Veiled Women · Chapter
XXXVI explained
Barakah, distraught with grief, encounters Tâhir in the early morning.
What happens
Barakah, distraught with grief, encounters Tâhir in the early morning. He is waiting to call the dawn prayer at the Sultan Hasan mosque, having vowed to do so in the face of the victorious infidels. Barakah listens to his transcendent singing, which brings her a moment of spiritual revelation and peace, before Ghandûr and Selîm arrive to escort her home.
Themes in this chapter
Religion and Conversion
Barakah experiences a moment of spiritual unity, feeling that 'there was one God for Christian and for Muslim,' transcending religious divisions.
Colonialism and Imperial Power
The British bugles sounding on the height and Tâhir's lament about 'victorious infidels' underscore the colonial occupation and its impact on Egyptian identity.
Characters to notice
- Barakah
Distraught and wandering, she finds solace in Tâhir's singing, experiencing a vision of unity between Christian and Muslim.
- Tâhir
The singer who has vowed to call the dawn prayer; his voice brings Barakah a moment of spiritual transcendence.
- Ghandûr
Summoned by Selîm, he arrives to escort Barakah home after the prayer.
- Selîm
The donkey-boy who rushes to find Ghandûr and helps lift Barakah onto the donkey.
Key passages
“What ails thee, O my sister? Art thou wounded? May Allah heal and comfort thee in thy distress!”
Tâhir asks Barakah what is wrong and offers her comfort.
Tâhir's compassionate greeting to the distressed Barakah.
“I am waiting here for the muezzin of the Sultan Hasan mosque, to ask his leave to call the Dawn instead of him. Victorious infidels are on the height above us; and no man can predict the future of this land.”
Tâhir explains he is waiting to take over the dawn call to prayer because the British are occupying the heights, and the future is uncertain.
Tâhir's explanation of his vow in the context of British occupation.
“The greatest singer in the world stood there unseen in the suspended gallery, and sang his heart out to the praise of the Creator, watching the dawn’s first gleam above the eastern hill.”
Tâhir, hidden in the minaret gallery, sings a magnificent prayer as the sun rises.
Description of Tâhir's transcendent singing from the minaret.
“There was one God for Christian and for Muslim. Beyond the striving and the hatred waited peace and love.”
Barakah realizes that both Christians and Muslims worship the same God, and that peace lies beyond conflict.
Barakah's spiritual revelation during Tâhir's song.