Introduction
Before delving into whether or not Yahya Haqqi is arguing for the reconciliation between binaries (i.e. East vs. West and religion vs. science) it is important to note the environmental influences that inspired “The Saint’s Lamp” in order to better understand what message Haqqi was trying to impart.
During his literary career (spanning the late 1920s till his death in 1992), Egypt was at an impasse wherein the country was slowly opening up to influences of the global environment. This came in the form of the influx of western ideologies, medicine, and technology and how such facets clashed with the traditional ideals and cultural pragmatism that defined Egyptian culture at the time.
From the article “People And History (2007), it was noted that when Egypt gradually “opened up” to the world, the influx of western influences was actually viewed by staunch traditionalists as being wholly negative since they confronted the traditional practices and religious observances that were the cornerstone of traditional Muslim culture within Egypt (People And History, 2-4).
On the other end of the spectrum, there were also liberal elements within Egyptian society at the time that viewed the influx of western ideologies, medicine and technologies as being a positive influence on Egyptian society since it brought about “great leaps” in medicine, economic development and international trade which greatly enriched the local culture. It is in this morass of competing ideologies that the story “The Saint’s Lamp” is set.
Through the short novella, Yahya Haqqi sheds light on the competing ideologies within Egyptian society and the value of traditions (Bell, 66-86).
It is the belief of this paper that Yahya Haqqi is not trying to debunk western teachings nor is he emphasizing the need to be a staunch traditionalist, rather, the author is attempting to showcase the need to carefully apply western thinking and teachings while at the same time valuing the traditions that make us who we are.
Understanding the Message of Yahya Haqqi
One common misconception behind “The Saint’s Lamp” is the assumption that Yahya Haqqi is actually advocating for staunch traditionalism over scientific fact. This misconception is often made due to the ending of the story wherein Ismail utilizes the oil from the lamp in order to restore the sight of Fatima and then realizes the importance of the traditions that he had previously lambasted.
People tend to assume that the failure of western medicine that Yahya Haqqi portrayed in this context is indicative of him stating that western teachings should not be utilized since traditional practices and religious faith are often more effective and more in line with the teachings that have existed within Egyptian society for hundreds of years (Bell, 66-86).
According to Masmoudi, the misunderstanding over the intended message of the story was due to people neglecting to take into consideration the proliferation of metaphors in the story and how they related to life in Egypt (Masmoudi, 1).
For example, in the story, it can be seen that Ismail views the lamp differently based on stages in his life. Before he left for Europe, he viewed the light from the lamp as being so bright that four walls would not be able to contain its brightness. However, upon his return and his re-education through western ideologies, he stated that the lamp gave off more smoke than light.
Later on in the story, it was noted that once Ismail began to accept religious faith once more into his life, the light from the lamp was described as being exceedingly bright. The lamp in this context is a metaphor for Ismail’s faith wherein its brightness was based on how he viewed religion at different stages in the story.
Taking this into consideration, it can be assumed that the blindness of Fatima should not be considered as literal blindness; rather, it should also be considered as a metaphor. Upon closer examination, one interpretation of Ismail’s incapability of healing Fatima’s blindness with western medicines and techniques can actually be considered as a metaphor for blindly applying Western thinking in the East.
The fact that the use of western techniques actually made the situation of Fatima worse is similar to the case of western ideological imposition within Egypt at the time which was often met with fierce resistance and even violence. The blindness of Fatima can be thus be considered as a metaphor for the growing influence of the west in the east and how western countries often attempted to impose their ideologies on eastern societies.
Naaman delves into this particular concept by explaining that ideologies from western civilization from the early 1700s till the 1900s such as “the white man’s burden”, the imposition of Catholicism on African, Middle Eastern and Asian societies as well as supposed “superiority” of the western social model resulted in numerous attempts at cultural imposition (Naaman, 446-471).
This often led to considerable levels of conflict with local societies which often ended in violence. The same can be said of individuals within local societies that attempt to superimpose the supposedly “superior” western method of thinking on traditional cultural practices.
Such actions are often fruitless, as seen in the case of Ismail trying to heal the eyes of Fatima, since imposing an “alien” method of thinking on a society that is used to another way of thinking often leads to conflicting ideologies and misinterpretations which fall short of the intended message.
It is based on this that when examining the issue of Ismail’s inability to cure Fatima with Western medicine, this is not an indicator that Yahya Haqqi is a staunch traditionalist and advocates religion over science, rather, it is a critique against the blind imposition of western thinking without sufficient integration with local customs and traditions.
Reconciliation of the Binaries
During the 1940s in Egypt, there was a growing trend within the country that was less inclined towards western ideologies and more focused towards the development of relations with other Arab countries within its region as well as a greater inclination towards cultural traditions.
This is important to mention within the context of “the Saint’s Lamp” since prior to the 1920s-1940s, Egypt was more inclined towards Western ideologies and thinking brought about through European influences within the country (Naaman, 446-471). However, while the western way of thinking was imposed over several decades, it was quickly supplanted with an Islamic ideology within just a few years.
What this shows was that there was a definite mistake on the part of the Europeans to attempt to supplant local ideologies with a distinctly western oriented one without attempting to better integrate western thinking with eastern traditions (Naaman, 446-471). This imposition created an identity crisis (as seen in the case of Ismail in the story) which was only resolved through the implementation of traditional practices once more.
It is based on this that it can be stated that Haqqi was arguing for reconciliation in the form of the integration of western thinking into Egyptian society with respect to cultural traditions. This method of implementation would have been far more acceptable to the local populace instead of the imposition that occurred that was quickly replaced when the opportunity arose.
Works Cited
Bell, Gregory J. “One Face Of The Hero: Reading Yahyā Haqqī’s Qindīl Umm Hāshim As Modern Myth.” Journal Of Arabic Literature 41.1/2 (2010): 66-86. Print
Masmoudi, Ikram. “Modern Migration In Two Arabic Novels.” Clcweb: Comparative Literature & Culture: A Wwweb Journal 12.2 (2010): 1. Print.
Naaman, Mara. “Disciplinary Divergences: Problematizing The Field Of Arabic Literature.” Comparative Literature Studies 47.4 (2010): 446-471. Print.
“People And History.” Background Notes On Countries Of The World: Egypt (2007): 2-4. Print.