Tanya Sama Itu Hud Hud - What does it Really Mean?

reminder: the entry below comes from the original article is in Bahasa Melayu. i do not really know how to fully translate this article, so i translated it as long as it has the same meaning and is understandable in English. 

i also took some facts from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conference_of_the_Birds.

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♪♫ tujuh puluh tiga pintu, tujuh puluh tiga jalan

seventy three doors, seventy three ways 

yang sampai hanya satu jalan

there is only one way which you can reach ♪♫

The Prophet (S.A.W) said: "in later days my people will be disunited like the Jews and Nesrani do in their religion. my people will be disunited to become 73 firqah (or class or sect), 72 groups or firqah or sects will end up in Hell and (only) one will go to Heaven"

then the companions asked: "Who are the ones (who is going to Heaven), oh Rasulallah (S.A.W.)?"

The Prophet (S.A.W) said: "(People who) follow my path (i.e., his Sunnah or as-Sunnah) and the path of my companions which is truthful and is guided by Allah (S.W.T.)

(Sahih Hadith narrated by at-Termidzi etc.)

♪♫ beribu-ribu Margasatua mencari raja si Muraq

thousands of Margasatua looking for king Muraq

yang sampai hanya tiga puluh

the ones that reach (king Muraq) is only thirty ♪♫

Mantiq Al-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds) is the most phenomenal work from Fariduddin Attar. it contains spiritual experience that he had been through looking for meaning and reality of life. Attar pours his experience through a story of a flock of birds' journey so that it would be easier to be understood.

the book is about a flock of birds' journey to look for the bird king called Simorgh (Si Muraq) at the peak of the great Kaf Mountain.

before the journey, birds from all over the world have gathered to have a conference. they have only one purpose that is to look for a king. the hoopoe (hud hud in Bahasa Melayu), the wisest of them all, suggests that they should find the legendary Simorgh, a mythical Persian bird roughly equivalent to the western phoenix.

the hoopoe leads the birds, each of whom represent a human fault which prevents man from attaining enlightenment.

each bird has a special significance, and a corresponding didactic fault. the guiding bird is the hoopoe, while the nightingale symbolizes the lover. the parrot is seeking the fountain of immortality, not God, and the peacock symbolizes the "fallen soul" who is in alliance with Satan.

the birds must cross seven valleys in order to find the Simorgh:

Talab (Yearning), Eshq (Love), Marifat (Gnosis), Istighnah (Detachment), Tawheed (Unity of God), Hayrat (Bewilderment) and, finally, Fuqur and Fana (Selflessness and Oblivion in God); which represent the stations that any individual must pass through to realize the true nature of God.

one by one, they drop out of the journey, each offering an excuse and unable to endure the journey.

when the group of thirty birds finally reach the dwelling place of the Simorgh, all they find is a lake in which they see their own reflection.

this also book relies on a clever word play between the words Simorgh – a mysterious bird in Iranian mythology which is a symbol often found in sufi literature, and similar to the phoenix bird – and "si morgh" – meaning "thirty birds" in Persian.

♪♫ lihat dunia dari mata burung atau dari dalam tempurung

look at the world from a bird's eye or from a shell

yang mana satu engkau pilih

which one do you choose? ♪♫

the two sentences above asks us to choose if we would want to think with an open mind and to look far ahead or we just want to stay under the shell - to just look at the shell and ourselves each and every single day. well in the shell, you would be lucky if you have light. what if you dont? you would be staying in the dark. 

♪♫ dalam kalut ada peraturan. peraturan mencipta kekalutan

in a chaotic situation there are rules, rules create chaotic situation

di mana pula kau berdiri, di sini

where do you stand, here ♪♫

unleashing the history of the Prophet (S.A.W.) taught Islam to the ignorant within the chaotic age, a perfect system emerged. but now the world have changed and the perfect system is no longer in use, and is changed to laws created by human which have many flaws which invites controversy and confusion. so where are we now? standing right here, in this conversational and chaotic world.

♪♫ oh, Sang Algojo

oh, The Executioner

oh, nanti dulu

oh, (can you) wait

berikan ku kesempatan akhir ini

let me have this last chance

untuk menyatakan kalimah/kisah sebenarnya

to say the word/story behind it

berikan aku kesempatan akhir ini

let me have this last chance ♪♫

the executioner is the person assigned to take life. for example in prison, the executioner may be the person pushing the button of the floor under the gallows. in reality, the executioner means the angel of death which the tasks is to take life. when the Executioner comes to take our lifes, there is no way that we can escape from death; and we definitely couldnt say "oh, (can you) wait." when the Executioner comes, we would not have any time to appeal for our sins.

♪♫ tanya sama itu hud-hud; 

ask the hoopoe

lang mensilang, kui mengsikui

a person who doesnt look like a person, a ghost who doesnt look like a ghost

kerna dia yang terbangkan ku ke mari

for it is the one that flew me here ♪♫

sigh~ i dont really know what this stanza really means and there are no source that i can refer to. so, go ask the hoopoe; for it is the one that flew me here.