a motion picture event
by Talal Sarwani
(windows media player required)
Thank only Allah
If we have done anything wrong it is from our own ignorance
If we have done anything correct then it is from Allah
By the way ya'll aint seen nothing yet....
www.gi57.com
this was awesome!
Great job!
It had a powerful message, I hope Allah Aza wa jal puts this message into the hearts of the Muslims I SRU and help them tremendously to be united, ameen.
Word for the wise: If something makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, consider bathing more often.
But seriously, good job. MashaAllah, worth the wait. Really loved the message...Will there be a sequel in the future?
on October 5, 2005 11:54 AMAlso, it was mentioned that in urdu the word 'duniya' means 'kachra'. Can someone please break the linguistics of that down for me?
on October 5, 2005 1:07 PMAbout "dunya"...
It's actually the Arabic word dunya that has "kachra"(garbage) as one of it's meanings.
(It's good dialogue :) )
InshaAllah if a brother or sister with more knowledge of the etymology of "dunya" could chime in, inshaAllah it would be much appreciated.
and inshaAllah if people have specific comments about specific sequences, such insight would also be lovely.
on October 5, 2005 2:48 PMSalamulaikum,
Talal man, you are a genius of a director, MashAllah. The Scrubs trailer was really good, the movie did not attain the expectations of the trailer, but it was pretty good. You have to love Hasan fighting my Bengali brother Naim, you gotta love Amr's insightful "dada bhai " speech.
The SCRUBS are not real characters but it reflects our brotherhood well.
Thank Allah Talah for granting us the best way of life.
Ameen.
InshAllah see you soon.
man i make so many tense mistakes
on October 5, 2005 8:21 PMit doesn't play on my mac... i have windows media player...
on October 5, 2005 8:49 PMI'm assuming you're runnin OS X.
If so, do you have windows media player 9 installed?
on October 5, 2005 10:24 PMoh yeah...loved the 'faux' kung fu fighting sequence. The bit where the brother's fist kept missing br. Hassan's face and going through his beard was hilarious. Would also have been cool if, during that sequence, you had had the characters move their mouths one way while their words came out another way.
...and errrybody knows the best way to fold a prayer rug is vertically so that the part where your head goes down doesnt touch the part where your feet stand. This way you dont have to smell a stinky feet smell when you go down in sajdah. The 'praying' side gets folded on the inside so that it doesnt get dirty.
I know this for a fact. My forefathers told me so.
on October 6, 2005 1:05 AMWait 'til you behold Fiqh-ul-Musalla Part II.
InshaAllah make du'a that the Scrubs can come through with the epic sequel they have planned.
on October 6, 2005 1:44 AMSalamualaikum,
InshAllah we'll make it "Director Sab". It takes more than hate to break the brotherhood.
ISRU is just the label, it takes alot more than labels to define our brotherhood- the Muslim Ummah. Lot of love for the sake of Allah Talah.
on October 6, 2005 2:22 PMyup mac os X, tiger
on October 6, 2005 5:41 PMyes windows media player ver 9
on October 6, 2005 5:43 PMIt should be working.... inshaAllah I'll see what other format I can put this is, perhaps Quicktime.
The only thing I could advise is that you make sure you have the latest updated downloaded and installed.
About the movie... What are the opinions on the PR committee and "khaleejiyyah accent" sequences?
GO anonymous if you have to do be honest, 'cause I really want to know.
Nice mashallah... the transitions between different screens (usage of multiple angles for one scene) were great. The lighting was good..
some criticisms:
There was alot of distortion on the audio... you could have cleaned that up using an audio editing program.
A few of the scenes were super predictable--> asher teaching irfan how to properly fold Jane-maaz (not to be confused with Janet Jackson), Bball turning into fight..
