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In the religion of Islam, the phrase Insha'Allah means 'God-willing'. It acknowledges submission to God and willingness to follow God's plan. In Paulo Coehlo's novel,
The Alchemist, Maktub is used as well when talking about similar situations of fate. Maktub, means written and fits right along side with the phrase Insha'Allah. Coelho's novel follows the journey of a young Shepard named Santiago to discover and fulfill his personal legend. Along the way, omens and fate play a huge role in the base of the novel. Set in a similar Arab world, the life of Lisa Halaby, whose later conversion to Islam changes her name to Noor al Hussein, follows a path to discovering her personal legend. Fate and omens become apparent to the reader in Queen Noor's memoir,
Leap of Faith. The memoir follows her life including her upbringing, beliefs, marriage to King Hussein of Jordan and their struggles to create positive changes and peace in the Middle East. Fate plays a major role in the life of Noor with her husband. Even from her beginnings in America, there were signs and omens of her future to come. Her conversion to Islam gathers further parallels between Paulo Coelho's Alchemist and Queen Noor's life and beliefs. Noor takes a leap of faith to discover her path in life and continues to take risks in her journey to create positive change in Jordan.
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One of the major components of both books is the idea of finding one's personal legend and the steps moving them towards the goal. In Queen Noor's life, there were clear moments when she was being pushed her along towards her true personal legend. A major factor that pushed her towards moving to see her ancestor's roots in the Middle East is the fact that as she grew up, she became distrustful of American society. Lisa Halaby grew up during the societal upheaval of the civil rights movement and immediately was against the injustice that African Americans were facing. Her grandmother made a comment when Lisa was at her house when Martin Luther King Jr. was making a statement about the actions of the racist Alabama governor, George Wallace. Lisa praised King but her grandmother was praising Wallace and this realization pushed the two to have an argument that ended up changing Lisa's relationship with her grandmother from that point onwards.
That disagreement pushed Lisa into wanting to go back to her ancestral roots in the Middle East. She mentions in her memoir how watching
Lawrence of Arabia resonated and captivated her and her interest with her roots. Lisa grew up during the Vietnam War and was strongly against the war. These events
set the tone for Lisa's views on America as well as injustice in the world. These events help shaped her views to help push her in the direction of her personal legend.
She was inspired at a young age by her parents involvement in politics and she volunteers to help teach those in poverty stricken areas. Volunteering greatly humbled her and set the base for her future endeavors. At one point she gets so disillusioned in her college year that she runs off to Aspen in Colorado
.The world conspires in her favor to help her get back on track because she attends a conference on architecture and worked on an environmental project which reinvigorated her and her desires. She majored in architecture and urban-planning at Princeton which perfectly set her up for her future career. She was finding what she wanted to do, and what she wanted to do was make a difference in the world. She gained an opportunity to work in Iran and then made her way to Jordan. In Iran, she becomes truly inspired to work for human rights and bridge a connection between the East and West. The Palestinians struggles become real to her as she can see it in person and it becomes a problem that she embraces with her heart and soul to help correct
. Seeing her fellow Arabs suffer sparks her desire to make change and brings her to a pivotal point where she must decide to stay in the East to continue work or go back West to America to go back to school for journalism. She is fearful but takes the chance and it pays off well for her.
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Lisa Halaby meets and starts a relationship with the recently widowed King Hussein of Jordan and after a short period of time he proposes to her. Although she deeply care for the King, she is unsure of what she should do. She becomes fearful of marrying the King and the repercussions. She takes two weeks to mull over the proposal until she finally comes to one of the most pivotal decisions of her life. She realized that her marriage was not just a marriage, but a partnership to help change the country for the better; "That realization, too, helped me make up my mind. I had a job to do for a country I already loved, and an extraordinary man as a partner. Together we could make a difference" (Noor 90). After so much fear of taking the chance to continue on her path, she takes the leap of faith. She overcomes her fear and is not held back. She knows that the future is uncertain but that she will always have her work and her country to see her through. In The Alchemist, Santiago comes across a crystal merchant. The crystal merchant confesses to Santiago about his dream that he had that he never realized due to fear. Because the crystal merchant was too fearful to lose his dream, he never went after. This character shows Santiago what fear does to those chasing their dreams. Luckily for Lisa, she was able to overcome her fear of the unknown to continue on to completing her personal legend. Before her marriage ceremony, she converts to Islam and receives a new name, Noor al Hussein, which means the Light of Hussein. Her path is ready to begin anew with a higher platform to facilitate the difference in the world.
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Queen Noor's marriage leaves her stranded and on her own to decide what she wants to do. After much contemplation she comes to a few conclusions about her new role as monarch.
