01x05 - Lament

[bunniefuu]

This is us, Isa. We're friends.

She's the best one in her family.

Not that any one of them would ever
think you are good enough for her.

He's on the spectrum.

It's totally innocent.

You must have known
this was going to come.

If you had a child,
you would know better.

When disappointed with our friends
or ourselves,

we reflect on our choices.

Why did you wire $12,000 from the
mosque account a few nights ago?

(OUD PLAYS)

Salaam alaikum.

Walaikum salaam.

Hajj is not only a mental
but a physical challenge.

The heat, the travel.

Hajj pilgrimage is not a holiday.

It's the journey of a lifetime.

We set our niyyah correctly
and surrender ourselves to Allah,

the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

We circle the Kaaba.
Seven circles are called...

When we reach the Black Stone,
we raise our right hand and say...

We circle to remind ourselves
that we are all connected.

Yeah, I like that one.

That's one of my favourites,
colour wise.

I reckon it looks like
a flannel flower up close, a bit.

Don't you reckon?
You know what a flannel flower is?

Yeah.
What are you trying to...

How do you know what a...

(CLEARS THROAT)

So secretive now, huh?

I hope you are not becoming
as nimble with the truth

I hope you are not becoming
as the rest of your family.

Uncle Samir imagines I'm some
sort of pure moral being.

I disappoint him.

No, you wouldn't disappoint anyone.

Are you ordering?

You do a snack pack, Ammu, or...?

No.

Snack pack.

You should go back to bed, Ammu.

No love in your heart today.

(PEOPLE CHAT)

Thank you for taking on this
responsibility while I am in charge.

The burden of leadership is heavy.

I feel refreshed and ready.

Should you need help,

my son and daughter
will be by your side 24/7.

May Allah accept your pilgrimage.

Alright. I'll call. FaceTime.

FaceTime. Yeah.

Look after yourself.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Give me.
Oh, come on, Mama.

Love you, Mama.

(SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)

Goodbye.

Anything wrong, sister?

Before your election,
I felt so far from God.

Now look at me.

You've given me a way back.

God bless you.

O, believers,

fear Allah Almighty
O, believers,

fear Allah Almighty
by obeying his commands

and you will win the great victory

and be successful in this world
and the hereafter.

You will find I speak plainly.

Too plainly for some.

I am a simple man.

I am not golden tongued
like Sheikh Mohammad.

But never forget - Satan,
he was a fine speaker too.

What do you see...

..but a football?

You may ask, what harm is there
in a football?

Well, I will tell you.

There is nothing holy about boys
chasing after a piece of leather...

..when boys should be studying.

This is the holy time of Hajj,

and we must live our lives in
quiet contemplation and prayer.

And not...

..idle games.

So, from today on...

..no football.

(PEOPLE MURMUR)

No games of any kind.

(MURMURING CONTINUES)

No music.

No entertainment.

The Holy Quran
is entertainment enough.

Salaam alaikum.

Walaikum salaam. Hello, Batul.

Hello, Yasmine.

(LOUD KNOCKING AT DOOR, MAN SHOUTS)

I, uh, promised my father I'd check
in and see how you're settling in,

Your Holiness.

Consider your promise fulfilled.

Oh, and tell your sister,

Abu Hany will be acting as
my vice president

and will be using her desk.

I will.

Sheikh, we need your blessing.

There's a musician in town,
Jasim Al-Helou. World renowned.

He plays traditional songs.

Very respectful.

No music during Hajj.

He's flown all the way from Iraq
to perform a series

of special concerts.

Well, then he, like us all,

will need to satisfy himself instead
with quiet contemplation.

Shukran, Sheikh.

(PHONE BUZZES)

Bilal?

Do you need me for anything?

No, habibi.

(SPEAKS ARABIC)

(MUSIC PLAYS IN BACKGROUND)

(POP MUSIC BLARES)

I can't hear you.

MANAL: Stop sewing, then.

Thank you.
You want to take me out?

Yes.
That's what we're talking about.

Don't tell me.

Car park at Chicken Brothers?

No, I was thinking
the botanical gardens.

Native flowers might inspire you.

That's fine, Manal. I'll see you.

Bye.

(TURNS MUSIC OFF)

Sheikh Shaaker doesn't rule here.
What's your problem?

(TURNS MUSIC BACK ON)

Oi!

Is it Dad?

Let's talk in the car. Come on.

Not this bullshit again.

Militia came into my apartment
today in Baghdad.

How's Bilal?

You're going to tell me
what you have done, right now!

Right now.

Why can't you just accept

that Dad doesn't trust you
Why can't you just accept

that Dad doesn't trust you
as his advisor anymore?

You're lying!

(SPEAKS ARABIC)

Men with g*ns came to my house
today, and they mentioned you.

Militia in my apartment, Isa!

