The Absence of Reality in the Novel the Satanic Verses, Two Questions Are Formulated to Guide the Analysis

THE INSUFFICIENCY OF REALITY IN SALMAN RUSHDIE’S THE SATANIC VERSES

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

DEBORA WIENDA ROSARI

Student Number: 024214079

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2007 THE INSUFFICIENCY OF REALITY IN SALMAN RUSHDIE’S THE SATANIC VERSES

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

DEBORA WIENDA ROSARI

Student Number: 024214079

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2007

I won’t be made useless I won’t be idle with despair ;[tÇwá „ ]xãxÄ<

This is a dedication to my parents, my P.R.U.E family, and my “Bones”...

@w@

v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I initially would express my biggest gratitude to my Advisor Drs.

Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. and Dra. Th. Enny Anggraini, M.A. as my Co-

Advisor who have spent their time for reading, criticizing, giving valuable suggestions, as well correcting my thesis until I finished this thesis.

I thank my beloved Mama and Papa for their patience and endless support although I often let you both down. Thanks for trusting me and giving me your unconditional love. I am sorry for keeping both of you waiting so long for seeing me wearing toga. My gratitude also goes to my big brother and his small family for their love.

For a lovely name Anggit Baskara Yusena who prefers to be called

Tulang, I thank you for urging me in my bad times restlessly, for being ready to

“whip” me when laziness came around, and for being the person I consulted even debated in the time I was doing on my thesis. Thank you for the love we share.

My biggest appreciation is dedicated to my “comrades” in English Letters

2002, especially class C, who have made my life in this university more colorful.

In particular, I thank also to my P.R.U.E friends for their fabulous friendship (I’m looking forward to crazy reunion!). Special thank goes to my P.R.U.E girls: Dian for her bright idea when I was stuck on finding the topic for my thesis, Nana for encouraging me to see our Advisor and start working on my thesis, and Kartika for giving me the access to own The Satanic Verses as well as lending me her printer at my last moment of struggle.

To my boarding house girls at Jl. Petung 33: Metta, Krist, Sefvi, Lala, and whose names I could not mention one by one, I thank you for our sisterhood, for backing me up whenever I was down and for showing the patience whenever I went out of control.

At last but most importantly, I would like to thank to God for His countless blessings. I would not have finished this thesis without His mercy. May

God always bless all these amazing people.

Debora Wienda Rosari

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ……………………………………………….………………... i APPROVAL PAGE …………………………………………………………... ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE ……………………………………………………….. iii MOTTO PAGE …………………………………………………………...... iv DEDICATION PAGE …………………………………………………...... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………..……… vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ……………………………………………………. viii ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………. x ABSTRAK …………………………………………………………………... xi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ………………………………………….. 1 A. Background of the Study…………………………………………….. 1 B. Problem Formulation………………………………………………… 5 C. Objectives of the Study………………………………………………. 5

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ………………………………. 7 A. Review of Related Studies…………………………………………… 7 B. Review of Related Theories……………………..…………………… 10 1. Theory of Plot…………………………...……………………… 11 2. Theory of Setting…………………………………….…………. 13 3. Theory of Character and Characterization…….………..……… 14 4. The Relation between Literature and Society………………….. 15 C. Review on Islam and Its Society circa the Life of Prophet Muhammad…………………………………………………………… 16 1. The Basic Meaning of Islam…………………………………… 16 2. The Koran, the Holy Book of Islam……………………………. 17 3. Muhammad the Prophet………………………………………… 19 4. The Condition of Mecca and its Society in Muhammad’s Era……………………………………….……………………… 22 5. Muhammad’s Enemies and Companions………………………. 26 D. Theoretical Framework………………………………………………. 31

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ………………………………………... 32 A. Object of the Study…………………………………………………… 32 B. Approach of the Study………………………………………………... 34 C. Method of the Study……………………..………………...... 35

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ………………………………………………… 37 A. The Portrayal of Submission in The Satanic Verses as Seen in Its Plot, Settings, and Characters………………………………………… 38 1. The Plot in The Satanic Verses…………. ………….……...... 38 2. The Setting……………………………………………………... 42 3. The Characters in the Novel……………………………………. 44

viii B. The Insufficiency of Reality in The Satanic Verses …………………. 72 1. The Plot………………………………………………………… 72 2. The Setting……………………………………………………... 75 3. The Characters…………………………………………………. 78

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ...………...………….……………………… 95

BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………...……………………………. 98

APPENDICES ………………………………………………………………. 102 Appendix 1: The Summary of The Satanic Verses…………………….. 102 Appendix 2: Ayatollah Khomeini’s Fatwa on The Satanic Verses…………………………………………………….. 104 Appendix 3: Terms in the Novel Quoted in the Thesis………………… 104 Appendix 4: Islamic Terms…………………………………………….. 105 Appendix 5: The Koran Surah 53: An-Najm (The Star)……………….. 106

ix ABSTRACT

DEBORA WIENDA ROSARI (2007). The Insufficiency of Reality in Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.

Religion is one of the most interesting issues in the world of literature, especially when it comes to a literary work that contains controversial topic which could be very sensitive and somehow has the probability to be offensive towards certain religion. The phenomenon does not happen only for one particular religion but it takes place within many scopes of religion. The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie is one of the literary works which is considered offensive towards Islam. Since its description of the fictional prophet in the novel was considered too much offensive for common Muslims, The Satanic Verses received many objections and was considered as a blasphemy to Islam. What becomes the matter is that The Satanic Verses is related, but lacks of relevancy with the religion Islam. This condition, however, encourages the writer to find out which depictions in the novel are not relevant with the religion and what are missing in the novel that create a lack of reality in the novel. To achieve a deep insight, especially on the absence of reality in the novel The Satanic Verses, two questions are formulated to guide the analysis. They are: (1) How does The Satanic Verses portray Submission? (2) In what way the insufficiency of reality is found in The Satanic Verses? This thesis is using the sociocultural-historical approach, an approach which refers the content of the novel to the society where it is produced, since this thesis discusses the novel The Satanic Verses and its relation and relevance with Islam. In finding the data necessary for the study, library research is used. Therefore sources from books were taken as well as from the internet. The primary source of the study is Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses. Some other books as well as several websites which contain literary critic and Islamic history are also discussed as the secondary sources. The finding of the analysis denotes two significant results. Firstly, it is found that The Satanic Verses portrays the religion similar to Islam by showing the similarity between the plot, setting, and characters in the novel with the history of Islam. Therefore, the novel proves that it has the reference with Islamic history. Secondly, the lack of reality is shown by the lack of relevancy which is found in the novel’s three intrinsic elements: plot, setting, and characters. By stacking Islamic experiences in just one year instead of in consecutive years, the plot of The Satanic Verses shows the insufficiency of reality. The description of the desert of Jahilia is suitable with Meccan land, but the period of Jahilia inhabitants’ nomadic ancient lacks of relevancy. And lastly, the characters in the novel which are not depicted as their real traits strengthen the evidence that reality is insufficient in Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses.

x ABSTRAK

DEBORA WIENDA ROSARI (2007). The Insufficiency of Reality in Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Agama merupakan salah satu tema menarik dalam dunia kesusastraan, khususnya ketika terdapat karya sastra yang mengandung topik kontroversial yang amat sensitif dan bisa jadi dianggap menghina suatu agama tertentu. Fenomena ini tidak hanya terjadi pada satu agama tertentu, tetapi terjadi pada bermacam-macam agama. Novel The Satanic Verses yang ditulis Salman Rushdie merupakan salah satu karya sastra yang dianggap sebagai hinaan terhadap agama Islam. Karena penggambaran Nabi fiktifnya yang dianggap berlebihan oleh umat Muslim, novel The Satanic Verses menerima banyak protes dan dipandang sebagai suatu hujatan terhadap agama Islam. Yang menjadi pokok permasalahannya adalah bahwa novel tersebut mengacu kepada sejarah Islam, namun tidak sesuai dengan sejarah itu sendiri. Kondisi semacam ini mendorong penulis untuk menemukan mana penggambaran novel yang tidak sesuai dengan agama tersebut serta bagian sejarah Islam mana yang tidak terpapar di dalam novel sehingga realita tidak cukup tertampilkan dalam novel. Untuk mencapai wawasan mendalam, khususnya dalam menemukan ketidakhadiran realita dalam novel, diformulasikanlah dua pertanyaan sebagai batasan dalam analisis novel, yaitu: (1) Bagaimana novel The Satanic Verses menghadirkan Submission? (2) Dengan cara apa kurangnya realita dapat ditemukan dalam novel The Satanic Verses? Skripsi ini menggunakan pendekatan sosial budaya dan sejarah karena skripsi ini menganalisa novel The Satanic Verses dengan hubungan serta relevansinya terhadap Islam. Pendekatan sosial budaya dan sejarah memperlihatkan bahwa isi novel mengacu pada masyarakat dimana novel itu dibuat. Dalam memperoleh data yang diperlukan untuk studi ini, digunakan studi pustaka. Karena itu, sumber-sumber diambil dari buku dan internet. Sumber utama studi ini adalah novel The Satanic Verses oleh Salman Rushdie. Buku-buku lain dan beberapa website yang di dalamnya terdapat kritik-kritik sastra serta sejarah mengenai agama Islam juga digunakan dalam studi ini sebagai sumber- sumber pendukung. Penemuan dalam analisis menghasilkan dua hasil penting. Pertama, ditemukan bahwa The Satanic Verses menggambarkan agama yang menyerupai agama Islam dengan menghadirkan kemiripan antara alur, setting, dan penokohan dalam novel dengan sejarah Islam. Karenanya, hal ini membuktikan bahwa novel tersebut memiliki hubungan dengan sejarah Islam. Kedua, kurang hadirnya realita ditunjukkan oleh kurangnya relevansi yang ditemukan dalam tiga intrinsik elemen: alur, setting, dan penokohan. Dengan menghadirkan kejadian-kejadian dalam Islam hanya dalam waktu satu tahun alih-alih dalam waktu yang