Hey why were scenes from the trailer not used in the film? (just wondering)
And why was Furqan's nara showing?!?
on October 7, 2005 3:02 AMand what's the relationship between scrubs and aunties? -> them thinking they are doctors (rishta ops?)
on October 7, 2005 3:04 AMyeah, but its a futile effort for anyone who isnt truly going down the med path. Any auntie seriously interested in a larka for her larki will be sure to ask the larka's parents what the larka does...and will feel lied to when she finds out larka isnt really becoming a money doctor.
Skip the scrubs. Best way to get in good with the masjid aunties is via white shalwar kamiz or thobe/galabayyah. Note: Desis should wear shalwar kamiz cuz arabian-wear will cause aunties to get scared and think larka is fanatic. Arabs can sport either shalwar kamiz or arabian-wear depending upon who their target audience is (meaning what ethnicity the girl they've been quietly pining away for is).
on October 7, 2005 7:36 AMI thought the channo sequence was entertaining. I REALLY hope though that that isnt realistic and that guys dont fall over all that easily.
I liked br. Asher's 'kalayjee woman'. I thought the khaleeji woman dialogue was a well-acted out transition for the discussion about the khaleeji isru girl of questionable beliefs...though it was wierd hearing guys talking (albeit discreetly) about the effect girls have on them. Havent had access to that world since 10th grade.
Why is br. Hassan ALWAYS smiling? Also, the way br. Hassan folded the janemaaz is the same way you make samosas.
on October 7, 2005 7:55 AMMashallah I noticed there was a good mix of ethnic backgrounds of the participants (unlike in most islamic short films)... but I was thinking.... what you guys are missing is an African American!
And NO, gi57 doesn't count as one :)
on October 7, 2005 11:17 AMAsalaam Aleikum warahmatullah Wabarakatu,
The root word of dunya is dunawun (daal, nuun, waaw). With a dumma over the daal and a fatha over the nuun.
I bleieve this means 'closeness to the ground'. As in Surat al-Rum, "aadna al'ard".
on October 7, 2005 2:45 PM"I REALLY hope though that that isnt realistic and that guys dont fall over all that easily."
InshaAllah all sisters should be rest assured that this entire sequence was so over the top melodramatic, purposely so that the punch line came unexpectedly and did it's job.
Azeem, we alhamdulillah will be getting even more ethnically diverse if we ever make the second one.
The khaleeji woman exchange was a bit of an experiment... it was a riff on dialogue written by writers who are said to have a knack for good writing. Khayr inshaAllah, lessons were learned, but mashaAllah the brothers who acted it out really nailed the tone of the script.
"Why is br. Hassan ALWAYS smiling?"
All the brothers who were involved in filming the Fiqh-ul-Musalla scene are going to crack up when they read this. I need to put up the greatest Hassan blooper one day :)
it goes into "buffering" after the intro of "innerlight productions"... and it then stops.
help.
or should i just use my husband's pc ?
on October 7, 2005 4:46 PMOh okay... then I think what you need to do is really download the file by right-clicking and going to save-as. once you download the file onto your computer, then play it.
It's too big to just stream.
on October 7, 2005 5:20 PMI have to say, Masha Allah, you're still at it. I'd have used my husband's PC after two tries ...
on October 8, 2005 1:19 PMMabruk alayk!!! MashaAllah an excellent job. It's good to know that ISRU is paving the way to a new form of Dawah within.
wasalaam
on October 8, 2005 2:26 PM"Linguistically, dunya comes from a root meaning both closeness and something despicable or lowly. This world is called dunya for two reasons: First, at the present time, it is closer (adnaa) to the humans than the Hereafter. Second, it is depsicable or abased (daneeah) in comparison to the Hereafter"
From Al Allaamah Ash-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih Al 'Uthaymeen's Sharh Riyaad us Saliheen.
My input:
1) Alhamdullilah to the One who created man with a sense of humor and laughter along with anger. Both of these are not dispraised in essence but when done in excess. Just as anger is needed, as it also bestows some survival advantages as Darwin also pointed out, laughter is also needed. Both in their proper times. So I ask Allah, the Most High that he blesses the brothers involved in this project, especially Talal for providing good halal entertainment to the Muslims and for making me laugh very hard even when I have an exam in approximately 8 hrs.
