大象传媒

From Remona Aly, Freelance journalist and editor

I rediscovered a childhood treasure recently amid a cloud of dust and nostalgia - it was my midnight blue music box painted with a swirling cascade of delicate moon white flowers. The tiny ballerina inside twirled to the enchanting sound of Tchaikovsky鈥檚 Swan Lake.

As a child I was always fascinated by the story of Odette who transformed into a beautiful swan. I on the other hand, was never a swan. I was more, an ugly duckling. I was the least aesthetically pleasing of my siblings, and after a trip to the barber鈥檚 to get a bowl haircut, people used to say 鈥榙oesn鈥檛 he look like his dad鈥�.

鈥榃hen God鈥�, I used to ask upstairs, 鈥榳hen will I become a swan?鈥�

It鈥檚 a question I also put to my mother: 鈥楳um鈥�, I said one day, gangly as I was with granny glasses and questionable dress sense, 鈥榃hen will I be beautiful?鈥�
鈥榊ou鈥檙e already beautiful,鈥� came her alternative truth reply. I was like, 鈥楳um, you鈥檙e biased, just tell me.鈥� 鈥極k鈥� she relented, 鈥榶ou鈥檒l be beautiful when you鈥檙e... 18 years old.鈥� Ooh I thought, this could be the magic number! My eighteenth birthday came and went. No transformation.

And so my superficial quest and prayers for the looks of Aphrodite鈥檚 handmaiden continued, but I was so busy chasing outer beauty, I forgot about my inner swan.

Prophet Muhammad emphasised the importance of the inner beauty beyond anything else. 鈥淣othing is heavier upon the scales than beautiful character,鈥� he said. This was likely good news to one of his companions who was called, Zahir. Zahir was not easy on the eye and because of this he had really low self-esteem.聽聽

The prophet made an extra effort to show his regard for Zahir in the hope it would boost his confidence. One day in the marketplace, he playfully grabbed Zahir and asked who would buy Zahir off him. Zahir replied, 鈥楴o one would want me even as a slave, I鈥檓 unmarketable.鈥櫬� The prophet put his hands on his shoulders and said, 鈥淏ut you are priceless and beautiful in the sight of God, don鈥檛 worry about how you look in the sight of people.鈥�

In this age of filters and beauty apps, I鈥檒l remember that no matter how much ugly 'ducklingness' I edit from the outside, no transformation can be more beautiful than the inner swan.聽