xi berkesinambungan, alur novel The Satanic Verses menunjukkan kurang hadirnya realita di dalam novel. Penjabaran padang gurun di Jahilia memang sesuai dengan keadaan di Mekah, tetapi periode keturunan kehidupan pengembaraan masyarakat Jahilia tidak sesuai dengan yang sebenarnya. Terakhir, tokoh-tokoh dalam novel yang penggambarannya tidak sesuai dengan karakter asli mereka semakin memperkuat bukti bahwa realita yang ditampilkan dalam novel The Satanic Verses yang ditulis oleh Salman Rushdie tidak mencukupi.

xii CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

The Italian Dante Alighieri’s La Divina Commedia, a type of allegorical religious poem which is translated as The Divine Comedy in English, is one example of literary works regarded offensive towards Christian religion. With its setting in Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise in 1300 CE, the novel which conveys the pilgrimage of the character named Dante distracted Christians’ attention

(www.divinecomedy.com/divinecomedy/inferno/astudyhelp.html).

Another example is a short story “Langit Makin Mendung” by

Kipandjikusmin which was published in Indonesia’s literature magazine, Sastra, in August 1968. The short story was objected by Muslims in Indonesia and as the result, the magazine was banned (Dahlan and Hermani, 2004: 17-41). The quotation below shows that the short story was not accepted in Indonesia and invited especially Indonesian Muslims to ask their government to ban the

1 2

magazine which had published it and prosecute the writer of the story for the blasphemy.

In "Langit Makin Mendung" (The Heavens Darken) a writer calling himself Kipandjikusmin satirized the late Sukarno period by describing a visit to earth by the Prophet Mohammad. Aside from depicting Mohammad humorously—pensioned-off in heaven with the other prophets—he depicts God himself as an old man with gold spectacles. These irreverences outraged many Muslims, who clamored for the story's withdrawal from circulation and called upon the government to prosecute its author under laws forbidding the defamation of religion (www.awardeeforpublicservice.org/hansbaguejassin/langitmakinmendung. html).

Two other examples of literary works which are controversially acknowledged in the world of religion are the 1988’s novel The Satanic Verses by

Indian-born Londoner Salman Rushdie and Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code which was released in New York in March 2003. Particular subplots in The

Satanic Verses are in reference but rather irrelevant with the events which happened in Islam (http://www.csulb.edu/~bhfinney/SalmanRushdie.html).

Meanwhile, the novel The Da Vinci Code denotes a new reconstruction in

Christianity as it explores the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene as suggested in Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting, “The Last Supper”

(www.epiphanylc.org/daVinciCode.html).

The four examples which have been mentioned above have something in common. These literary works are having somehow huge impacts towards the world of religion in which they include controversial themes and are considered offensive towards certain religion regardless what the religion is.

Nevertheless, this thesis is not intended to explore all those mentioned works. This thesis is merely aimed at studying The Satanic Verses by Salman 3

Rushdie. The Satanic Verses was once a polemic around 1988-1989. As the novel was published in 1988 in Great Britain, soon it became controversial in the world.

Following its publication, the novel spread its effect especially in Islamic nations.

As denoted by Kepel, in his book Allah in the West: Islamic Movements in

America and Europe, Rushdie’s initial intention of writing the novel was to criticize Islamic religious leaders who had controlled the Muslim community in

Britain. However, his description of the fictional prophet in the novel was considered too much offensive for common Muslims (Kepel, 1997: 128-129).

But the language used by Rushdie in relation to Islam and the Prophet aroused the anger of a much wider Muslim population. By using ironic names for figures held in reverence by pious Muslims, especially the Prophet (referred to as Mahound, a name used by medieval Christian polemicists) and his entourage, and placing these characters in obscene or morally degrading circumstances, Rushdie alienated a great number of ordinary Muslims outside the inner circle of mullahs and Islamic association leaders (Kepel, 1997: 129).

For that reason, The Satanic Verses received many objections and was considered as a blasphemy to Islam. The novel is considered offensive to the religion due to its content which in some part portrays a religion similar to Islam and the happening events which are not true according to Islamic history.

Responding the objection, Iranian Muslim leader, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa or religious edict in February 14, 1989 as the comment of Islamic countries towards the novel. There was also a monetary reward for Salman

Rushdie’s life from 15 Khordad Foundation, an Iranian religious foundation

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Verses_%28novel%29). The content of the fatwa was to permit all Muslims in any parts of the world to execute Rushdie as well as people who are involved in the making and publishing the novel “which 4

is against Islam, the Prophet, and the Koran” (Kepel, 1997: 129) and aware of its content. Following the fatwa, several havocs which were aimed at rejecting the publishing of the book happened; not only disturbing diplomatic relationship between Iran and the West, the book also caused several people killed and injured.

The ensuing furor, conducted on an international scale, caused twenty-two persons to lose their lives and many scores to be injured in riots, a disruption in diplomatic relations between the West and Iran, book burning, and book banning, and a price of the head of Rushdie as a blasphemer of Islam (Levy, 1993: 558).

Indeed The Satanic Verses contains several similarities with Muslim events, characters, and objects even though they are not the real events, characters and objects themselves. The contents of the novel indicate that it imitates, in this case, Islam in particular. In other words, the novel is in reference to Islam but The

Satanic Verses is not the religion itself. This indication comes along with what is coined from Reading and Writing about Literature (1971) by Mary Rohrberger and Samuel H. Woods, Jr. that literature takes civilization, or in other words: attitudes and actions of a specific group of people, as its subject matter

(Rohrberger and Woods, Jr., 1971: 9). A specific group of people is included in the society; this somewhat proves that literature is connected with society although society itself has also become the subject of imitation by literature as pointed by René Wellek and Austin Warren in their book Theory of Literature:

Third Edition (1956):

. . . literature ‘represents’ ‘life’; and ‘life’ is, in large measure, a social reality, even though the natural world and the inner or subjective world of the individual have also been objects of literary ‘imitation’ (Wellek and Warren, 1956: 94).

What becomes the matter is that The Satanic Verses is in reference, but lacks of relevancy with the religion Islam as said by Aamir Mufti which was quoted in Brian Finney’s essay “Demonizing Discourse in Salman Rushdie’s The

Satanic Verses”:

…“in secularizing (and hence profaning) the sacred 'tropology' of Islam by insisting upon its appropriation for the purposes of fiction, the novel throws into doubt the discursive edifice within which Islam has been produced in recent years” (http://www.csulb.edu/~bhfinney/Salman Rushdie.html).

This condition, however, encourages the writer to find out which depictions in the novel are not relevant with the religion and what are missing in the novel that creates an insufficiency of reality in the novel.

B. Problem Formulation

To achieve a deep insight, especially on the insufficiency of reality in the novel The Satanic Verses, two questions are formulated to guide the analysis.

They are:

1. How does The Satanic Verses portray Submission?

2. In what way the insufficiency of reality is found in The Satanic Verses?

C. Objectives of the Study

The aim of this study is to answer the problems that have been formulated above. The initial objective of this study is to discover how The Satanic Verses portrays Submission, which is the religion similar to Islam in the story. This first step is taken by scrutinizing the content of the novel which portrays the similarity 6

with several aspects in Islamic tradition. The second aim is to find out the differences between the content of the novel with the actual tradition of Islam.