2) The beard punching thing is by far the funniest thing in the movies.
3. The musallah folding is good too but you should perhaps have one guy take Irfan in a corner. One at a time.
4. Amin's talent was put to waste in that scene about the Khaleejiyyah. Make him spit something or sing something.
5. Humayun is brilliant. Put him in there more. The camera loves him. That scene needed to be expanded. The whole cinematography of that section was great. Him walking in frount of the SERC (i think thats what they call it if i haven't forgotten) into robeson was great. Him sitting in MCMC was great also.
6. The end was too corny. Sorry Talal and Amr. I was happy with it being just a funny movie that we could send to that guy that wrote articles about Isru being a hard-core Saudi mini state. What was his name Sharone Shwartz??
7. Consider having the same lesson, but make it less obvious and preachy at the end. Work it in better.
8. I liked Asher's opening seen. Very nice.
9. Irfan's repping GI-57 hard. Expand that man's scenes Talal.
Ali
on October 8, 2005 4:54 PMcinematography was great... i had a hard time listening to certain dialogues though..
i almost knocked my husband over hearing the "sisru" part... :) now i miss rutgers *sniff* *nostalgic*
i also wanted to see some of the trailer bits... maybe in the sequel ?
otherwise nicely done... :)
justoju... u are so right about the samosas...
on October 8, 2005 9:19 PMSamosas are an integral part of Ramadan.
on October 8, 2005 11:37 PMtrue dat. i just made 100+ for a future iftaar/aqeeqa insha'Allah.
on October 9, 2005 7:29 PMAsalaam Aleikum Warahmatullah Wabarakatu,
All samosas (whether made by Justoju, Saima, or other) can be mailed care of:
Rami Elsawah
xxx xxxx
xxxx, NJ xxxx
UPS, FedEx and USPS accepted.
My mind just went back to sitting around the kitchen table in the balmy heat of Dubai, learning to wrap samosas. That raw keema(minced meat) always looked so tasty, and once rapped in that soft dough was so tempting to eat just as it was.
Too bad we had to wait a month for Ramadan to roll around before we could eat them :) Man, now I miss outdoor Iftars.
on October 10, 2005 3:05 AM
Is there a sequel in the works??
on October 10, 2005 3:49 PM"Is there a sequel in the works??"
I think Talal should take this one.
on October 10, 2005 6:00 PMI have a great idea. Anyone who think there should be a Scrubs of ISRU II (we inshaAllah promise to make it bigger and better), should email
muslims@eden.rutgers.edu
They need to hear it :D
on October 10, 2005 8:36 PMnice twist, about sister's aqeedah, maan, I wonder where Br. Talal got this idea from? is it based on a real dialogue between brothers?
on October 10, 2005 8:44 PMwait why is this khaleeji, kalayjee sister's name Bufayna, aint that like very African American?
BTW, Br. Amr's speech is excellent in the movie, you should show this movie at like a Muslim movies festival, I am sure, the superb acting of Brs. Asher, Amr, the guy who plays Abdullah and Br. Humayoun, did a great job in this.
ANd you should definitely make a sequel.
Ask one of the brothers to play a sister or something with niqaab.
yeah, I think in Part II Bufayna should show up and get married to one of the brothers (possible plot twist: Bufayna = Channo). And there should be lots of song and dance numbers. And more fight scenes. And samosas.
on October 11, 2005 5:59 AMSalamualaikum
I love this whole concept mashaAllah.
"so sorry to the dial up people" umm..yeah :I
Alhumdulilah, being a sister 'Down Under', it's a breath of fresh air to hear about things such as this going on on the other side of the world alhumdulilah.
JazakAllahkhair!
Wasalamualaikum wa rahmatullah
Shame on you people. Poor Butheinah's been crying ever since Irfan ghetto-ized her name, and now this is just going to add to the pain.
