The Islamic story of the Mi’raj is the story of Muhammad, the founder of the Muslim religion, ascending into heaven. In the Mi’raj, Muhammad starts at the lowest of seven heavens and embarks on a journey to meet God. Muhammad’s experience cleanses him of earthly idolatry and sin, and he meets prophets who prepare him for his ascension. “Zaabalawi” also features a dream of divine inspiration, and the narrator’s broader spiritual journey <a data-internal-link data-link-type="Symbols & Motifs" href="https://www.supersummary.com/zaabalawi/symbols-and-motifs/#199346">mirrors</a> Muhammad’s, although Mahfouz uses a fantastic realist lens to blend the prosaic and divine. By hewing closely to the Mi’raj’s structure and conceits, Mahfouz reframes the ancient story as a democratic spiritual journey in which the anonymous everyday peoples of modern Cairo can attain spiritual transcendence. In each section of the story, its <a data-internal-link data-link-type="Character" href="https://www.supersummary.com/zaabalawi/major-character-analysis/#199336">narrator</a> comes closer to meeting Zaabalawi, who represents his ascension. The people the narrator meets along the way are not the great prophets who serve as gatekeepers in the Mi’raj, but they do prepare the narrator’s spirit, ultimately leading him to relinquish his burdened sense of self. These modern revisions to Islamic lore are deeply political in their <a data-internal-link data-link-type="Literary Device" href="https://www.supersummary.com/assertion/">assertion</a> that ascension is attainable to the common man.

The Spiritual Quest

The Disease of Modernity

The Futility of Nostalgia

Fiction

Allegories of Modern Life

College

Colonialism Unit

Awards

Nobel Laureates in Literature

Humanities

Philosophy, Logic, & Ethics

Religion & Spirituality

Life & Time

The Past

Naguib Mahfouz

Adult

Short Story

Guide

Study Guide

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Zaabalawi

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