Review of “Mountains of Makkah” by Zain Bhikha

“Relaxing,” “soothing,” and “a bit bland” are the words that come to mind when I watch Zain Bhikha’s  video for “Mountains of Makkah.” On the plus side, the nasheed has some beautiful lyrics that tell the stories of the Prophets Ibrahim and Muhammad  (peace and blessings be upon them) as witnessed by the mountains of Makkah. 

If those mountains had eyes, the song posits, they would have observed so many momentous events, including the construction of the Kaaba, the birth of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), the revelation of the Qur’an, and Muhammad’s (peace and blessing be upon him) death. Ultimately those hills will witness the Day of Judgement: 

Oh, Mountains of Makkah, how will it feel?
When the earth shall quake and tremble with fear
And we shall be gathered together to stand
In the court of Allah with our Deeds at hand
Oh, how we pray that on that day?
We’ll be with those to whom Allah will say
“Peace be with you! I am pleased with you”

The song would be a nice way to introduce to children the stories of these two noble prophets and hajj. It is a gentle, positive nasheed and would be an appropriate song for any time, especially Dhul Hijja. 

The video is not very interesting, though. To be fair, it was made 11 years ago when standards for Islamic videos weren’t as high as they are today. It shows footage of the recording studio with Zain Bhikha singing, a man drumming, and a backup singer. While there is nothing wrong with the video, it certainly could be more creative. A well-made music video captures the viewer’s interest and tells a story with images. “Mountains of Makkah,” however, is uninspiring, visually. While it’s true that Islamic videos need to adhere to strict standards of modesty and propriety, there are several that manage to be halal and still display creativity and flair. Sadly “Mountains of Makkah” is not one of those.