Bufayna... tsk tsk.
on October 11, 2005 2:53 PM"Financial aid: Beginning next year, parents in families with incomes of less than $40,000 will no longer be expected to contribute to the cost of attending Harvard for their children. In addition, Harvard will reduce the contributions expected of families with incomes between $40,000 and $60,000."
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/daily/0402/28-finaid.html
on October 11, 2005 4:06 PMAsalaam Aleikum Warahmatullah Wabarakatu
"...and more fight scenes."
I agree, more fight scenes. Perhaps like an "Enter the Dragon" movie where everyone is on a remote Island to fight in a competition set up by some old evil kung fu master with one hand who is only using the competition as a front for his drug trade. Then, Amr Gharib, looking to avenge his sister and father, goes to the Island, aided by Mohammed Irfan (having grown up in the streets of Harlem and is now running from the law) and Hamayun Khan (a suave martial artists businessman running from old bad debts) to defeat the evil master.
Or, you could have it like an old style Kung fu movie where the guys are flying and walking on air and always mentions the names of their moves before actually doing them. Perhaps a remake of the "The Seven Grandmasters". It could become "The Seven GrandShuyukh." I wonder who would be the ghost faced killer (who is trying to kill off all the grandmasters, or in this case the grandshuyukh).
If you want 'guys in niqaabs', we could have a ninja scene. The Bid'aa Ryu ninja clan.
on October 11, 2005 6:08 PMsong and dance numbers?
not another Indian movie, please ,no
lol!@ Butheina does not equal Bufayna,
lol! now her name is Bufayna instead of Butheina.
Definitely, more fighting scene.
Have Humayon and Muhammad Amin(is that his name?) fight for the kalayjee girl Bufayna.
Tell, her welcome to Amrika,
where everyone's name get's ghettoized,
Bufayna!
Asalaam Aleikum Warahmatullah Wabarakatu,
I agree, you guys need more fighting scenes. " Mortal Kombat " style. Br. Rami they might need your ninjutsu(or is it ninjetsu...so daef a speller must I be....) expertise.
on October 11, 2005 11:32 PM
You all keep forgetting the samosas.
on October 12, 2005 6:24 AMthat was hilarious,
musallah wrapping.
And then the guy that says, Ka'bah is a holy place, treat it like one, seems like it came out of one of those Adam World Cassettes for kids, you know what I am talking about?
At the beginning I wasn't very impressed, I thought like other entertainments, this was going to be the same. However, the moral was really good, and the brother presented it really well. Also, the arabic nasheed at the end was brilliant, as it linked up with the message really well, and showed how inshaa'Allaah starting locally, we will take it global. Keep it up!
Btw the prayer rooms are real smart.
on October 14, 2005 7:39 AMthat seriously sucked...dont ever make a movie again
on October 14, 2005 4:31 PMall u ppl who liked it were just too scared to tell them it sucked - it had no plot, no point
and talent=nonexistant
this movie made no sense. its like at the very end u realized it should have a moral so u plug in that guy giving the khutba on unity or whatever. but how does that relate to the rest of it? some of the stuff was potentially funny, but ruined by bad acting.
on October 14, 2005 4:43 PMOk, honest feedback:
Pluses:
1. Cinematography was good. I especially liked the edge-view / closeup of how the janamaz was being folded.
2. Good job in having a moral of the story/ making it relate to practical issues that guys discuss all the time.
Negatives:
1. There was no plot.
2. There was no action.
3. There was very little humor that wasnt already cliche.
4. At some points, the acting and the dialogue looked unnatural and forced.
But I say it with utmost sincerity that y'all should keep trying inshaAllah.
wsalaam
wait a minute,
Unless you all critisizing people probably have seen more movies than I have and all....
this was a pretty good thing.
Who says you need a plot in every movie, in every book.
Real art sometimes has no plot. There was a hidden plot here,though.......
on the surface, the MSA is a chilling place, a recluse for American Muslim teenagers and young adults to hang out, to be with one of their kind, etc. To be good muslims and all. But sometimes shaitan can mislead them in different ways.
