The Zahir is one of those short films that appears to have a double meaning, or at least two meanings that are different, but very closely linked. This coin, the Zahir, has the power to mesmerize. It enchants those who think about it, affording them sleepless nights and wasted days. The obvious meaning to this is that people give too much credence to money. It's value is artificial, but it is taken as truth. This gives the Zahir power. This power is no more real than the value that is ascribed to it, but it is granted power nonetheless because of human greed and vanity.
The second meaning to this film is more religious in nature. It is said that a particular group of people repeat their own name and the ninety-nine names of God until those names are meaningless. This action is desired to be used upon the Zahir, in hopes that it will eventually become meaningless as well. It is hypothesized that the power behind the Zahir is that of God. This likens to the belief that some people hold about money, that money is God. The power it possesses is great amongst people, equal to that of God, or so some believe. It could also be reasoned that the value people give to money is the same thing as the value they give to religion. If money is artificially given value by people, then perhaps they have done the same thing with religion.
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