First, she decided that she wants to be more than a figurehead and has a desire to solve real problems, similar to if she had still been an urban planner. She is determined to overcome this idea that a Queen does not do anything except idly by the throne. Her plan is to fill gaps in failing developmental programs and concludes that she has a
"desire to focus on significant developmental initiatives - cultural, social, and environmental" (137). This is her personal legend. From this point and on she makes momentous change to the country of Jordan. She is appointed chair of Jordan's National Committee for the Child in 1979 and makes headway with schooling, immunizations, and living conditions of families. They rectify the Convention on the Rights of the Child which is the most widely accepted human rights document and inspires all regions of the world to do the same. So much humanitarian work is completed that in the late 1980's UNICEF recognizes Jordan's advancements in human development. Throughout her reign she works with the World Wide Fund for Animals (WFF) and tries to assist with other environmental issues. Most importantly, Queen Noor helps her husband strive to find peace for the Arab countries and their struggle for peace lasts the entirety of their marriage.
Similar to Santiago, Noor makes sacrifices to help pursue her personal legend. Santiago's love interest, Fatima, insists on him fulfilling his personal legend and that she would wait for him. Noor makes a similar sacrifice to Santiago's to help her cause. She decides to leave for America for a few weeks to make speeches are universities about the situation in the middle east, leaving her husband and her children in Jordan. She knows she has to leave her family to help sway America's view of Jordan. She is best for this because of her special connection to both countries. She is very successful in her speeches and makes headway for her cause.
Her crowning moment comes in 1985 when the Noor al Hussein foundation is established by royal decree. By doing so, all her projects come under one leadership and she is able to do even more work to help improve conditions in her beloved country. She comments, "The meaning of the name, reflected over our mission to help realize the King's vision for our people to provide greater opportunity and hope" (Noor 246). Ultimately, the Queen accomplished so much for her people. She spent twenty years working and striving for positive change. Even when she received setbacks from multiple wars that occurred, she was ready to build it back up again. At one point, she is called a traitor by Mrs. Barbra Bush for speaking out against the Iraq war stating that war bring pain and suffering to people. Even after the backlash, her soul is fulfilled by the work she does and she states, "I derived great satisfaction from my work...at the end of the day I honestly felt that I was spending my time as I always hoped I would, in service of making a difference" (Noor 257).
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In the Queen's eyes, she has been able to carry on with her journey because of her belief and submission to God. Towards the end of the memoir, the King falls ill and they found out that he has cancer. During his intense treatment, his family and country looks to Allah for support during prayer. When the King is receiving treatment at the Mayo Clinic as well as when he is trying to recover ate Wye, Noor and Hussein see
geese fly nearby.
They see it as an omen and a symbol of hope from God and support from him. Noor mentions the symbolism in the fact that geese mate for life and later on her sister-in-law gives her a pin of two geese as a present. When the King returns home to Jordan, the first rain of the winter begins and they believe that to also be an omen for his return to Jordan. Sadly, the King falls ill very quickly and it becomes clear that he will not survive. When the King dies, it begins to downpour while his body faces to Mecca.
They see this also as a sign from God, that the King has arrived to see Allah. These and other omens are spread throughout the memoir and to Noor and her husband are supported by them and their belief in Allah. In Paulo Coelho's novel, the personal legend is not only a journey to fulfill it but also a spiritual and religious one.
Santiago has many run ins with omens sent from the Soul of the World as well as instances where he looks towards the wind, desert, and sun to help him. By reaching out to these aspects of the Soul of the World, he is reaching out to connect to it, trying to become whole. As the memoir comes to an end, the Queen reflects: "I continue to thank God for the leap of faith I made as a young woman... I pray that our children will walk in a peaceful Jerusalem. Insha'Allah" (Noor 435). Noor's faith in God has brought her strength and she realizes that her personal journey comes from Allah. She ends her memoir in a memorable, but concise way that is relatable to Paulo Coelho's novel.
Queen Noor al Hussein's personal journey took shape after her leap of faith. After realizing her personal legend, she took the necessary steps towards achieving it by overcoming fear, listening to the omens, and seeing her journey laid ahead of her. The most interesting part of her whole journey, is that she was foretold it. When she was in Iran, she had her fortune told in the traditional Middle Eastern way; in a cup of coffee beans. She was told she would return to Arabia and marry an aristocrat, and that she did. She ends her memoir with the phrase Insha'Allah, meaning God-willing. It seems from the start, it has been God's will for her entire journey. Similarly, in Paulo Coelho's
The Alchemist, Santiago follows through with his personal journey after many speed bumps in the road. Ultimately, he is able to complete his journey. The word Maktub having to do with fate is mentioned often. In both books, the similar qualities are shared with regards to life and both protagonists put their fates into the Soul or God they believe in, and both reap the rewards.
Bibliography
Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993. Print.
Noor, . Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life. New York: Miramax Books, 2003. Print.
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