This is done by consulting what are found in the first problem with the history on

Islam to find the lack of relevancy in the novel. Therefore, the insufficiency of reality in the novel will be discovered.

CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL REVIEW

A. Review of Related Studies

The Satanic Verses is a novel which is famous for its controversy in religious aspects. The novel is considered as a blasphemy to Islam since its publication in 1988 for some of its subplots which portray the story of a fictional prophet who is similar to Islam’s Muhammad as well as his religion. Some essays which explore The Satanic Verses from different angles are consulted to see several reactions towards the novel.

An article by Brian Finney, “Demonizing Discourse in Salman Rushdie’s

The Satanic Verses”, is opposing the novel. The core of this essay is to explore the similarities with Islam that are found in the novel and proves that it is a novel against what-so-called fundamentalist Islam. In the essay, the novel is said as “one of the relatively few works of fiction to have made a significant and permanent impact outside the enclosed world of literature”

(http://www.csulb.edu/~bhfinney/SalmanRushdie.html). According to Brian

Finney, Rushdie wrote the novel to oppose what he calls the “Actually Existing

Islam” which refers to the fundamentalists Islam despite his secularist Islam.

Rushdie believes that art, like religion, can produce a "flight of the human spirit outside the confines of its material, physical existence"

(http://www.csulb.edu/~bhfinney/SalmanRushdie.html). It means that religion, as well as art can bring human to explore their own mental excluding their physical

7 8

body. The reason why The Satanic Verses is so threatening for the fundamentalist religion is “because fiction claims to incorporate those other discursive formations within its own discourse and in doing so to reveal the will to power underlying their will to truth” (http://www.csulb.edu/~bhfinney/Salman Rushdie.html).

Apart from blasphemy issue, Eng Oai’s essay “Finding One's Self Identity in Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses” investigates the novel from its characters. Oai argues that Mahound, the fictional prophet in the novel lacks of self identity “that he does not truly know what he represents, or who is”

(http://www.geocities.com/quicsilver13/rushdieessay.html). Oai disputes that

Mahound lost his identity due to his new attained religion; that he was so devoted to it and finally got sunken in it until he became the religion himself. “Mahound has devoted his entire life to his new religion, and he essentially has become that religion, leaving his previous identity behind” (http://www.geocities.com

/quicsilver13/rushdieessay.html). Not only the fictional prophet, Oai notes that the followers of Mahound’s religion also “shed their former identities and become yet another piece of the ever growing religion” (http://www.geocities.com/quic silver13/rushdieessay.html). One person connected to Mahound who still preserved her self identity, Oai says, was Ayesha, one of Mahound’s wives.

“Unlike her husband, Ayesha never fully submitted to Submission, as she always maintained a small piece of her self-identity with her”

(http://www.geocities.com/quicsilver13/rushdieessay.html). Ayesha was the person who accompanied Mahound in his deathbed. As Mahound died, she informed his followers to grief if what they follow was Mahound “because both

are dead” (http://www.geocities.com/quic silver13/rushdieessay.html); the prophet and the religion. Instead of grieving, Ayesha rejoiced for she knew God still alive thus she had faith in God. From the characters, Oai wants to show that self identity is important for human to continue their lives.

Through the plights of the characters in The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie is trying to teach us a very important lesson in life. He is conveying the idea that if we don't have self-identity and don't understand our role in life, that we will be living only as society dictates. Without self- identity in our lives, we're just another useless product produced by our materialistic society and it is through this lack of self-identity that we will bring about an early death (http://www.geocities.com/quicsilver13/ rushdieessay.html).

The essay “The Unity of The Satanic Verses” by Paul Brians tries to find the values in Salman Rushdie’s novel which many critics said as a mixture of disorganized plots, characters, and themes. Brians explore the postmodern idea in the novel by analyzing the fact that most characters in the novel who live in

London are “immigrants: Indians, Bengalis, Pakistanis, Jamaicans, German Jews”

(http://www.wsu.edu:8000/~brians/anglophone/satanic_verses/unity.html). As a postmodernist, Rushdie portrayed the immigrants as people who have exotic life and tradition rather than being oppressed by the Anglo-Saxons heritage. Rushdie only presented some minor Anglo-Saxon characters in the book; quite an irony remembering that one of the significant and primary settings of the book is in

London. Brians also notes that The Satanic Verses questions the long existed convention which happens in the society as follows below:

The entire novel strives to break down absolutes, to blur easy dichotomies, to question traditional assumptions of all kinds . . . High ideals can lead people to commit terrible crimes. Love can be mixed with jealous hate. Exalted faith can lead to tragedy. (http://www.wsu.edu:8000/~brians/ anglophone/satanic_verses/unity.html).

Julian Samuel, a Pakistani-Canadian writer and filmmaker gives a rather sharp comment on “Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses”

(http://www.indiastar.com/jsamuel.html). Samuel states that “There is a hidden agenda at work; there always is.” (http://www.indiastar.com/jsamuel.html) and there is no exception for The Satanic Verses. Samuel argues that censorship issue is nothing new for publishers so that the book to sell is recognized and remains in public mind which eventually will sell the book (http://www.indiastar.com/ jsamuel.html). Samuel criticizes the book sharply that it “does not represent any moral high ground” (http://www.indiastar.com/jsamuel.html). The blasphemy performed, Samuel says, is simply a sensation that aimed at reaching high selling on the book. “The book is empty. The precalculated anti-Islamic propaganda is a sales-pitch, nothing more.” (http://www.indiastar.com/jsamuel.html).

Unlike the other essays above, this thesis is discussing the novel from other perspective. Knowing that The Satanic Verses is in reference but not relevant with Islam, this thesis is connecting the novel with the real condition of

Islamic society in Muhammad’s era which the novel takes as the model. Therefore this thesis is aimed at revealing the lack of relevancy between the novel and the history and tradition in Islam around the life of the Prophet Muhammad so that the insufficiency of reality in the novel would be discovered.

B. Review of Related Theories

To analyze the novel further, the writer uses theory of plot, setting, character and characterization, also the relation between the literature and society.

1. Theory of Plot

Plot is a series of tied-together events in the story (Koesnosoebroto, 1988:

28). The events in the story, however, are not limited only in “physical occurrences, like speech or action, but also a character’s change of attitude, a flash of insight, a decision – anything that alters the course of affairs” (Stanton, 1965:

14). In A Glossary of Literary Terms: Sixth Edition by M. H. Abrams, Aristotle gave the order of a unified plot which is “a continuous sequence of beginning, middle, and end” (Abrams, 1993: 161).

The beginning initiates the main action in a way which makes us look forward to something more; the middle presumes what has gone before and requires something to follow; and the end follows from what has gone before but requires nothing more; we are satisfied that the plot is complete (Abrams, 1993: 161).

Plot, which is placed firstly in writing by Aristotle, is said as “the imitation of an action” and also “the arrangement of the incidents” (Holman and Harmon, 1986:

377). Aristotle suggested that plot is the imitation of the actions in real life

(http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.mb.txt). Furthermore, although imitating the universe, “plot does not include every incident that might happen to us in ordinary life” (Bate, 1952:14-15) but has its own characteristic distinguishes it from the reality in the universe. Still, Aristotle classified plot into two: dramatic plot and epic plot. Dramatic plot is “an artificial arrangement of incidents, the main purpose of which is to capture and hold the interest and provide an artistically satisfying conclusion.” (Yelland, Jones, and Easton, 1953: 147-148).

Traditionally, dramatic plot usually divided into four divisions. The divisions are

exposition, raveling or complication, climax, and dénouement or unraveling

(Yelland, et al., 1953: 148). a. exposition

The characters of the novel are introduced, the background sketched, and the

problem stated. b. raveling or complication

The raveling or complication shows that interest is quickened and suspense is

created by the introduction of difficulties, which seems to stand in the way of a

satisfactory conclusion. c. climax

This is the point of greatest expectancy, which is the cumulative effect of

preceding incidents. d. dénouement or unraveling

In this section, the conclusion is finally worked out (Yelland, et al., 1953: 148).

Meanwhile, epic plot is defined as:

…a series of incidents or adventures given more-or-less in chronological order and not arranged in an artificial pattern, but unified by a central idea in the nature of a cause or quest of struggle in which the main character or characters are constantly engaged (Yelland, et al., 1953: 149).

