Atiq Rahimi - A Thousand Rooms of Dream and Fear

KALIMAThe first verse of the Koran.

KHOSRAW & SHEERIN(see Haft Paikir ) A book by Nizami Ganjavi. Sheerin (?–628) was the Christian wife of the Persian shah, Khosraw II. She was first immortalized in Persian poetry by Firdausi in his epic, the Shahnama . Around 1180, Nizami retold the story, emphasizing Sheerin’s love for the master builder, Farhad. Khosraw was so jealous of their love that he tricked Farhad into constructing a tunnel under Mount Beysitoun; he then lied to Farhad, telling him Sheerin was dead, a lie that caused Farhad to fall from the mountain to his death. As a result of Nizami’s work, Sheerin and Farhad became symbols of pure, unrequited love. Their plight is recounted in many poems, including Goethe’s West-oestlicher Divan .

MUNKAROne of the two angels who are assigned to interrogate the dead before judgment day.

NAFILPracticing Muslims are obliged to pray five times a day. These prayers are called: Fajr (at dawn); Dhuhr (at midday); Asr (in the afternoon); Maghrib (at sunset); Isha (at night). Nafil is the name for an additional, non-obligatory prayer, which can take place at any time.

NAKIROne of the two angels who are assigned to interrogate the dead before judgment day.

NINETY-NINE NAMES OF GODAlso known as the ninety-nine attributes of God (Asma’ Allah al-Husná). According to Islamic tradition, Allah has ninety-nine names, each one representing one of his divine qualities. Repeating the names of God is a sacred practice, much as Roman Catholics will recite a litany of the names of saints. In this novel, Farhad recites the names Al-Ba’ith, meaning “the resurrector,” Al-Jabbar, meaning “the irresistible, the powerful,” and Al-Mumit, meaning “the bringer of death, the destroyer.”

PUL-E-CHARKHILiterally, “the bridge that spins around.” A large pentagon-shaped prison near Kabul with a fearsome reputation for torture and murder. It was built in the 1970s during the regime of Mohammed Daoud Khan and is still in use today.

SHAH-DO-SHAMSHIRA MOSQUEOne of the most important shrines in Kabul, marking the burial sight of an Islamic commander who was said to have fallen in battle against Hindu forces, even though he had continued fighting with a sword in each hand after his head had been cut off.

TOMB OF SAYED JAMALUDDINA striking landmark on the grounds of Kabul University with huge black marble columns. The campus of Kabul University was built in 1964 with the assistance of the U.S. under Mohammed Daoud Khan.

SARAH MAGUIRE

Born in Kabul in 1962, ATIQ RAHIMI was seventeen years old when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. He fled to Pakistan during the war and was granted political asylum in France in 1984. He later enrolled at the Sorbonne and received a doctorate in audio-visual communications. After the fall of the Taliban in 2002, Rahimi returned to Afghanistan, where he filmed an adaptation of his book Earth and Ashes (Other Press, 2010). There he has become renowned as a maker of documentary and feature films, and as a writer. The film of Earth and Ashes was in the Official Selection at Cannes in 2004 and won several prizes. Since 2002 Rahimi has returned to Afghanistan a number of times to set up the Writers’ House in Kabul and offer support and training to young writers and filmmakers. His novel The Patience Stone (Other Press, 2010) won the Prix Goncourt in 2008.