Days of Ignorance (18 page)
Authors: Laila Aljohani
‘Absolution’
: The term with which Malek refers sardonically to the coveted Saudi citizenship, thereby implying that to lack such citizenship is to be tainted with some sort of ‘sin’.
Adhan
: The call to Islamic prayer issued by a muezzin five times a day.
Bab al-Majidi
: Prior to being razed under orders from King Fahd in 1984 to allow for the expansion of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, the neighborhood known as Bab al-Majidi was located adjacent to the mosque gate known by the same name – Bab al-Majidi. Bab al-Majidi (the Majidi Gate) was named after the Ottoman Sultan ’Abd al-Majid, who renovated the Prophet’s Mosque in the year 1277 AH/1860 CE.
Baqaya Hujjaj
: Meaning something on the order of ‘the remnants of pilgrims’, the term
Baqaya Hujjaj
is used to refer contemptuously to people of non-Saudi origin, whose ancestors came to the Arabian Peninsula to perform the
hajj
, or pilgrimage to Mecca, and who never returned to their home countries. (See
Tarsh Bahr
below.)
Biruni
: Abu Rayhan al-Biruni (d. 440 AH/1048 CE in Ghazni, Afghanistan) was a Persian polymath now considered to be one of the greatest Muslim scholars of the medieval period. He distinguished himself in particular as a historian, chronologist and linguist.
Carter Doctrine
: The ‘Carter Doctrine’ (so named for its association with President Jimmy Carter), set forth by the US government in January 1980, served as the basis for the formation of military forces for rapid deployment and intervention in the Arab Gulf region. In articulating the Carter Doctrine, the US government expressed its concern over the dangers that threatened it and its allies in the Arab Gulf and asserted its determination to resist by all possible means, including the use of armed force, any attempt by any foreign state to control the region.
Chief of the martyrs
: An epithet given to the Prophet Muhammad’s paternal uncle, Hamzah ibn ’Abd al-Muttalib, who died as a martyr at the Battle of Uhud in the year 3 AH/625 CE.
Dome of the Prophet
: The green dome over the center of al-Masjid al-Nabawi, or the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, where the Prophet’s tomb is located.
Draw the sword . . .
: These words form part of the opening verse of a poem composed by the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who recited it over the air to the Iraqi people on the day when the 2003 US invasion of Iraq began.
Falata and Hausa tribes
: The Falata tribe is found in Sudan and other West African countries, while the Hausa tribe is one of the five major tribes of Nigeria.
Family book
: A booklet that contains a married man’s name, national identification number and place of residence, the name of his mother, and the names and national identification numbers of his wife (or wives) and children.
Fatihah
: The first chapter (
surah
) of the Qur’an. Recited at the beginning of every ritual prayer in Islam, the
Fatihah
reads: ‘In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to God, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds; Most Gracious, Most Merciful; Master of the Day of Judgment. Thee do we worship, and thine aid do we seek. Show us the straight way, the way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy grace, those whose portion is not wrath, and who go not astray.’
Gagarin’s orbit around the Earth
: A Soviet cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin (1934–68), was the first human to travel into outer space, and on April 12, 1961 he orbited the Earth in a Vostok spacecraft.
God is greater, and away with . . .
: A phrase used frequently by Saddam Hussein in his speeches during the US invasion of Iraq.
Hajji
: An honorific title given to someone who has completed the
hajj
, or major pilgrimage to Mecca. It is also used as a term of respectful address for an older man one doesn’t know.
Hamam al-barr
: A dish made of chickpea flour, salt and various seasonings.
Hasbi Allah wa ni’m al-wakil
: A phrase meaning ‘God is sufficient for me, and the perfect Guardian’. These words are often uttered when someone is in a distressing situation.
I beg thee, long night . . .
: Taken from the
Mu’allaqah
of pre-Islamic poet Imru’ al-Qays.
Ibn Hesham
: Ibn Hesham (d. 218 AH/833 CE) is best known for his recension of Ibn Ishaq’s
al-Sirah al-Nabawiyah
(a biography of the Prophet Muhammad), which is no longer extant.
Iqama
: The muezzin’s announcement that one of the five Islamic ritual prayers is commencing in the mosque.
I remembered someone weeping over me . . .
: From an elegy composed for himself by the poet Malek ibn al-Rayb al-Tamimi (d. 57 AH/676 CE).
I remembered you as the spears . . .
: From an ode by pre-Islamic poet and adventurer ’Antarah ibn Shaddad al-’Absi (d. 608 CE).
January 17, 1991
: The first day of Operation Desert Storm, a war waged against Iraq in response to the latter’s invasion and annexation of Kuwait. The operation was carried out by a UN-authorized, US-led coalition force from thirty-four countries.
Kur
: A racial slur used against black Arabs, similar to terms such as ‘coon’, ‘jiggaboo’, ‘nigger’ and the like.
Kuwayha
: See entry for
kur
above.
Labaniya
: A kind of dessert made from dried milk, sugar, water, butter and cardamom, cut into squares and sprinkled with pistachios.
La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah
: Meaning ‘There is no power or strength save in God’, the phrase
la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah
is uttered when someone is facing a difficult or painful situation.
Let no one treat us unjustly . . .
: A line taken from the
Mu’allaqah
of pre-Islamic poet ’Amr ibn Kulthum (d. 584 CE).
Majed Abdullah
: Born in 1959, Majed Abdullah is a former Saudi Arabian soccer player. An all-time top striker for the Saudi national team, he has been referred to as the Arabian Pelé.
Manfoush
: A kind of fry bread of South Asian origin.
Mushabbak
: A Middle Eastern pastry made from a wheat-flour dough shaped into rings which are then fried and dipped in syrup.