Consequently, it is impossible for a literary work of being under these two plots at once that a novel only has either dramatic or epic plot.

Often, there is a subordinate or minor complication found within a fiction.

This secondary plot has a direct relation to the main plot, contributing to it in interest and in complication and struggle. This minor complication is usually called subplot (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 489-490). Sometimes, a fiction may

contain more than one subplot. There are two degrees in which a writer conveys the subplot: the first degree subplot is a subplot which is directly related to and giving impulsion and action to the main plot. Meanwhile, second degree subplot is a subplot which is less relevant to the main plot and play as the secondary story that enriches and assists the main plot (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 490).

2. Theory of Setting

According to A Handbook of Literary Terms, setting is “the elements that give the reader an abstract impression of the environment in which the characters move” (Yelland, et al., 1986: 184). As quoted by Koesnosoebroto, Connolly stated that setting is in a sense the time, place, and concrete situation of the narrative, the web of environment in which characters spin out their destinies

(Koesnosoebroto, 1981: 79). For narrative or dramatic work, the setting usually is

“the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs” (Abrams, 1993: 192). In A Handbook to Literature: Fifth Edition, setting is said as “the physical, and sometimes spiritual, background against which the action of a narrative takes place” (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 465). In larger sense, quoted by Koesnosoebroto, Lostracco and Wilkerson stated that “setting refers to the conditions or total environment – – physical, emotional, economic, political, social, and psychological – – in which the characters live”

(Koesnosoebroto, 1981: 80).

According to Holman and Harmon, there are four elements making up a setting. They are: (1) the actual geographical location and such physical

arrangement such as its topography, scenery, and such physical arrangements as the location of the windows and doors in a room; (2) the occupation and daily manner of living of the characters; (3) the time or period in which the action takes place, for example, epoch in history or seasons of the year; and (4) the general environment of the characters, for example, religious, mental, moral, social, and emotional conditions through which the people in the narrative move (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 465).

3. Theory of Character and Characterization

Characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say―the dialogue―and by what they do―the action (Abrams, 1993: 23).

Characters are imaginary persons because characters are presented in dramatic or narrative works. “The creation of these imaginary persons so that they exist for the reader as lifelike is called characterization” (Holman and Harmon,

1986: 81). There are three basic methods of characterization in fiction: (1) the explicit presentation by the author of the character trough direct exposition; (2) the presentation of the character in action; and (3) the representation within a character (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 81). E. M. Forster divided character into two according to its complexity of quality: (1) flat character which is “built around “a single idea or quality” and is presented without much individualizing detail” (Abrams, 1993: 24) and (2) round character which is “complex in temperament and motivation and is represented with subtle particularity”

(Abrams, 1993: 24). “Many writers present their main characters with fullness of

detail, “in the round”, while the minor figures appear flat and somewhat lifeless”

(Yelland, et al., 1953: 31).

In addition, “a character may be either static or dynamic” (Holman and

Harmon, 1986: 83). “A static character is one who changes a little if at all. Things happen to such a character without things happening within.” (Holman and

Harmon, 1986: 83). Therefore, a static character may face even small changes which in fact do not change the character’s quality. “A dynamic character, on the other hand, is one who is modified by actions and experiences.” (Holman and

Harmon, 1986: 83). Such character changes his or her traits during the development of the story.

4. The Relation between Literature and Society

Literature is a social institution, or more exactly, a social creation; it is created by conventions and norms which occur in the society. In addition, literature is connected with society although society itself has also become the subject of imitation by literature and usually happened in close connection with particular social institutions (Wellek and Warren, 1977: 94).

When we are talking about the relation between literature and society, it is not as simple as the assumption that literature mirrors the current social correctly; neither the only idea that literature depicts some aspects of social reality or that literature mirrors or expresses life (Wellek and Warren, 1977: 95). Society in the novel functions as an element in a structure that is self referential. It should be acknowledged that society in the novel is a concept and idea. Therefore society in

the novel is not the straight reflection of the outside world. It is different from the society that exists in outside world as quoted from Elizabeth Langland’s book

Society in the Novel:

Society in novels does not depend on points of absolute fidelity to an outside world in details of costume, setting, and locality because a novel’s society does not aim at a faithful mirror of any concrete, existent thing (Langland, 1984: 5).

Society comprehends not only peoples and their classes. Society, in wider sense, also includes their customs, conventions, beliefs and values, institutions

(legal, religious, and cultural), not to mention physical environment (Langland,

1984: 6). The role of society in literature, however, depends upon the literary work’s form and structure. Form, in this case, is the more general term which is in reference to value meanwhile structure considers the ways in which particular elements in fiction are presented, combined, and manipulated to accomplish the conclusion (Langland, 1984: 8).

C. Review on Islam and its Society circa the Life of Prophet Muhammad

1. The Basic Meaning of Islam

Islam is a monotheistic religion that worships Allah, the one and only God.

The word Islam is taken from Arabic (al-islam) which means at once submission and peace (Young, 1995: 353), or surrender to the will of Allah (Esposito, 1998:

254). In practical term, Islam means that its followers have the duty to create a just, even society where the poor and weak are treated appropriately (Armstrong,

1994: 142). Islam followers are called muslim, that means “one who submits”

(Young, 1995: 353). The creed or shahadah sounds La ilaha illa Allah; wa-

Muhammadan rasulu Allah (“There is no God, but Allah; and Muhammad is His messenger”) is the basis of Muslim belief and practice (Esposito, 1998: 68).

Meanwhile, the way of life of the Muslims is compiled in the Koran.

2. The Koran, the Holy Book of Islam

The holy texts of Islam were brought together in the Koran, or Al-Qur’an in Arabic, meaning “collected revelations in written form” (Gibb and Kramers,

1965: 273). The Koran consists of 11 chapters, 6,616 verses, 77934 words, and

323,671 characters (al Fārūqī and al Fārūqī, 1986: 100). The texts were delivered continuously during the fasting months for about 23 years in Arabian cities Mecca and Medina through the Archangel Gabriel (Djibril in Arabic) to Muhammad.

Djibril or Gabriel is God’s angel whose “duty is to bear the order of God to prophets and to reveal His mysteries to them” (Gibb & Kramers, 1965: 79).

The first revelation of the Koran was given to Muhammad while he was meditating on Mount Hira during the month of fasting. He was forty at that time.

Since Muhammad was illiterate, he recorded all the revelations in his great memory to be retold loudly to his ummah afterward. Later on, the revelations were jotted down literately and compiled in the Koran. The principles and values of

Islam contained in the Koran makes the Koran becomes the initial source of

Islamic teaching (Esposito, 1998: 79).

In one occasion, the Koran almost lost its genuineness due to Abdullah ibn

Sa’id mistake. Being Muhammad’s scribe of the Koran, he changed the characteristic of Allah ‘alimun samiun (All Knowing and All Hearing) to be

‘alimun hakimun (All Knowing and All Wise) purposely then escaped to Mecca.

For the mistake, Muhammad announced death sentence for him and the mistaken verses were rewritten. But, supported by other companions Utsman ibn Affan who was also his family, Abdullah came back to Medina and asked forgiveness from the Prophet which was granted. He re-submitted to Islam and after the dead of

Muhammad, he became one of the highest authorities in Islamic kingdom

(Armstrong, 2004: 432).

Despite the principles and values of Islam which are contained in the

Koran and hadith or the concretization and interpretation of the Koran including what the Prophet said, he did, and the actions he permitted or allowed (Esposito,

1998: 79-80), the actual basic teaching of Islam is the Five Pillars (rukn) of Islam

(Esposito, 1998: 88). The Pillars are (1) the profession of faith (shahadah), (2) performing prayer (salat) five times daily, (3) the almsgiving to the poor (zakat),

(4) fasting in Ramadan month (sawm), and (5) the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).

In one of the rituals of the pilgrimage, the pilgrims circumambulate the

Kaaba for seven times (Young, 1995: 371). Kaaba is a cubed-shaped building built of layers of the grey stones produced by the Hills surrounding Mecca which is placed almost in the center of the great mosque in Mecca (Gibb and Kramers,

1965: 191). Close by the Kaaba runs the well of Zam Zam. Its origin goes back to

Abraham’s time. It was this well which saved the life of the infant Ishmael

(http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/97/). The wall of the Kaaba in which the door is (the front of the Kaaba) faces northeast. In the eastern corner, approximately five feet above the ground, not far from the door, the Black Stone

(al-hadjar al-aswad) is built into the wall. Its diameter is 12 inches and the color is reddish black with red and yellow particles. The stone is sometimes described as lava or basalt. Its real nature is difficult to determine since its visible surface becomes smooth by hand touching and kissing from the pilgrims for centuries

(Gibb and Kramers, 1965: 191-192). According to the Koran, the Kaaba was built by Ibrahim and his son Ismail. Islamic traditions believe that it was first built by

Adam, and later was rebuilt by Ibrahim and Ismail on the old foundations

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka'ba). The Kaaba had become the center of pilgrimage even before the era of Islam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka'ba).

