Farewell...
"You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.” Naguib MahfouzHis imaginary characters imposed themselves as a reality on my life... umm... 'imposed' is not the right word... i happily embrassed them into my world... or maybe they embrassed me to their world... actually i can no longer differentiate between my world and their world..... i saw myself residing within all his stories and his characters belonged to the world around me. His words filled many gaps in my vocabulary, his sentences carried the essence of my relationship with Egypt's air... with its soil... with its buildings...
i lost a teacher....
a teacher of life... of history... and of humanity...
Send a note of appreciation and admiration to the family that helped this man nourish us with his words, thoughts, and dreams. If you feel there is something you want to tell them or there is something you want to thank them for -wherever you're living and whatever your nationality is- then put your note as a comment below before the 15th of September and it will be sent as part of a letter from all those who are thankful for his family for helping him give us the best of his intellect. This is the very least we could do.
Please include your email in the note to be notified upon the delivery of the letter.
posted by El Masry Afandy @ 10:29 PM
5 Comments
5 Comments:
Naguib Mahfouz inspired my upbringing & my 'Egypt'. He was a solid foundation to which I grew up to understand the world, with all its mysteries, magic, good, evil and all what lies beneath. Through his words he skilfully spread wisdom and enlightened our society and the minds of generations which have been, are and many more to come.
He taught us the art of creativity and imagination in his novles, let alone, what is it to be an Artist, a man of a principle and an honoured case. Naguib Mahfouz is by far the best and most prominent of what Egypt has delivered to our existance. Naguib; the man, the Egyptian, the writer, the thinker, the philosopher, the novelist, the father, the educator...all has engraved their own special mark on the 'real Egypt' we dream of, belong to and will always give our hearts and souls for it to exist.
These are by no means words of condolences but rather few more humble feelings to constitute a celebration of a great man of humanity and talent and commence a new era where Mahfouz continues to exist in maybe a new way, more profoundly in our hearts and minds. It is vital for us that Naguib Mahfouz continues to live, nourish and be inside of every Egyptian..inside of our worlds, for without him our lands loose the last drops of truthful ink and hope.
I leave you with words from Mahfouz's Nobel winning speeach; "One day the great Pyramid will disappear too. But Truth and Justice will remain for as long as Mankind has a ruminative mind and a living conscience....In spite of all what goes on around us I am committed to optimism until the end. I do not say with Kant that Good will be victorious in the other world. Good is achieving victory every day. It may even be that Evil is weaker than we imagine. In front of us is an indelible proof: were if not for the fact that victory is always on the side of Good, hordes of wandering humans would not have been able in the face of beasts and insects, natural disasters, fear and egotism, to grow and multiply. They would not have been able to form nations, to excel in creativeness and invention, to conquer outer space, and to declare Human Rights. The truth of the matter is that Evil is a loud and boisterous debaucherer, and that Man remembers what hurts more than what pleases. Our great poet Abul-'Alaa' Al-Ma'ari was right when he said:
"A grief at the hour of death
Is more than a hundred-fold
Joy at the hour of birth."
I finally reiterate my thanks and ask your forgiveness."
May he rest in peace...
ها قد غادرنا وغادركم محفوظ،ولكنه قد غادرنا جسدا وبقت لنا أعماله التي تربينا على المعاني الكامنة فيها. فللجسدو الروح الرحمة من عند الله، ولنا العزاء في بقاء الأعمال الخالدة لنجيب محفوظ تراثا لنا ولأجيال قادمة من بعدنا
خالد شعلان
May Allah bless his soul.
I was very sadened to hear about the passing away of Naguib Mahfouz. My first introduction to Arabic literature in translation was 'Miramar' -- a book that I thoroughly enjoyed and that gave me new insights into Egyptian society, politics and history. At the same time, Naguib Mahfouz was a humanist whose words reached out and touched many beyond Egypt. He was a great and prolific writer and he more than deserved to be honoured as a Nobel Laureate. He will be sorely missed by his international audience. I extend my sincere condolences to his family.
Norwich, UK
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