Arabian Nights and Days

Admittedly, I found this Naguib Mahfouz’s Arabian Nights and Days to be one of the most laborious books that I have ever read.  From the totally foreign names to the seemingly unconnected storylines of the many different plots that occur throughout, my engagement with the material was strained at best.  However, there was one particular theme that grasped me as I continued through the material.  That lesson was stated best in an encounter between al-Fiqi and Master Sahloul.  Al-Feqi plainly states that “nothing destroys a man like his own self”, to which Sahloul responds “and no one can save him like his own self” (p. 135). 

Through this interaction we are able to see that while man may be his own worst enemy at times, he still has the ability to become his own savior if his heart is in the right place.  Throughout the story, genies have their way with mankind and persuade them to do their bidding, unfortunately often times for mal intentions.  However, there was never an instance where an individual was forced into any particular circumstance.  Because of this, I think that Mahfouz is making a case for the importance of man’s integrity and purity of heart.  When considering Sindbad’s stories to the sultan, we see this lesson repeated in the first and last stories that he tells.  In the first story, Sinbad tells the sultan that he learned that “there is no safety for us unless we dwell on solid land” (p. 211).  This, even though it was presented as a literal within the story, this shows us the importance of having a sturdy foundation that will guide our hearts and potential actions.  The last lesson that Sindbad relays is that even though man may be given divine gifts, “he must also approach [them] with guidance from the light of God that shines above” (p. 315).  This too shows that Sindbad has learned the lesson that even though we may be placed into situations that seem out of our control, we are still at liberty to make the right choices,  and these choices are much easier to make with a steadfast set of principles to rely on.  Upon hearing these lessons the sultan himself undergoes a personal conversion and denounces his reign over the land.  The sultan realized that even though he had made mistakes in the past, he was free to take his renewed self out into the world with a hope of becoming a better man than he had once been.  With his clean slate and an understanding of the lesson we've just discussed, the sultan was confident that he could save himself from his past and a potentially hazardous future.