Mosque takings are lower,
but we've never been busier.

You tell Baba not to spend
on the school,

not to spend on the soccer team,

even though we should be able
to afford it.

You send money God knows where

and a man put a g*n
to my husband's head!

I swear to God,
nothing was going to happen.

It's just a scare.

Who are you scaring, Bilal?

Who?

I've had a beef with this dodgy guy.

Part of the charity
I told you about.

They sound like his bodyguards.

The orphanage?

Yeah.
I called them.

The address has been abandoned
more than a year.

So which dodgy guy?

How long have we been giving
these donations?

What are you doing?

Batul, what are you doing?

You're going to break Dad's
pilgrimage over this?

Batul, just...

Batul, give... Batul...

Please. Please.

Please. Please.

Please.

(SPEAKS ARABIC) Listen to me.

What?

The apartment's collateral.

Sayyed Modhaffar.

The man with the votes?

He'd never hurt Bilal.

OK? I promise you,
he'd never hurt Bilal.

You remember on election night.
Dad was going to throw it all away.

You wanted him to win
as much as I did.

Batul.

Look.

Yusuf.

Look, look, look, look, look, look.

Whoooo!

(CHUCKLES)

You put that one.

(GASPS, COUGHS)

It is by Allah's mercy
that you are gentle to them.

And had you been harsh
and hard-hearted,

surely they would have
scattered from around you.

So excuse them.

And plead for forgiveness for them.

And consult them in their affairs.

And once you are resolved...

..put your trust in Allah.

Indeed, Allah loves
those who trust in him.

I intended this passage
to be for you, my community.

Now, I think, perhaps Allah,
the wise and the merciful,

intended it for me.

I admit, I wish I was on Hajj.

Maybe that has made me hard-hearted.

But Mecca is not just a place.

Mecca is your family.

Mecca is your heart.

Thank you, Sheikh.

(SPEAKS ARABIC)

If I closed my eyes,

I would have thought
that was my father preaching.

Sheikh...

Remember Jasim Al-Helou?

We spoke about him. The musician.

He hasn't performed, as you ruled,

but, uh, I was hoping, in light
of your moving sermon that...

..respectfully, I ask...

Tell him he can play
at his concerts.

Yeah?

Hajj time is a time for us
to share love.

And there is love
in traditional song.

Thank you, Sheikh.

Perhaps you and your dear wife
could join us.

(SPEAKS ARABIC) Thank you.

Batul.

Let me give you a lift.

Guys, I need you to do us a solid.

Remember Alan?

He's given me a couple
of tickets to the footy today.

Private box.
It's VIP seats or some sh*t.

Yeah, who's playing?
Dogs and Rabbitohs.

But I'm not up for it.

Yeah, I've got some sh*t
I've got to take care of.

Can you go?

What, tonight?

This arvo.
Nah, cuz, I can't. Sorry.

What do you mean?
He's an important client.

It'll look bad
if you don't fly the flag.

I've asked your sister on a date.

Cuz, are you serious?

Would I come to you like this
if I wasn't?

Relax. Nothing's happened.

I really like her, man.

I'm asking for your blessing.

I respect that, but...

My dad's away on Hajj.

Timing's a little off, yeah?

Is this because of what I've done?

You know I'm done with that.
That life's behind me now, cuz.

I don't even know why...
It's not that.

Don't talk like that, alright?

It'll happen.

Just...not now.

Go to the footy.

Have fun.

Yeah?

How much do you pay?

30 grand...

..a month.

How?
The truck wash.

Don't get involved, Batul.
This is my sin.

You draw 30k a month
from your business?

Where does the rest come from?

You've been taking money
from the mosque.

I'll replace every dollar.
I swear to God.

I swear on Mum's life.

You have taken Allah's money!

I had no other choice.

Yes, you do have a choice.

You sell your truck wash.

I've worked 10 years to get here.

What you've done is ill*gal.

Baba could go to jail.

You want me to keep quiet?
You sell your truck wash.

There's no negotiation.

(PHONE BUZZES)

(PHONE BLEEPS)

(STATIC)

Nothing. He just doesn't show up.

I don't know, maybe he...
And then he butt-dials me

so I can hear him, like,
not coming on our date.

Who does that?

Maybe it's a blessing.

You've just started college.

You're doing what you want
for yourself for the first time.

Do you really want emotions swirling
around in there, distracting you?

It's too late.

Swirling is real.

You know,
love alone might seem enough.

Relationships
are part of an ecosystem

that connects everyone in your life.

Your father, your sister,
that connects everyone in your life.

Your father, your sister,
your brother.

They'll all have opinions.

They already do about everything.

Well, here's more.

Are you going to live off his wage
while you study?

If your dad doesn't approve,

is Isa going to keep him on
If your dad doesn't approve,

is Isa going to keep him on
at the truck wash?