Sometimes, its humorous(albeit predictable, as was mentioned) such as the fiqh ul musallah, channo PR committee and the boy.
and sometimes it becomes very serious that Br. Amr has to come and give a speech for it.
I think these brothers, writers, actors, directors, did a superb job.
Those critisizing( and I am not talking about the nice and honest post of ghettosuperstar, but other posters) should offer to act and direct something better, in order to show us what is not a bad script or bad acting. if you can do it, wal-7amdulillah, we accept and if you cannot, then tell us in a nice manner.
I personally, think that these guys tried the best, and I would really give them two thumbs up for their great job!
Actually, maybe my last comment was a bit too harsh. I can understand the desire to move away from some of the fitna-esque movies that other Muslim youth will produce; to try and infuse this one with something real.
So alhamdulillah for that.
on October 15, 2005 2:20 PMWhoa said "show us what is not a bad script or bad acting."
Here are some examples:
1. DatVon Productions - UMCP MSA
http://www.datvonproductions.com/whatdreamsmaybecome.html
2. AshFilms
http://www.ashfilms.com/
3. Gandaghee
http://gandaghee.reflexstudioproductions.com
I couldn't see DatVon's "What Dreams May Become"
AshFilms' short drama, "The 11th Hour," has a piano playing in the background, and I saw some women on there as well.
1) Compare our comedy to another comedy.
2) Compare our movie to something halal.
3) As for the acting...yeah right.
Something's up with the Gandaghee website. I heard not all of the comedy is halal.
Criticism's always welcome, even if one can't write/film a movie on his own.
gillette, writer of "fiqhul musalla"
on October 15, 2005 11:41 PMConsidering that the content was kept totally halaal and that the message was a beautiful one, I thought you guys did a great job mashaAllah. People get better with experience so the sequel prolly will be even better inshaAllah. Am looking fwd to it.
on October 15, 2005 11:57 PMAsalaam Aleikum Warahmatullah Wabarakatu,
Had the sam problem with DatVon's. To fix just right click on the movie and go to 'Play in Realplayer'.
on October 16, 2005 12:52 AMAsalaam Aleikum Warahmatullah Wabarakatu,
Masha Allah, The AshFilms one was real nice. Yes, it did have piano.
The part at the end, in the MSA halaqa where they're going through everyone's minds, was hilarious.
Absolutely hilarious.
on October 16, 2005 1:13 AMYou guys need to find a way to let sisters be involved in the video. Yes I mean being IN the future movies. Here are some possible scenes that could work:
Niqabi Shadowboxing
ok fine, thats the only thing I could come up with!
on October 16, 2005 1:27 AMbrothers playing sisters in niqaabs is something i wanna see... i dont know if a voice over would be adequate or not ? unless the brother can really pull off a sister's voice...
you can play-out a sister's dialogue thru Instant messenger...
or a telephone conversation...
or txt messaging...
i would like to see more of busch student center or the campus or ARC in the next sequel...
"""Terisaas said
Whoa said "show us what is not a bad script or bad acting."
Here are some examples:
1. DatVon Productions - UMCP MSA
http://www.datvonproductions.com/whatdreamsmaybecome.html
2. AshFilms
http://www.ashfilms.com/
3. Gandaghee
http://gandaghee.reflexstudioproductions.com
on October 15, 2005 11:10 PM"""
I'm in Gandaghee.
Lol.
on October 18, 2005 2:10 PMHaving men imitate women is quite haraam.
The AIM thing or txt messaging are good ideas.
As for women's voices...their voices would have to be appropriately concealed if men are going to be hearing their voices...ideally, the way the speak around women should be different than the way they speak around men...see "How to Talk to a Guy":
on October 18, 2005 2:25 PMYeah, we checked with people much more knowledgeable than us, and imitating women is a no-no.
As for Busch Campus, you'll be pleased, as the sequel takes place mostly in that realm.
on October 18, 2005 3:20 PMI have a question, and I'm really sorry to go off topic here, but doesn anyone know where the Humanitarian Day is being held on October 23rd? I believe it's sponsored by Islamic Relief.