3. Muhammad the Prophet

Muslims believe that the beginning of Islam did not start in the era of

Muhammad. Instead, many prophets became the messenger of God who revealed the truth of Islam before Muhammad (Young, 1995: 353). Adam, the first prophet, led his successors from Noah, Solomon, John the Baptize, Jesus, to Muhammad.

However, in Islam, Muhammad is believed as the last messenger. He is the seal of the prophets, yet the greatest who received a revelation that summed up all that had been received before by the preceding prophets.

The name Muhammad etymologically means "the praised one" in Arabic

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad). Muhammad was born about 570 CE in an Arabian city, Mecca. His father, Abdullah, died a few weeks before he was born and his mother Aminah died while he was six (Ahmed, 2001: 14). Orphaned,

Muhammad continued to live with his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib. Two years

after, Abdul Muttalib died and Muhammad had to live with his uncle Abu Talib, a merchant of banu Hashim who was one of the leaders of the Quraish tribe in

Mecca (Ahmed, 2001: 14).

Like many Quraishi, Muhammad grew up to be a trader. When he was 25,

Khadijah, a wealthy, widowed merchant in her 40 asked Muhammad to bring and trade her goods to Syria. Khadijah, found out his good work on the trade, later was attracted to Muhammad. Thus she sent a proposal of marriage to him. Soon they agreed to marry and ever since, Khadijah became the most loyal companion to the Prophet. Later on, in the history of Islam, Khadijah became the first person converted to Islam (Ahmed, 2001: 15-16). Khadijah died in 619 CE and afterward, Muhammad re-married for several times. The reasons of the marriages among others were to take care of the widows, to tighten family relationship, and to build a strong political affiliation. The exact number of Muhammad’s wives after Khadijah is unknown. A source mentions that Muhammad re-married for twelve times (Ahmed, 2001: 19). Answering-islam.org says that after the death of

Khadijah, Muhammad re-married for about 9-14 times. Among all, nine are considered the wives and the other six are doubted (http://answering- islam.org/islam_index/wives.html). Another source from en.wikipedia.org suggests the number is eleven; ten wives and one concubine

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad%27s_marriages).

The wives of Muhammad were given a special status among the people and to respect these women, one of the verses in the Koran stated that the wives of the Prophet should be separated from the ummah by using hijab (Armstrong,

2004: 343). Hijab has two meanings; one is women’s traditional veil which covers her head, face, and body. The other is the seclusion. In the Koran, hijab used by the Prophet’s wives refers to the second meaning which is not connected to women’s clothing, but rather to a partition or curtain (Esposito, 1995: 108).

Muhammad died in June 8, 632 CE at the age of 63. His symptoms of illness were head ache and weakness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad). It is said that he was poisoned by a Jewess (http://answering- islam.org/islam_index/Muhammad.html). One of Muhammad’s wives, Aishah, was holding the Prophet on her lap when he died (Armstrong, 2004: 454-455).

Several Muslims first rejected to bury his dead body for they believed that the

Prophet would return soon. It was Abu Bakr, one of the companions who reminded them that God is the one should be worshipped, not the Prophet.

Abu Bakr reminded them that Muhammad had dedicated his whole life to preaching the unity of God. The Qur’an had warned them incessantly that they must not give to any mere creature the honour due to God alone. . . . To refuse to admit that Muhammad had died, therefore, was to deny the basic truth about Muhammad. But as long as the Muslims remained true to the belief that God alone was worthy of worship, Muhammad would live on. ‘O men, if anyone worships Muhammad, Muhammad is dead,’ he ended eloquently. ‘If anyone worships God, God is alive, immortal.’ (Armstrong, 2001: 256-257).

Any images or representation of the Prophet are not allowed to be presented in Islam. The picture of the Prophet that exists usually shows his face veiled, with a large, flame-shaped light behind it (Ahmed, 2001: 22). This condition has a reason which is rooted from the history of Islam. Due to the circumstance that Islam rejected any form of idolatry, Muslims feared that images of the Prophet would become the object of the worship for nothing should disturb

the worship to God. Even so, Muslims’ objection which is based on religious ground is only towards the pictorial representation of the Prophet. The verbal descriptions of the Prophet are still allowed (Ahmed, 2001: 22-23). Taken from the quotation from the literature made by Azzam and Gouverneur, here are the physical descriptions of the Prophet:

Hind says that the Prophet was grand, in fact he was grandeur itself. His face shone like the full moon. He was of middle height, inclined to tallness but was shorter than very tall people . . . He walked softly and firmly with a rapid pace and a slightly forward bend, as if he were descending from a higher to a lower level. Whenever he looked at anything he would look straight into it; his eyes were almost downcast, directed more towards the earth than towards the sky. Jabir ibn Samurah says, ‘The Prophet of Allah had a wide mouth. The eyes were of light brown hue . . .’ Abu Hurayrah says that the Prophet ‘had a white complexion as if he were made of silver. There was a moderate wave in his hair’ (Ahmed, 2001: 23).

4. The Condition of Mecca and its Society in Muhammad’s Era

The Prophet Muhammad lived in Mecca in the seventh century. The city of Mecca is a desert which is placed in the Hijaz region of northwestern Arabian

Peninsula. The time when Muhammad confirmed his prophecy was not an easy period; he lived among the Quraish tribe who idolized gods and goddesses. This phase, when people of Mecca were still attained to pagan religions, is called the jahiliyyah (the time of ignorance) by Muslims (Armstrong, 1994: 134). The characteristics of the Quraish tribe were harsh and tough; it is due to their origin as the descendant of a nomadic tribe. The Quraish settlement was just happened for two generations. As they settled, trading was their main way of making a living since the barren desert of Mecca was uneasy to be cultivated.

Only two generations earlier, the Quraisyh had lived a harsh nomadic life in the Arabian steppes, like the other Bedouin tribes: each day had required a grim struggle for survival. During the last years of the sixth century, however, they had become extremely successful in trade and made Mecca the most important settlement in Arabia (Armstrong, 1994: 132).

As Muhammad spread Islam among the Quraish, many rejected his teaching. Ironically, not a few people converted after hearing the recitation of the

Koran and fascinated by the recitation of the words of Allah (Armstrong, 1994:

145). For the first three years of his prophecy, Muhammad did not seem to emphasize the monotheistic idea of his teaching. Therefore people imagined they could worship the traditional deities beside Allah (Armstrong, 1994: 146-147). At the time, there were 360 pagan idols were worshipped in Mecca. Three local goddesses worshipped the most in Mecca were al-Lat (the Goddess), al-Uzza (the

Mighty One), and Manat (the Fateful One). They were often called banat al-Lah

(the Daughter of Gods). Upon these three idols, there came a revelation which rejects, even not considering them worth worshipped. The revelation received by

Muhammad stated that the position of Allah is the highest and He is the one and only God should be worshipped (Armstrong 1994, 147-148). The revelation is the

Surah 53 An-Najm (The Star) which was revealed at Mecca, consists of 62 verses.

19. Have ye thought upon Al-Lat and Al-Uzza 20. And Manat, the third, the other? 21. Are yours the males and His the females? 22. That indeed were an unfair division! 23. They are but names which ye have named, ye and your fathers, for which Allah hath revealed no warrant. They follow but a guess and that which (they) themselves desire. And now the guidance from their Lord hath come unto them (Pickthall, 1996: 377).

In al-Wāqidī and al-Tabarī's recension of Muhammad Ibn Ishaq's biography of Prophet Muhammad, the Sirat Rasul Allah, which is believed to have been written 120-130 years after Muhammad's death, the earlier version of the Surah An-Najm was not like what we find in nowadays Koran. According to the biography, after the verses 19 and 20, Satan tempted Muhammad to utter the added verses which acknowledged the existence of the three goddesses, al-Lat, al-

Uzza, and Manat: “These are the exalted Gharaniq, whose intercession is hoped for” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_Verses). Later, Muhammad realized the mistake. He expunged the verses and changed it into the verses which are known nowadays (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_Verses). But not all Muslim scholars agree on the matter. They consider it was impossible for Muhammad to commit such mistake since he was known for his strict loyalty to monotheism idea. Furthermore, only a few sources about Muhammad’s life stated about the incident. Even Bukhari, who is agreed as the most complete source for

Muhammad’s life did not mention the incident in his compilation (Armstrong,

1998: 110-111). Therefore the satanic verses incident is still a controversy until now (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_Verses).

