympathetic means. He ignores the Quran’s urges to show kindness and compassion to others, “Indeed, Allah enjoins justice, and the doing of good to others; and giving like kindred; and forbids indecency, and manifest evil, and wrongful transgression. He admonished you that you may take heed” (The Quran, 16:91). Mariam still does not blame the Mullah or The Taliban for their decision to execute her, she maintains faith that her god will be merciful to her soul in contrast to the injustice she has felt from mortals who claim to represent him in life.
In the heart of every faithful person lies the knowledge that there is something more than the hardship or success on earth. Even when faced with abuse justified in the name of what she holds most dear and pure, Mariam’s faith does not waiver. Even though some may use religion for malicious purposes others do not lose faith in what they believe to be a positive force. Until her end by the Taliban’s hands she seeks solace in her god, the same one they use to justify her death. This proves that the faith in one’s heart is stronger than the pain in one’s body.
Works Cited
Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns. New York: Riverhead, 2007. Print.
Ganeri, Anita. The Quran. London: Evans, 2002. Print.