Can Nadir even fly overseas
with a criminal record?

Bro, are you serious?

I don't know. We'd find a way.

(SCOFFS) Come on.

Mum and Dad did.

All I'm saying
is don't rush into love.

Wow.

Take it. I made it for you.

Even when you're pissed off,
you're talented.

I should go.
Stay.

We haven't talked.

Please.

I'm late.

(OUD PLAYS)

Salaam alaikum, Sheikh.

Walaikum salaam.

(WHISPERS)

(SINGS IN ARABIC)

(PEOPLE IN AUDIENCE SING ALONG)

Nadir come in or what?
Nah.

Hello. Salaam alaikum Nadir.

Sorry to call so early. Is, uh...

Nadir slept in or what?
I've been call...

What do you mean?

How bad is it?

Doctors called it near fatal.

His ute was cut in half.

Alhamdulillah he's alive.

What does "near fatal" mean?

They reckon he might not
wake up ever again.

He hasn't let me hold his hand

since he was a little boy.

Always so independent.

(SOBS)

Habibi.

Hey.

Yallah, yallah, yallah, yallah.

Salaam alaikum.
Salaam alaikum.

Salaam.

Shukran.

Let us pray for Nadir.

Isa.

(PRAYING CONTINUES)

(WHISPERS) Salaam alaikum.

Salaam alaikum.

Do you see it?

(SPEAKS ARABIC)

He's a strong boy.

He's going to make it.

I wish Dad was here.

The neurological exam
shows extensive damage

to the frontal cortex.

He's unresponsive to light
or painful stimulus

which, after a week,
if he had a chance of recovering,

we should be seeing.

We believe it's in the patient's
best interest

to remove life support.

I've spoken to his mother
about next steps.

She would like your permission
to take her son off the machines.

Do you need someone to translate?

I understand what you are saying,
Doctor.

You want me
to end this young man's life.

This is extremely difficult.

But what Nadir has now...

..it's not life.

Not as we understand it.

But you must understand.
Our religion forbids it.

It forbids what you ask.

Only Allah Almighty can give life
and only Allah can take life away.

Thank you.

(SNIFFLES)

Nadir's father never visited him
when he was in jail.

Not once.

But you never gave up on him.

You and your father brought my son
back into the community

when they...

..turned their backs on him.

And now they cry and pray...

..forgetting how they cursed him
when he got into trouble.

I don't want him to die.
I don't want him to die.

I just want him to be at peace.

(SOBS)

I'm just going to check
on Baba's plants.

I'll just jump in the shower.

Dad!

How soon can you come home?

Sheikh.

Salaam alaikum.

ALL: Walaikum saalam.

(SPEAKS ARABIC)

Thank you for leading our
community in this dark time.

Of course.

The last 10 days must
have been difficult, huh?

Excuse me.

For how long
can he stay alive like this?

There's no precise limit.

Can be weeks, months?

Or longer.

And there's nothing you can do
to help him recover?

We just want what's best
for Nadir and his family.

Without life support,
he will die peacefully.

(PEOPLE PRAY QUIETLY)

Peace be upon you in this hard time.

You must not be afraid.

Nadir is in peace now.

In the hands of
the Almighty Creator.

What is life?

Is it the breathing?

The pulsing?

Heartbeat?

What about Sheikh Shaaker's sons?

Their names will live on for him.

What about my darling Khadija?

She's alive to me.

So too Nadir.

He will not die.

We will carry his name
in our hearts forever.

Yes.

It's time.

(SPEAKS ARABIC)

I had made my ruling.

But you ignore Allah's.

You put yourself
above the Almighty Creator.

This verse was meant
for the Prophet, not...
(MEN SHOUT)

(SHOUTING CONTINUES)

(MEN QUIETEN)

(MEN SHOUT)

(SHOUTING CONTINUES)

(MEN QUIETEN)

I know that you are angry.

Death makes us angry.

Life goes on after death.

(SOBS)

Pain is a thing only of this world.

What right do I have to prolong
the pain of Nadir?

What about what Nadir wanted?

You won't find any answers in there.

The day of the accident,
Nadir tried to call me.

I didn't answer his call.

(CAR DOOR CLOSES)

I thought of anything I could say
on the way here, but...

Thanks for being here.

(CHANTS)

I need to see you.

Please, can you try?

How can he afford to send so much
money to Iraq every month?

You think each time I collected alms

I jotted down "$5,000 was taken
to pay for Dad's election"?

I jotted down "$5,000 was taken
to pay for Dad's election"?
I thought you would at least
have the decency

I thought you would at least
have the decency

to be honest with me.

He's had it in for you from day one.
Before day one, even.

You're an earthquake, Batul.

You have brought nothing
but ruin since you arrived.

None of what I have done
was ever for me.