Acclaimed Egyptian author Mansoura Ez-Eldin‘s novel The Orchards of Basra is a captivating novel that centres around Hisham Al Khattab, an antique bookseller in Cairo.
Though his occupation appears lackluster, he is a complex character whose tenuous thread with reality is disturbed by a strange dream. His journey to understand this vision takes him to Basra at the end of the Umayyad period. There, he learns of a man named Yazid ibn Abih, whom he believes to be his past self. The two lives become tightly connected, despite the millennia separating the two and against all truth.
Mansoura has created an extraordinary narrative that explores the themes of sin and morality, drawing readers into an intellectual journey. Through Hisham/Yazid, she delves into Islamic philosophy, particularly the principles debated by the Mu’tazila school of thought. Is the one who sins a believer or an infidel?
Shifting between modern Egypt and ancient Iraq, the reader is forced to confront this doctrine, as violence torments the lives of these men and those around them. It is a haunting story that explores Islamic theological debates, the impact of choices on life, and the unraveling of the human psyche.
Dreams and revelations
Hisham lives with his frustrated mother, Layla, and makes a living by finding and reselling rare manuscripts.
One night, he experiences a peculiar dream that sets his life on a new path, influencing his decisions and the people he encounters. In his first dream, he sees angels collecting the jasmine flowers that had fallen from the orchards of Basra. The ancient Muslim theologian Hasan al-Basri interpreted this vision as a sign of the fall of the city’s scholars, citing jasmine as a foreboding omen. Over time, these dreams uncover the seemingly ordinary life of Yazid Ibn Abih and those around him.
A palm-leaf basket weaver by trade, Yazid is a poor man with a love for knowledge. He frequently attends the lively discussion circles in Basra’s mosques, led by the historic Al-Hasan al-Basri and Wasil ibn Ata. Historically, Wasil ibn Ata was a student of Hasan Al-Basri who later broke away to found the Mu’tazila school. Yazid joins these gatherings with his close friend, Malik Ibn Udayy, a copyist who interprets dreams.
Mu’tazila school of thought explored
The novel is divided into six chapters, telling a historical story that shifts back and forth between Hisham’s decline and Yazid’s fall.
The chapters move between characters, times, locations, and even perspectives, detailing Hisham’s quest to understand the visions that lead him to become the confidant of a disgruntled scholar named Al-Zandiq (the atheist), a defender of the revisionist view of Islam in modern-day Egypt. While helping Al-Zandiq with research, Hisham discovers obscure works that document Yazid’s life.
As Hisham immerses himself in these works, along with an 8th-century manuscript titled The Great Book of the Interpretation of Dreams, his life begins to merge with Yazid’s, blurring the lines between the two.
While fantasies and truths alarmingly become one, Mansoura skillfully raises numerous questions about predestination, free will, morality, and sin, topics that Muslim scholars have theorised about for centuries.
As the novel progresses and the reader is enlightened about each character’s life, tales of subterfuge and pandemonium, involving violent crimes and motives, are revealed, with both Yazid and Hisham committing crude offenses with perverted rationales, while even their cohorts make choices deemed significant sins in Islam.
She powerfully discusses the doctrine of the Mu’tazila school of thought, a prominent branch of Islamic philosophy that emphasises rationality and free will, as well as the disagreements between scholars and their students regarding the principles of sin and justice. Mansoura brings to life the early beginnings of this school in the discussion circles that Yazid attends.
The reader is then encouraged to reflect on its tenets in the context of the lives of these characters. There are five core principles of their doctrine: the belief in monotheism, the belief in justice, the belief in promise and threat, the belief in the intermediate position, and the duty of enjoining what is correct and forbidding what is wrong.
As many characters in the novel engage in unlawful and blasphemous actions, Mansoura sets the stage for a meaningful discussion about the extent to which we have free will, what is predestined, and when to take responsibility and seek justice.
An invitation to reflect and theoriseÂ
Using multiple narrators, settings, and time periods requires a skill that Mansoura masters.
The distinctive construction of the novel highlights her fluid storytelling. The reader must focus on following the inner worlds of each character, as well as the place and time in which they exist. They are instantly transported to ancient Basra through evocative descriptions of agriculture, fishing scenes, boats in the marshes, and the simple life of weavers and bookmakers.
Then, suddenly, like Hisham’s erratic mind, the reader is jolted back to the bustling streets of modern Cairo. Though these shifts feel jarring, they also come across as a natural transition, written with sharp insight.
This atmospheric tale is further elevated by its polyphonic style, as readers are allowed into the minds of all the characters. Each event is narrated from the perspective of everyone involved, providing a comprehensive and empathetic understanding. This method ensures that no single character’s opinion dominates, allowing readers to examine and consider multiple viewpoints on the characters’ actions and the Mu’tazila principles.
Hisham/Yazid’s story does not aim to prove a theory. Instead, it invites the reader into a mental discourse, encouraging them to reflect and theorise.
Philosophical concepts echoing today’s world
The Orchards of Basra is a poignant novel, written with poetic elegance.
It is a thought-provoking tale that brings the reader intimately close to not just one, but all of the key characters. The novel succeeds in challenging the depths of the reader’s mind and faith, while transcending time and space. As readers journey through this confessional narrative, they will be transfixed by the unraveling of Hisham’s mind and Yazid’s life.
Just as Hisham feels himself to be the reincarnated spirit of Yazid, the reader will temporarily coalesce with the mindscapes of these indelible characters. As the reader becomes immersed in their secrets, they will be moved to reflect that the novel’s exploration of these philosophical concepts echoes today’s world, where such arguments on free will and justice are unremitting.
Noshin Bokth has over six years of experience as a freelance writer. She has covered a wide range of topics and issues including the implications of the Trump administration on Muslims, the Black Lives Matter movement, travel reviews, book reviews, and op-eds. She is the former Editor in Chief of Ramadan Legacy and the former North American Regional Editor of the Muslim Vibe
