…If I am Yasmin Ahmad and I am creating something and it has to be my mark, my wisdom, my ego, my sculpture - this film - the biggest this thing can be, is me! And I am an ant! And I am a drop in the ocean of wisdom, right, this is an Islamic thing, whatever you know, is just a drop in the ocean. And then I remember oh my God, I gotta empty myself. The Qur’an says in Ayat Kursi, all knowledge comes from God… So you gotta learn to let go!
…All I do is come in, and I try to empty myself, which is so hard! Our Prophet saw once said to some people who just came back from defending their religion, you know broken arms, no legs, bleeding, and they said we’ve been through the toughest battle ever, what do you have to say about that?
And the Prophet s.a.w said, no no no this is not your toughest battle. Your toughest battle is in here (yourself), and that is to remove as much arrogance as you can, remove self-importance, step back, be nobody, so that you can be a part of something much much bigger.
Yasmin Ahmad (July 1, 1958 - July 25, 2009) was a critically-acclaimed multi-award winning film director, writer and scriptwriter from Malaysia and was also the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Her television commercials and films are well-known in Malaysia for their humour, heart and love that crosses cross-cultural barriers, in particular her ads for Petronas, the national oil and gas company. Her works have won multiple awards both within Malaysia and internationally.
