Assalamu Alaikum (peace be upon you) everyone,
Watching the latest episode of Lost, Ab Aeterno, I figured I’d point out a few interesting points regarding the major big Answer we’ve received..
For those who haven’t watched the episode, look no further… Major Spoilers
Ahem
So we finally got it. The Major Answer. Why does the Island exist?
It exists to maintain and imprison a character that represents pure evil, so to speak.
Were this character to be let loose, then that evil or darkness would spread around the world.
Jacob’s role officially is to make sure this evil remains here. Unofficially, he also plays a sort of game with this character, betting on the souls of men so to speak.
But I won’t go into the details of what alot of this means. For that you can head over to the THUD column written by the Brilliant Morse, who has one of the best columns of any type that I’ve seen online. If you aren’t an avid follower… you owe it to yourself to become one.
No here I will discuss LOST and its relation to Islam since it’s something that Morse hasn’t touched upon yet:
It has been narrated that The Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) has said, ‘By Allah, I have not gathered you here to give you an exhortation or a warning. I have kept you here because Tamim al-Dari, a Christian man who has come and embraced Islam, told me something which agrees with that which I have told you about the Antichrist. He told me that he had sailed in a ship with 30 men from Banu Lakhm and Banu Judham. The waves had tossed them about for a month, then they were brought near to an island, at the time of sunset. They landed on the island, and were met by a beast who was so hairy that they could not tell its front from its back.
They said, “Woe to you! What are you?” It said, “I am al-Jassasah (roughly translates in the one who spies).” They said, “What is al-Jassasah?” It said, “O people, go to this man in the monastery, for he is very eager to know about you.” Tamim said that when it named a person to us, we were afraid lest it be a devil.”
Tamim said, ‘We quickly went to the monastery. There we found a huge man with his hands tied up to his neck and with iron shackles between his legs up to the ankles. We said, “Woe to you, who are you?” He said, “You will soon know about me. Tell me who you are.”
We said, “We are people from Arabia. We sailed in a ship, but the waves have been tossing us about for a month, and they brought us to your island.
“The man said, “Tell me about the date-palms of Baysan.’ We said, ‘What do you want to know about them?” He said, ‘I want to know whether these trees bear fruit or not.’ We said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Soon they will not bear fruit.’ Then he said, “Tell me about the lake of al-Tabariyyah [Tiberias, in Palestine].’ We said, ‘What do you want to know about it?” He asked, ‘Is there water in it?’ We said, ‘There is plenty of water in it.’ He said, ‘Soon it will become dry.’ Then he said, ‘Tell me about the spring of Zughar.’ We said, ‘What do you want to know about it?’ He said, ‘Is there water in it, and does it irrigate the land?” We said, ‘Yes, there is plenty of water in it, and the people use it to irrigate the land.’ “Then he said, “Tell me about the unlettered Prophet ‘ what has he done?’ We said, ‘He has left Makkah and settled in Yathrib.’ He asked, ‘Do the Arabs fight against him?’ We said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘How does he deal with them?’ So we told him that the Prophet had overcome the Arabs around him and that they had followed him. He asked, ‘Has it really happened?’ We said, ‘Yes.’
He said, ‘It is better for them if they follow him. Now I will tell you about myself. I am the Dajjal (The Antichrist). I will soon be permitted to leave this place: I will emerge and travel about the earth. In 40 nights I will pass through every town, except Makkah and Madina, for these have been forbidden to me.’
So here we have a parallel with what we see above and what is mentioned in the show.
The prophet (pbuh) could have been speaking metaphorically, or literally… this is the subject of debate among Muslim Scholars, however the significance of the above in relation to LOST can’t be ignored.
The Antichrist, evil, darkness, son of satan, what have you, is chained on an Island and is awaiting his release. When he is released he will spread around the entire earth within 40 days.
The Jassassah, or spy, is the one keeping him there. Although acting as a prison guard, he is also an ally to the Antichrist because he informs him about the events of the world. He “spies” on global events then relays them to the Antichrist.
If the writers of Lost have taken their inspiration for these characters and their significance from Islamic Theology, then perhaps that would support the idea that Jacob is both friend and foe to the MIB, or the Antichrist.
Here’s another interesting thing worth pointing out:
It is narrated that the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) has said:”No prophet was sent but that he warned his followers against the one-eyed liar (Dajjal, the Antichrist). Beware! He is blind in one eye, and your Lord is not so”
Our resident Antichrist, the MIB, is currently stuck in the shape of Locke, who has a large scar over one of his eyes. Coincidence?
Here’s yet another interesting idea. Of the many signs that the Prophet (pbuh) has relayed to his followers regarding the end of times, one of them which has been the subject of mass debates was the vaguely mentioned sign of “Smoke”. A sign of the end of times, which correlates with the timing of the release of the Antichrist into the world is “Smoke”.
Come On! The above really cannot be ignored for any Lost enthusiasts out there 🙂
Got any comments? Questions? Send em over to tarek.jammal@yahoo.com