Separated from the satanic verses incident, the revelation of Surah 53: An-

Najm showed that Muhammad absolutely refused to compromise with idolatry.

Any shirks (idolatry) are considered as the greatest sin in Islam (Armstrong, 1994:

148-149). Threats upon the teaching of Islam after the revelation were greater than before. The Quraish, under the leadership of Abu Jahl, persisted by his successor

Abu Sufyan, continued their reign of terror to Muhammad and his followers

(Armstrong, 2001: 134-142). Abu Jahl decreed that Muhammad’s clan, banu

Hashim should be banned and consequently slaves and freedmen were treated improperly.

The slaves and freedmen who had no tribal protection were persecuted so severely that some died under the treatment, and Muhammad’s own clan of Hashim were boycotted in an attempt to starve them into submission . . . (Armstrong, 1994: 152).

About two years after being declared, the boycott was finished in 619 CE.

But Muhammad and Islam followers still received improper treatment from the

Quraishi. Fortunately, under the protection of his uncle Abu Talib, none of the

Quraish could harm Muhammad. But after Abu Thalib died in the same year, the new ruler of banu Hashim could not protect Muhammad as Abu Talib did. In the time of crisis, the pagan Arabs of the northern settlement of Yathrib invited the

Muslims to leave their clan and emigrate there (Armstrong, 1994: 153). Yathrib is the name of Arabian city Medina in pre-Islamic times placed over 4oo kilometers away from Mecca across the Arabian deserts. It is called Medina after Muhammad settled there. Its name came from the words Madīnat al Nabī, means “the City of the Prophet” (Esposito, 1995: 92). Unlike Mecca which was a desert and trusted its life on trade, Yathrib was a fertile, agricultural settlement.

Yathrib was not yet a city like Mecca. It was an oasis, a fertile island of about twenty square miles which was surrounded by volcanic hills, rocks and uncultivable stony ground. It was not a commercial centre but an agricultural settlement in which the various tribal groups lived cheek by jowl in a state of deadly hostility in their hamlets and farms (Armstrong, 2001: 142-143).

Hence during the summer of 622 CE, about seventy Muslims and their families set off for Yathrib (Armstrong, 1994: 154). The journey is a crucial event for

Muslims. It is called the hijra, meaning ‘departure’. The year of the journey, 622

CE denotes the first year of the Muslim calendar, also called the Hijri calendar

(Ahmed, 2001: 18). The calendar is determined by the cycle of the moon. Islamic lunar calendar contains 354 days and varies annually by ten or eleven days from the Christian sonar calendar. Each month consists of 29 to 30 days. Unlike the

Christian sonar calendar which started the new day at midnight, Islamic lunar calendar starts in the evening as the moon appears (Ahmed, 2001: 39).

Muhammad had his first chance of revisiting Mecca in 629 CE in Muslim’s first

Hajj pilgrimage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad).

5. Muhammad’s Enemies and Companions

Either in Mecca or Medina, Muhammad was not alone in spreading his teaching. He was supported by several companions. The first and foremost companion was, of course, Khadijah who left him in a grief when she died in 619

C.E. Muhammad’s later marriages also gave him supportive wives. Among them, one wife whose name often mentioned was Aishah. She was the most beloved wife after Khadijah, also the youngest amongst them (Armstrong, 2004: 423).

Other companions of Muhammad besides his wives were some men who attracted to his teaching and trusted by Muhammad. Hamza, the son of Abdul

Muttalib, therefore Muhammad’s uncle (Gibb and Kramers, 1965: 131) was one of Muhammad’s companions. Hamza was the same age as Muhammad

(Armstrong, 2004: 109). Hamza was a fearless soldier that he was entitled “the

Lion of God and his Prophet” (Gibb and Kramers, 1965: 131). Hamza was killed

in the Battle of Uhud by an Ethiopian warrior named Wahshi and his internal parts of body were eaten by Hind bint Utbah as the revenge for his killing her relatives in the Battle of Badr.

Hind cut open Hamza's abdomen, plucked out his liver and chewed it up. Muhammad bin Umar Waqidi, the historian, says that she made a fire in the battlefield, roasted Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib's heart and liver and ate them. Not satisfied with this, she cut the limbs, the ears and the nose of Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib, strung them into a "necklace," and entered Mecca wearing it as a "trophy" of victory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamza_ibn_Abd_al-Muttalib).

Another companion denoted is Bilal. Bilal ibn Rabah was a slave of

Abyssinian origin. Bilal was attracted to Muhammad’s teaching that the enemies of Islam persecuted him, but he still kept his faith on Islam. Abu Bakr, who by chance saw him was tortured by his former master Umayya bin Khalaf, freed him.

Umayya would strip Bilal of all clothes, make him lie on the burning sand at mid-day and then lash him mercilessly. Despite this torture Bilal would go on saying, "Wahid! Wahdid! Allah is one! Allah is one!" One day Abu Bakr passed by and was greatly moved by the sight. "Why are you so cruel to this helpless man?" he asked `Umayya. "If you feel for him, why don't you buy him?" retored `Umayya. So Abu Bakr at once bought Bilal at a heavy price and set him free (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Bakr).

By the time of the hijra to Medina, Bilal was among the people who followed Muhammad. In Medina, Bilal was chosen as and became the first muezzin (the caller to prayer) in Islamic history (Gibb and Kramers, 1965: 62).

Bilal is described as tall and gaunt with a stooping gait; his complexion was dark, his face thin and his hair strongly tinged with gray (Gibb and Kramers, 1965: 63).

A companion who met Muhammad in Medina was Salman al-Farsi

(Salman the Persian). Formerly a Christian, he went from Persia to Arabia to find the last Prophet whose coming had been predicted to him by his last teacher on his

deathbed (Gibb and Kramers, 1965: 500). Tricked by the Bedouins who guided him in the desert, he was sold as a slave to Medina. There, he met Muhammad who paid the ransom to his Jewish master to free him. Salman then converted and became a loyal companion of Muhammad (Gibb and Kramers, 1965: 500).

Salman was the one that came with the idea to dig the moat in the Battle of the

Trench which was regarded as a cheap trick by the Quraish and did not mirror

Arabian’s characteristic.

On 31 March 627 the Quraysh arrived with their army and stared nonplussed at the deep trench… In a way that is almost comical, Salman’s trench effectively stymied the whole massive offensive and the Qurayshi leaders simply did not know how to deal with it… In any case, the Quraysh despised manual labour and clearly considered the trench to be in the worst possible taste: it was unsupporting, unArab and contradicted all the conventions chivalric warfare (Armstrong, 2001: 203-204).

Not all the companions of Muhammad were the straight embracer of

Islam. Some of them were Muhammad’s enemies who submitted. For example was Khalid, son of al-Walid, the chief of banu Makhzum, a clan which specialized in warfare. Banu Makhzum was known for its reputation as a clan whose members were among the best horsemen in Arabia. Khalid learned how to ride horses and use any kinds of weapons from his childhood

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_ibn_al-Walid). He was the famous general of

Muhammad’s army. At first, he fought against Muhammad and defeated the

Muslim army. Later on, the Prophet married Maimunah, who was an aunt to

Khalid. Soon afterwards, Khalid embraced Islam and became one of its most powerful champions. He destroyed the temple of Uzza at Nakhlah before the

Battle of Hunain (Armstrong, 2001: 433-434) and was present as one of the chief

leaders of the Muslim army at some battles and expeditions which resulted many victories (http://answering-islam.org/Books/Hughes/k.htm).

Another enemy of Muhammad was Abu Sufyan. Abu Sufyan ibn Harb was married to Hind bint Utbah and had one child, Muawiyah I. Meanwhile, he also had a daughter from his kinswoman Saffya bint abi al-A'as, named Ramlah who later became one of Muhammad’s wives

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Sufyan). Abu Sufyan was one of the most powerful and well respected men in Mecca. He saw Muhammad as a threat to

Mecca's social order and a blasphemer of the Quraish gods

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Sufyan). In several battles, other leaders of

Quraish tribe were all killed; left Abu Sufyan as the only leader of Mecca. In 630

CE, Muhammad’s army defeated Mecca. After the conquest, Abu Sufyan adopted

Islam. When asked by Muhammad, he admitted that Meccan gods had proved powerless and that there were indeed "no god but God", the first part of the

Islamic confession of faith. When asked about the second part, the prophethood of

Muhammad, Abu Sufyan still hesitated but then submitted. In turn, Muhammad announced Abu Sufyan's house as a sanctuary where people who sought for protection would be spared there (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Sufyan).

