The Message of Light - A Novel from the Time of Ibn al-Muqaffa'

"A Message of Light" is a novel about the era of Ibn al-Muqaffa', presented by the author Mohammed Tarazi in an artistic narrative framework that shifts between the past (7th and 8th centuries AH) and the present (21st century). The events of the novel take place – spatio-temporally – between Damascus, Iraq, Khorasan, Ottoman Turkey, and modern-day Turkey. The choice of locations, incidents, and events was carefully orchestrated, as were the characters involved in these events. We are presented with characters we have read about and known, as recounted by the novel through an imagined space with genuine realistic roots. In doing so, the author observed both historical and narrative fidelity, dedicating himself to history and to the art of the novel, balancing them simultaneously. As the title suggests, "A Message of Light" sheds light on one aspect of Ibn al-Muqaffa's personality and one facet of his life: the political/reformist side. Through this, Ibn al-Muqaffa's biography is presented in the novel and forms the core of its presence. This is what we encounter with the character of the protagonist (Abu Amr), referring to "Ibn al-Muqaffa'," who arrived in Damascus, traversing distances to seek out Abd al-Hamid al-Katib, "the head of the chancery" in the Caliph's palace. He sought employment in the Caliphate's chanceries, not out of greed for money or desire for position, but rather, by drawing close to the rulers, he aimed to produce a book that would prevent them from straying thereafter – a book overflowing with wisdom and brimming with lessons. It would bring righteousness to rulers and guarantee the rights of the subjects through its descriptions of how to eliminate corruption and reform judges, soldiers, and land taxes… This was the man's dream... But he would realize after experience that the true reason for his coming to those lands was far deeper than that, and that a sacred purpose, guided by destiny, had prepared all the reasons for that journey and that end. These events, as presented by Mohammed Tarazi in his novel, are not merely the life of Ibn al-Muqaffa', but rather the life of struggle against authority in its various manifestations, especially its political aspect. In addition to his endeavor to write a book that would bring righteousness to both ruler and ruled, he refused to join the retinue of the Sultan and the jurist. This signifies the presentation of a reformist vision ahead of its time, in which the religious and political are separated – something not accepted by political and societal authorities (customs), neither in Ibn al-Muqaffa's time nor in ours. Moreover, the character of Ibn al-Muqaffa', as presented by the novel, offers a historical interpretation of the life of the Arab intellectual, in its contemporary sense, in his struggle with authority. This is an old-new theme for which proponents of free thought pay a price, as happened to Ibn al-Muqaffa' and his manuscript, which, instead of liberating ideas, was consumed by fire that devoured its pages. "...Then the governor ordered Ibn al-Muqaffa' to be executed. And the two men who had bound him proceeded to sever his limbs and cast them into the oven, until they had disposed of his entire body, with al-Muhallabi saying: 'By God, son of the apostate woman, I shall burn you with the fire of this world before the fire of the hereafter.'"