Naguib Mahfouz - Midaq Alley

"Was she killed?" asked Kirsha.

"I don't think so," answered Hussain. "Too bad; he lost his life in vain."

"And the British?"

Hussain replied sadly, "We left them surrounded by the police, and who can expect any justice from them?"

Kirsha once again brought his hands together in a slap and quoted, "'We are all God's creatures and to Him must we return.' Do Abbas' relatives know the news? Go out and tell his Uncle Hassan in Khurunfush so that God will perform His will."

Hussain got up and left the cafe. The news soon spread as Kirsha told his son's tale repeatedly to people who came to ask. Their tongues in turn circulated the story, along with many additions and variations.

Uncle Kamil staggered into the cafe in a dazed state and sat slumped in a chair staring straight ahead and mumbling. Suddenly he threw himself on the sofa and began weeping like a child. He could not believe it possible that the young man — who had teased him about buying a shroud — was no longer alive. When the news reached Hamida's mother she fled the house and streaked down the alley wailing out the news to everyone. Some said she wept for the killer and not the victim.

The person most deeply affected was Salim Alwan. His sorrow was not one of personal loss, but more the fact that death had forced its way into the alley. Now all his old worries and fears were redoubled. Dark thoughts and sick fantasies of the throes of death itself and of the grave all came back to him. Terror gripped him and he could no longer bear to sit still. He paced up and down in his office and walked into the alley to gaze mournfully at the shop which had been Abbas' for so many years. He had, due to the hot weather, been disregarding the doctor's orders to drink only warm water, but now he instructed that it always be served warm as before. He spent a full hour sitting in his darkened office trembling with fear and panic, his nerves shattered by Uncle Kamil's weeping…

This crisis too, like all the others, finally subsided and the alley returned to its usual state of indifference and forgetfulness. It continued, as was its custom, to weep in the morning when there was material for tears and resound with laughter in the evening. And in the time between, doors and windows would creak as they were opened and then creak again as they were closed.

In this particular period no matter of note occurred, except that Mrs. Saniya Afify decided to clear out the flat which Dr. Booshy had occupied before he went to jail and Uncle Kamil volunteered to carry Dr. Booshy's personal belongings and dental tools into his flat. In explanation it was said that Uncle Kamil preferred to share his dwelling with Dr. Booshy rather than continue to endure unaccustomed loneliness. No one blamed him and indeed they may well have considered the act a kindness on his part, for a term in prison was not the sort of thing to bring disgrace on a man in the alley.

During these days too, people talked about Umm Hamida's renewal of contact with her foster daughter, who was well on the way to convalescence and recovery. They gossiped about how the mother seemed to be hoping to reap some of the profits of this ample treasure.

Then the interest of the alley was suddenly really aroused when a butcher and his family came to occupy Dr. Booshy's flat. The family consisted of the butcher, his wife, seven sons, and an extremely beautiful daughter. Hussain Kirsha said she was as lovely as a new moon.

When, however, the time for Radwan Hussainy's return from the Hejaz came close, no one could think of anything but this. They hung up lanterns and flags and put a carpet of sand down over the street, all promising themselves a night of such joy and happiness that they would never forget it.

One day Sheikh Darwish saw Uncle Kamil joking with the old barber and, gazing up toward the roof of the cafe, he recited loudly:

"'Man is named only to be forgotten and there's never a heart that doesn't change.'"

Uncle Kamil's face clouded over and went pale and his eyes brimmed with tears. Sheikh Darwish shrugged his shoulders indifferently and went on, his eyes still fixed on the roof:

"'Let him who dies of love die sad; there's no good in any love without death.'"

Then he shuddered, sighed deeply, and continued:

"'O Lady of Ladies, O fulfiller of all needs… mercy… mercy, O People of the House! I will be patient so long as I live, for do not all things have their end?'"

"Oh yes, everything comes to its _nihaya.__"

"And the word for this in English is 'end' and it is spelled E-N-D…"

Abbas Hilu— is a young man of the Alley; a barber by profession; he loves the alley deeply and is utterly infatuated with the beautiful Hamida.

Dr. Booshy— is the unlicensed and questionably qualified dentist who practices his dark art in conjunction with Zaita.

Hamida— is the adopted daughter of Umm Hamida. Her birth mother worked with Umm Hamida before her death in childbirth; her father is unknown and presumed dead. Hamida is beautiful, vain, utterly self-centered, and driven by the need for material wealth.

Hasan al-Basari— A Muslim Sufi, lived 643–728 C.E. He was a member of the silsila ("chain"), transmitters of the hadith ("traditions" of the Prophet Muhammad). He taught that true believers in God accent their fear in this world so that Allah will give them security on the Day of Judgment. On the other hand, hypocrites ignore their fear in this world; for this Allah will instill fear in them on the Day of Judgment. Hasan al-Basari also taught that there are two kinds of knowledge: knowledge of the tongue and knowledge of the heart. The knowledge of the tongue is proof against you on the Day of Judgment, while the knowledge of the heart is proof for you. The knowledge of the tongue is the knowledge you know but fail to apply; the knowledge of the heart is the knowledge you both know and apply in your life.

Husniya— the bakeress who beats her husband Jaada with her slipper.

Hussain Kirsha— is Kirsha's son who despises the low-class life of Midaq Alley. Contemptuous of the alley's residents, he seeks to escape a similar fate by working in a British Army camp. Started out working in his father's cafe, then in a bicycle shop, then with the British.

Ibrahim Faraj— is the skilled and persuasive pimp who attempts to lure Hamida away from the alley and into the world of prostitution. He wants to market her services directly to the Westerners who are in Cairo during this time.

Ibrahim Farhat— a local politician.

Jaada— and Husniyya are the bakers of Midaq Alley.

Kirsha— owns the cafй that is the central focal point of Midaq Alley. A hashish addict, a seller of narcotics, and a man who is attracted to young boys, Kirsha provides much fodder for the gossips of Midaq Alley.

Kirsha, Mrs. — despises her husband and is humiliated by his relationships with young boys. She has a harsh tongue and is not afraid to use it against her husband. Mrs. Kirsha nursed the orphaned Hamida along with her son Hussain when both were infants; she thus became a foster mother to Hamida while Hussain became Hamida's foster brother.

Poet, The(only appears in the first chapter) — his story-telling is replaced by a radio at the cafe, and is thereafter barred by Kirsha.

Radwan Hussainy— is a pious Muslim and regarded by the residents of the alley as a religious scholar; he is often called upon to settle their disputes and to intercede in times of trouble. Radwan Hussainy is a Job-like character: he has lost all of his children to death, and his faith grows stronger through suffering. He owns one of the two residences of Midaq Alley; Abbas and Uncle Kamil live on his first floor; Kirsha's family lives on the third floor. Radwan Hussainy is unsparingly tolerant of everyone else, but he is cruel and controlling of his faithful and subservient wife.