Mirror of modern conscience

Author's name: Taha Hussein

Is there a mirror that shows a person their innermost self and the innermost self of others? Taha Hussein, the blind writer, would have been incapable of anything. Yet, he was able to invent an extraordinary mirror that reflected the souls reflected within it, attempting to show those with sight—through his mirror—what he sees with his insight, but to which their eyes are blind. Just as physical mirrors make the image appear as if it were in another dimension, smaller or larger than its natural size, and sometimes even upside down, Taha Hussein's literary mirror plays its role; it displays chapters of contemporary human concerns reflected in the form of letters. The first section is attributed to Al-Jahiz, an attribution he doubts. The second section is attributed to an anonymous writer writing to an anonymous friend. Only his conscience appears clearly, revealed by the mirror and the skill of the pen.