ربنا

I despise religion in any form and find it an unnecessary addition to our lives that one day will vanish through the process of evolution. regardless of my views, the religious song "rabbana" is one of the most touching songs many of us have heard and grew up with. for me it is not a symbol of religion. it is a reminder of my days back home, when simply for fun I would get up in middle of the night and watch my father and grandfather eat their Sahari, midnight meal instead of lunch during the fasting month of Ramadan. it is the reminder of those times that we would occasionally dare to hide a sandwich in our bags and eat it in the lonely corners of my middle school with the constant fear and excitement of getting in trouble. or the rebellion we showed by wearing a short sleeve during the so called "forbidden months." although because of reading several books about religion and witnessing first hand how destructive it can be, specially when it's institutionalized I have come to hate religion, there is still a sense of innocence to this extremely religious song and call for prayers that I can't put to words. Contrary to what many believe, I don't think believing in religion and god is poetic in any way. also, I don't think religion and/or god gives you motivation to live and the power to overcome hardship and unfairness that we witness and experience in every single seconds of our lives, some more than others. all this being said, listening to these songs calms me down. it lowers my stress. but not for a second I think this is due to a higher power. I know and believe that this is because these songs remind me of the better days. and remind me of a better future that I once imagined and still believe can be achieved. it is difficult for me to explain this. like many other things that I have failed to explain through ration and logic, such as peoples blind belief in a protective power that happens to often leave us when we are in desperate need of a helping hand.