Mustafa Sadiq al-Rafi’i
: An Egyptian poet of Syrian origin, Mustafa Sadiq al-Rafi’i was born in Egypt in January 1880 and died in May 1937. He wrote the lyrics of the Egyptian national anthem which was used from 1923 to 1936, as well as the lyrics of Tunisia’s current national anthem.
‘One, One, One . . .’ (
Arabic,
ahad, ahad, ahad)
: Bilal is insistently affirming God’s perfect oneness and uniqueness. The term
ahad
is found in Surah 112, which reads, ‘Say: He is God, the One and Only (
ahad
), God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten, and there is none like unto Him.’ (Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s translation)
Picnic
: The Arabic word translated as ‘picnic’ here is derived from the name of the month of Sha’ban, which immediately precedes the fasting month of Ramadan. The type of picnic referred to is thus a kind of pre-Ramadan celebration as well, and a long-standing Hejazi custom.
Rafig (rafiq)
: The term
rafiq
means ‘friend’ or ‘companion’. However, it is used by Saudis to refer to Indians in a depreciatory sense. The Saudis may in fact have taken this term from the Indians themselves, who, following the Muslim conquests of the Indian subcontinent between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries CE, introduced numerous Arabic terms into their speech, including the use of
rafiq
to refer to their friends and associates.
Sahib ibn ’Abbad
: Sahib ibn ’Abbad (d. 385 AH/995 CE) was the vizier and
littérateur
of Mu’ayyad al-Dawlah, the Buwayhid emir of Hamadan (d. 373 AH/983 CE).
Serbs
: In response to tribal Saudis who refer derisively to some residents of the Hejaz (in Western Saudi Arabia) as
Tarsh Bahr
(‘refuse from the sea’) and
Baqaya Hujjaj
(‘leftover pilgrims’), some Hejazis refer to tribal Saudis as
Badu Sirb
(‘Serbian Bedouins’).
Badu Sirb
is a relatively recent term, referring back to the war that broke out in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992 and lasted until December, 1995. In the course of this conflict, the Serbs committed horrific atrocities against the area’s Muslim Bosniak population.
Badu Sirb
is thus a racial slur which implies that the tribal Saudis (Bedouins) would have no compunctions about committing the most heinous brutalities.
Seven Mosques
: A reference to Medina’s most famous seven mosques. Five of these mosques are associated, respectively, with Fatimah, the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter; ’Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet’s cousin, son-in-law and fourth caliph; Abu Bakr, a companion of the Prophet and the first caliph; ’Umar ibn al-Khattab, companion of the Prophet and the second caliph; and Salman al-Farisi, a companion of the Prophet. The other two are the Fath Mosque (built on the spot where the Prophet Muhammad said that the Qur’an had first been revealed to him), and the Mosque of the Two Qiblahs.
Surat al-Hashr
: Chapter 59 of the Qur’an.
Takruni
: A racial slur used to refer to black Arabs. See entries for
kur
and
kuwayha
above.
Tarsh Bahr
: Meaning something like ‘what the sea spit up’, the term
Tarsh Bahr
is a racist epithet used by some Saudis who belong to tribes indigenous to the Arabian Peninsula as a way of expressing contempt for Hejazis who do not belong to Arabian tribes. Many of these Hejazis are descended from people who came to Mecca to perform the hajj, or major pilgrimage, after which they either remained in Mecca or traveled to Medina in order to visit the Prophet’s Mosque, then chose to stay there in order to live in close proximity to the Prophet Muhammad. These individuals trace their roots to countries in Central and East Asia, India, Afghanistan, and numerous African states such as Niger, Nigeria, Mali and Somalia.
That’s right, we are the Hejaz, and we are Nejd
: A phrase from a poem written by the late Saudi Arabian politician, intellectual and
littérateur
Ghazi Al Gosaibi (1940-2010) during the war to liberate Kuwait following its invasion by Iraq. The poem was a response to attempts on the part of the Iraqi regime to bring about divisions among the Saudis and propose a partitioning of Saudi territory.
They say, ‘Perish not . . .’
: From the
Mu’allaqah
of Imru’ al-Qays.
Yahya
: The Yahya referred to in the account taken from
al-Kamil fil al-Tarikh
(5:424) by Ibn al-Athir is Yahya ibn Muhammad, brother of the notorious Abbasid caliph Abu al-’Abbas (whose caliphate lasted from 132–137 AH/749–754 CE). When the people of Mosul refused to obey Muhammad ibn Sul, who had been appointed governor over them by the Abbasids, Caliph Abu al-’Abbas sent his brother, Yahya ibn Muhammad, against the people of Mosul at the head of 12,000 men, and they carried out a heinous slaughter in the city.
‘. . . who causes His angels . . .’
: Taken from Surah 35:1.
Wrong done by near-of-kin . . .
: A phrase taken from the
Mu’allaqah
of sixth-century pre-Islamic poet Tarafah ibn al-’Abd.
Laila Aljohani is an award-winning Saudi Arabian writer of short stories and novels. She was born in the northern city of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. She is the author of
Always Love Will Remain
(1995), which won second place at the Abha Prize for Culture,
The Barren Paradise
(1998), which won first place at Sharjah Prize for Arab Creativity, and was translated to Italian,
Days of Ignorance
(2007) and
40 Fi Ma’ana An Akbur
(2009).
Days of Ignorance is the first of her novels to be translated into English.
Nancy Roberts’ literary translations include
Beirut ’75
by Ghada Samman, for which she won the Arkansas Arabic Translation Award, and
The Man from Bashmour
by Salwa Bakr, for which she received a commendation from the judges of the 2008 Saif Ghobash-Banipal Prize.
First published in English in 2014 by
Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing
Qatar Foundation
PO Box 5825
Doha
Qatar