The Prophet's Hair

Have you ever come across something that made you want to keep it for yourself, even if it was going to harm someone? Have you ever said that you believed in one thing and then did the exact opposite? I think all of us are guilty of this to some degree. Maybe not to the point of harming people, but I do believe that most of us have some sense of greed and hypocrisy built into us. In the short story "The Prophet's Hair", written by Salman Rushdie, there is a man who is overtaken by his greed of an object. This object just happens to be the hair from the great prophet Muhammed.

The main character of this story is Hashim. He seems to be somewhat of a respectable man until he comes across the prophet's hair in a lake. The hair has a great power over him. He feels that he must keep it to himself to protect the rest of the Muslim religion. Keeping relics and worshiping them is against the Islam faith so he is being a complete hypocrite when he says "the Prophet would have dissapproved mightily of this relic-worship. He abhorred the idea of being deified! So, keeping this hair from its distracted devotees, I perform- do I not? - a finer service that I would be returning it!" (P. 44)

Hashim's greed continues to consume him thourgh out the story. He inflicts pain on those who question his obsession witht he hair. His obsessions grow so deep that it takes his own family to try to steal it from him. Hashim's oldest son talks with a thief but when Hashim finds out he beats his son so badly that it puts him in a coma. However his greed and hypocrisy has affected his entire family including his daughter who carries out the act that Hashim's son started.

It seems to me the this hair should be a sign of strength for someone. I am not one to worship too many objects, but I would imagine if I were to I would hope for them to give me some sense of completeness and strength. The prophet's hair not only destroyed Hashim, it destroyed everyone he came in contact with. The greed of some men is so great that it can blind them from the importance of what they truely believe. I feel it is very important to keep your mind clear of these types of possessions and focus on the more important things.