Meanwhile, Abu Sufyan’s wife, Hind bint Utbah was also recorded as one of Muhammad’s enemies who later yielded. Hind and her family controlled the temple of Al-Lat at Taif. Hind, lost her father Utba ibd Rabi’a and two brothers at the Battle of Badr, had vowed to eat the liver of Hamza, who had killed her father in a single combat (Armstrong, 2001: 188). At the Battle of Uhud, Hind and other

Quraish women encouraged the Meccan army by walking behind them, beating tambourines and singing:

If you advance we hug you Spread soft rugs beneath you If you retreat we leave you leave and no more love you (Armstrong, 2001: 188).

Also in the battle, Hamza was killed. His stomach was slit then and Hind, who fulfilled her vow, chewed a morsel of his liver. Next, she pioneered the women to mutilate Hamza and other martyrs’ parts of dead bodies and made them as their body ornaments (Armstrong, 2001: 188). But afterwards, when Mecca had been defeated by Muhammad’s army, Hind came to and asked Muhammad for forgiveness and submitted to Islam. The Prophet Muhammad forgave her and set her free (Armstrong, 2004: 430-431).

One of Muhammad’s enemies was Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf, a Jewish poet of banu Nadir in Medina. He went to Mecca and encouraged the Quraishi to battle against Muhammad with his poetry. His poetry showed clearly that not all the people of Medina agreed with Muhammad’s teaching. In Arabia, poetry was central to its political life that could arouse the Quraishi spirit of battle

(Armstrong, 2001: 182-183). Several months later, Ka’b returned to Medina and made other defamatory verses. He wrote erotic poetry about Muslim women, which Muhammad and his followers found offensive

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka%27b_ibn_al-Ashraf). For that reason,

Muhammad had him assassinated (Armstrong, 2001: 185).

D. Theoretical Framework

The first problem in this paper that is to find out how the religion in reference to Islam is covered in The Satanic Verses will be analyzed by the help of the theories of plot, character and characterization, and setting added by an assessment of the relation between literature and society as well as a review on

Islam and its society circa the life of the Prophet Muhammad. The theory of plot will help in exploring the events happen in the story especially in its subplots which are considered to be the reference of the real Islamic condition. Next the theory of character and characterization is helping to explore the imitable traits of the personalities in the novel. The theory of setting then is added in finding out the background which place and time and how the society in the story is depicted.

The review on the relation between literature and society will help to comprehend the society in the novel including the people and their customs, conventions, beliefs and values, institutions (legal, religious, and cultural), also the physical environment. Last but not least, the review on Islam and its society circa the life of the prophet Muhammad of course has the importance to the thesis.

The review is used in accordance to the novel, therefore the part of the novel which takes particular depiction of the religion will be found out. By using these theories and reviews, however, expectantly the writer will uncover the insufficiency of reality in the novel.

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

This paper is concentrated on Salman Rushdie’s literary work The Satanic

Verses. The first original copy of The Satanic Verses was published by Viking

Books in United Kingdom in September 1988 and consisted of 546 pages

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Verses_%28novel%29). However, this paper is analyzing The Satanic Verses which was published in 1998 by Vintage.

The Satanic Verses received the Whitbread Prize for the best novel and

Germany’s Author of the Year Award in 1989 (Rushdie, 1998: i).

The publication of The Satanic Verses caused immediate controversy in

Islamic world. On February 14, 1989, a fatwa promising his execution was proclaimed on Radio Tehran by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian leader, calling his book "blasphemous against Islam"

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman_Rushdie). Khomeini condemned Rushdie for the crime of apostasy, which according to the hadith is punishable by death

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Verses_%28novel%29). Khomeini called on all zealous Muslims to execute the writer, as well as those of the book’s publishers who knew about the concepts of the book.

(http://en.www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman_Rushdie).

In the real life, the words ‘Satanic Verses’ is actually a term refers to several verses which are -- to some people -- believed as a part of the earlier

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version of Surah 53: An-Najm (The Star) in the Koran and later erased. The verses were about the Prophet Muhammad’s approval of Mecca's pagan goddesses Allāt, al-'Uzzā, and Manāt as the daughters of Allah. Muhammad then realized the verses were delivered not by God’s messenger but by Satan. Therefore the verses were satanic. This was written in al-Wāqidī and al-Tabarī's recension of Ibn

Ishaq's biography of Prophet Muhammad, the Sirat Rasul Allah. Almost all

Muslim scholars have rejected the story as it is historically impossible and contrary to Muhammad's loyalty on the idea of monotheism

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_Verses). Later, Salman Rushdie brought the

Satanic Verses incident up into his novel to make the forgotten matter arouse in such a controversial manner.

This thesis does not analyze the main subplot of the novel. Alternatively, the analysis is focused on two subplots in The Satanic Verses which depict the life of Mahound and his religion Submission at the beginning and the last period of his prophethood. As one of two main characters in the novel, Gibreel Farishta, a leading Indian actor, developed himself to be a schizophrenic after survived from a blown up plane, he dreamt the life of Mahound. Mahound was a prophet of a religion called Submission, who lived in the city of Jahilia among pagan-follower tribe called Shark. Submission encountered strong refusal from Abu Simbel, the ruler of Jahilia and Hind, his amazingly beautiful wife. Once, Mahound recited the satanic verses which forced him to flee to Yathrib. After gaining many followers in Yathrib several years later, Mahound returned to Jahilia and conquered almost all Jahilians. Ultimately he died as the result of Hind’s revenge. 34

B. Approach of the Study

According to Reading and Writing about Literature (1971) written by

Mary Rohrberger and Samuel H. Woods, Jr., one of the ways in analyzing a literary work, other than using formalist, biographical, mythopoeia, and psychological approach, is by using an approach which referring it to the society where it is produced that is well known as the sociocultural-historical approach

(Rohrberger and Woods, Jr., 1971: 9).

This thesis is using the sociocultural-historical approach since this thesis discusses the novel The Satanic Verses and its reference and relevance with Islam.

The traditional historical approach to literature usually takes as its basis some aspect of the sociocultural frame of reference, combining it with an interest in the biographical as well as a knowledge of and interest in literary history (Rohrberger and Woods, Jr., 1971: 9).

The quotation above mentions that as one of the typical traditional historical approaches, this approach is in reference with some characteristic of the sociocultural structure with the combination of biography and some comprehension of history in literature.

Critics of this approach define the society, or in their word: ‘civilization’, as the attitudes and actions of a specific group of people and prove that literature takes these attitudes and actions as its subject matter (Rohrberger and Woods, Jr.,

1971: 9). Consequently, it is necessary to examine the social environment in which a work was created and which it reflects. The idea of this approach, of course, cannot be rejected since a literary work is not created within a vacuum and it embodies ideas significant to the culture that produced it (Rohrberger and

Woods, Jr., 1971: 9). In other words, we cannot fully understand some particular 35

literary works without knowing its reference on society along with its attitudes as well as actions.

It is suggested also that such judgment which recognizes literature merely as a historical document and illuminates the past only without relevance to contemporary life should be avoided (Rohrberger and Woods, Jr., 1971: 10-11).

C. Method of the Study

This paper uses the library research. Therefore sources from books were taken as well as from the internet. Some books and several sites from the internet are discussed in analyzing the paper.

The sources of the study are Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses (1998) as the primary source and some other books such as Blasphemy: Verbal Offense against the Sacred, from Moses to Salman Rushdie (1993) by Leonard W. Levy,

Islam Today: A Short Introduction to the Muslim World (2001) by Akbar S.

Ahmed, Reading and Writing about Literature written by Mary Rohrberger and

Samuel H. Woods, Jr. (1971), A Handbook to Literature: Fifth Edition authored by Hugh Holman and William Harmon (1986), and Karen Armstrong’s

Muhammad: Biography of the Prophet (2001). Websites such as www.wikipedia.org and www.answering-islam.org are also discussed in finding the data on the study.

In doing the analysis, there were several steps taken. First, the book to analyze was read extensively to attain deeper understanding. Then some additional data were taken from some books as well as the internet sites. The data 36

were including some theories, approaches, criticism and information needed about the novel, and the review on Islam. After the additional data were collected, then the analysis on the portrayal of the religion similar to Islam in the novel and how it is insufficient from the reality was taken.

