Love and Curse from God

The person speaking in the passage is a messenger from heaven sent by God to deliver a message to the people. The passage is from a holy book; the bible or the Quran. The messenger talks of other messengers of God sent earlier. The speaker is a person beyond humanity.

The passage has a basis that is historical. The messenger speaks of Moses and the scriptures containing the Ten Commandments, other apostles who were sent after Moses, and Jesus son of Mary who had strength from the Holy Spirit. Despite all these signs, people still neglected God and continued sinning. They went on persecuting messengers of God.

The messenger says that people believe that they are blessed, but God has cursed them. The historical context of the passage is about the time apostles were sent by God to earth to spread the news about him. This was a time when God wanted to be close to his people, but his people neglected him.

The issue being discussed is the rejection of people to receive salvation. They saw what was preached to them as useless, because it did not coincide with their deeds. The passage means that if humans refuse to praise God, the birds and other animals will always do it. This shows that God is almighty.

The context in the passage relates to the Muslim religion. This is in the fact that the Muslims believe that the Holy Quran is the rightful book that contains God message to human kind. The overall theme is God’s punishment to those who refuse to believe, and follow his word.

A Dreamer

The passage is in the form of a poem or a narrative. It narrates the story of a person who sees the future, and believes in it. The person in the passage is either a nephew or a niece speaking to the aunt. The passage does not specify the sex, age or color of the persona. The aunt’s name is Habiba.

The persona tells Habiba about his or her dream of becoming a magician. The aunt seems to agree with the persona. Apart from narration there is the use of simile. This is seen in the  fourth line where the personae says, ‘I will glide through adolescence holding escape like the young European girls hold their  dance partners close to theirs. The persona compares the dream to the European girls.

The persona aims at accomplishing the dream and nothing can stop him or her. This is seen when the persona speaks of overcoming distractions such as adolescence. The passage can be compared to the story of girl who narrated of dreams that seemed impossible to other girls. Mernissi says the girl talked of coming into contact to the outside world which was beyond her reach (4).

The persona’s aunt has an Islamic name Habiba. This proves that the passage is based on an Islamic viewpoint. The passage has a hidden meaning that signifies the spread of Islam. Through the personae, the readers are able to be taken on a journey of the persona’s dream. The persona believes that the spread of Islam will be easy, and it will be shared to anyone who is willing to accept it. Magicians are people believed to have supernatural powers. The persona compares to the magicians; whereby there is the implication that no barriers will prevent the spread of Islam. The word of God exists in religion of Islam; therefore, it does not discriminate.