No, I'm not speaking about the fundraiser on the 29th.
I tried emailing a few ppl, no response. The email from ISRu didn't have details, and emailing the coordinator got me just teh name of the city it's being held in. I wanted to know the exact location, i.e building information/address. Also, when (timings) would be appreciated.
If anyone knows, I'll be really grateful, and will pray for 'em if they let me know soon.
Jazak Allah
Saima
on October 19, 2005 2:08 AMSalaam:
This is a worthwhile production, Good effort!
I have plenty of queries, and comments:
1- I love the scene when the brother is walking out in the snow. I missed the snow, the chill factor and all that!
2- I also soooo much miss being in University, in student lounge having MSA gathering...you guys should enjoy every bit of this experience as student in your respective university.
3- Masha'Allah, an awesome group of brothers...Who's Who on Hidaya?
For instance, Br. Asher is who on Hidaya? Also, who is the brother leading the prayer?
Who is the Egyptian and the Khaleeji? Do they write here on Hidaya under what name? What about the brother who was giving the Naseeha, who is that? The only brother I can recognize is br. Hassan. And where is Br. Talal...the camera man?
I am just trying to put a face with the names that contribute to Hidaya.
Overall, very nice, Masha'Allah!
Ma'Assalaama
on October 20, 2005 9:18 AMBr. Asher is just Br. Asher, and has commented occasionally on this site.
The Br. leading the prayer is Irfan:
http://www.hidayaonline.com/archives/000191.html
http://www.hidayaonline.com/archives/000306.html
The Egyptian is Ahmed Mahmoud, who I've never seen comment on HidayaOnline.com
The "Khaleeji" is actually played by an Algerian, Muhammad El Amin Kouar.
The brother giving the Nasihah is Amr Gharib, who's commented occasionally on HidayaOnline.com
Br. Talal is very camera-shy.
on October 20, 2005 11:53 AMSalaam:
Where is Faisal Akhtar? Is he not from ISRU?
Ma'Assalaama
on October 20, 2005 6:49 PMcongrats for such an amazing film despite the criticisms! i liked the Egyptian/Khaleeji thing! Muhammad Alshareef is right, you guys here (in the States) are obsessed with marriage. i loved the naseeha the best, it's true that we (bros and sis equally) often judge people on speculations. looking forward to the sequel.
on October 20, 2005 11:36 PM"The part at the end, in the MSA halaqa where they're going through everyone's minds, was hilarious.
Absolutely hilarious."
I gotta say, that was funny... too bad for the music (nicely directed too).
on October 21, 2005 8:50 PM"gillette said
Br. Talal is very camera-shy."
MashaAllah. Hehe Br. Talal should secretly cameo...
I loved the trailer, at the end; "You guys are fired"
hehe!!
Can we expect the sequel for Eid? It can be our Eid gift from you and our positive feedback our gift to you! I know, I know, it's not fair! Well, life isn't fair!
on October 24, 2005 6:57 PMa simple primitive short film with an equivalent criticism. very repetitive, seen it, heard it before, try something new!
on December 9, 2005 11:54 PMsoooo whens the part 2 coming out? :D
on January 31, 2006 10:08 PM"soooo whens the part 2 coming out?"
I think Talal should get this one.
on February 1, 2006 12:10 AMInshaAllah, as long as people are in the mood for it, anticipate an epic short film to be released in 2-3 months :)
on February 1, 2006 12:47 PM"InshaAllah, as long as people are in the mood for it, anticipate an epic short film to be released in 2-3 months :)"
inshaAllah, few MSA's can pull off videos like these mashaAllah. most of the time it's dry humor..
Assalamualaikum warahmathullahi wabarakatuhu
Masha allah brothers, you have produced a superb movie. Keep it up akhi. I really loved the speech by the brother towards the end, superb brother Masha allah. Our deen is naseeha, I have learned a lot from the video.
Assalamualaikum,
Mohammed