The first step of analyzing the novel was to survey the plot, particularly two subplots of the novel which depict the life of the fictional prophet. The two subplots which depict the beginning and the last period of the fictional prophet’s prophethood were analyzed individually. Afterwards, the examination of the setting was performed. This is done by exploring the physical condition of the place, the society and their religious life, and the political life in which the fictional prophet lived. The third stage of the analysis was to investigate the character of the fictional prophet as well as the characters around him.

After the plot, setting, and characters in the novel were explored, the next step performed was to discover the insufficiency of reality by seeing the differences found within these elements with the real values in Islam. The two subplots of the novel as well as the setting and characters within it were compared and contrasted with the history of Islam. The similarities found showed that the novel was in reference with Islam, meanwhile the differences were the evidence that the novel lacked of relevancy hence reality was insufficient the novel. To sum up the analysis, the last step to be done was to draw conclusion of the study.

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

The Satanic Verses is a novel in nine chapters whose story is generally depicting about two main characters who fell down from their blown hijacked plane Bostan. They, Saladin Chamcha and Gibreel Farishta finally survived. After the accident, Chamcha turned into a goat-like creature while Farishta developed a schizophrenia which made him unable to tell whether he was in a sleeping or awakening condition. While Farishta was asleep, he dreamt about the life of

Mahound, a Prophet of a religion named Submission and his surroundings. The dream is portrayed in the second (Mahound) and the sixth chapter (Return to

Jahilia) of the novel. The second chapter, Mahound, particularly portrays the beginning of his prophethood and the problem he faced in spreading his new religion among people in the city he lived until he fled to his neighboring city called Yathrib. Meanwhile, the sixth chapter, Return to Jahilia, tells the story while Mahound had gained many followers in Yathrib and returned to Jahilia, his homeland to destroy all pagan idols remained. This chapter shows how the enemies and companions of Mahound faced dilemma of the news on his arrival.

Also in this chapter, Mahound finally died along with the end of Farishta’s pathological dream. Referred to what has been mentioned in Chapter III of this thesis, this chapter will only analyze what are consisted in the character Gibreel

Farishta’s dreams during the stage of his mental illness. Therefore, this thesis is

37 38

focused mainly on the two chapters although it is not impossible to find any supporting details from other chapters.

A. The Portrayal of Submission in The Satanic Verses as Seen in Its Plot,

Settings, and Characters

1. The Plot in The Satanic Verses

In general, the plot of The Satanic Verses is a dramatic plot because the arrangement of the plot consists of exposition, raveling or complication, climax, and dénouement. The main plot of the novel shows that each character faces dilemma in their life and manages to reconcile. The novel consists of several second degree subplots. Second degree subplot, as suggested in the review of the theory of plot, is less relevant to the main story but still significant to the main plot. There are two subplots from the novel which are worth analyzed in this thesis. The two subplots are worth analyzed because these subplots consist of the story of a fictional prophet Mahound which is depicted in one of the main characters’s dream. Each subplot is particularly separated chapter of the novel; namely chapter two and chapter six. Chapter two, Mahound, depicts the beginning of Mahound’s prophethood and chapter six, Return to Jahilia, employs the last period of Mahound’s prophethood. Therefore, these two chapters will be analyzed individually. Within the main plot, these subplots are also dramatic plots because they also have their own exposition, raveling or complication, climax, and dénouement.

a. Chapter 2: The Beginning of Mahound’s Prophethood

The subplot started with the introduction of its central character, Mahound who climbed Cone Mountain to its cave in the area of a city called Jahilia. While he climbed up the mountain, the city was celebrating an anniversary; the great fair of the feast of Ibrahim. The climax of the fair was a poetry competition where the winning poetry would be nailed on the wall of the House of the Black Stone.

The complication in the subplot is started while Abu Simbel, the Grandee of Jahilia forced Baal the poet to blackmail Mahound and his followers with defamatory verses about Submission, Mahound’s religion. Other than that, Abu

Simbel also asked Mahound for Allah’s approval to concede Lat, Uzza, and

Manat: three well beloved goddesses in Jahilia. As the return of the offer, Abu

Simbel promised Mahound that the city of Jahilia would tolerate him and

Submission. Furthermore, Abu Simbel also proposed a tempting offer that

Mahound would be elected as a council of Jahilia. Mahound’s disciples, who witnessed that he was lured by the temptation, were disappointed. Mahound’s uncle, Hamza, suggested Mahound to climb the Cone Mountain to seek for a revelation about the problem.

The revelation received by Mahound convinced him that he should pronounce the verses which acknowledge the three goddesses were worth worshipped. The recital of the verses in Jahilia’s poetry contest aroused various reactions; merriment for the Jahilians, and grief for the faithful. Soon the merriment became an uncontrollable situation. Riots were everywhere; Hind’s brothers were killed. Meanwhile, Hind declared an everlasting battle towards

Mahound and Submission. Mahound realized that the verses he had stated were satanic. Therefore he renounced them. To make it easier, the writer will assume the event from Abu Simbel’s offer until the repudiation of the false verses as the

Satanic verses incident. After renouncing the verses, Mahound went home to see his old wife died. Abu Simbel, later, declared that all the followers of submission should be alienated from Jahilia and limited from their daily activity. Even worse, the faithful were physically assaulted. This is the climax of the subplot.

The name of the new religion is Submission; now Abu Simbel decrees that its adherents must submit to being sequestered in the most wretched, hovel-filled quarter of the city; to a curfew; to a ban on employment. And there are many physical assaults, women spat upon in shops, the manhandling of the faithful by the gangs of young turks whom the Grandee secretly controls, fire thrown at night through a window to land amongst unwary sleepers (Rushdie, 1998: 125).

Ironically, the number of the faithful increased in such time.

As the dénouement, there came an offer from the citizen of Yathrib to

Mahound. Yathrib was an oasis settlement whose citizen would receive the faithful if they were willing to leave Jahilia. Based on Hamza’s suggestion,

Mahound agreed to move to Yathrib, followed by the faithful.

…the faithful escaping Jahilia, leaving the city of aridity for the place of cool palms and water, water, water. In small groups, almost empty-handed, they move across the empire of the sun, on this first day of the first year at the new beginning of Time, which has itself been born again, as the old dies behind them and the new waits ahead (Rushdie, 1998: 126).

b. Chapter 6: The Last Period of Mahound’s Prophethood

This chapter depicts the time when Mahound had gained many followers and victories over Jahilia after his escape for twenty-five years. The homecoming

of Mahound frightened his old enemies in Jahilia. The introduction of the plot shows that the characters, except for Hind, as well as Jahilia had become older after 25 years. The beginning of the introduction presents Baal, physically degraded, who saw the sign that Mahound would return to Jahilia.

The complication of this subplot presents that the people who had significant impact, whether good or bad, towards Mahound and Submission raised

Mahound’s anger through their profanity. Particularly, Mahound sought Salman the Persian and Baal the poet to be punished. Salman was wanted for his blasphemy of miswriting the verses of the revelations, while Baal was searched due to old revenge. Baal managed to escape and lived in a brothel and shifted himself to be a pseudo-Mahound where he became the husband of twelve whores of the brothel as Mahound did to his twelve wives.

Consequently, Mahound’s success of defeating his enemies as well as the pagan idols becomes the revelation of the subplot. The Grandee of Jahilia, the people of Jahilia, Hind, and Salman the Persian were finally spared by Mahound.

While Baal, due to his big mistake of mocking and dishonoring Submission as well as Mahound’s household, was given a death punishment by Mahound.

The dénouement of this subplot is quite an irony. Instead of enjoying his absolute victory over Jahilia, Mahound had to die because of sorcery. It was Hind who pretended to submit to the religion and later retreated herself to defeat

Mahound. The death of Mahound was grieved by all the faithful but Ayesha, his most beloved wife. Ayesha stated that even though Mahound died, God’s always alive; and therefore God was bigger than Mahound.

2. The Setting

The setting of time of the subplots about the life of Mahound is not stated in the novel. However, the subplots mainly take place in a city named Jahilia. The area of Jahilia is all deserts. “The city of Jahilia is built entirely of sand, its structures formed of the desert whence it rises” (Rushdie, 1998: 93). Jahilia is also described as an extremely arid and infertile area that hardly vegetation grows in the city.

It never rains in Jahilia; there are no fountains in the silicon gardens. A few palms stand in enclosed courtyards, their roots traveling far and wide below the earth in search of moisture. The city’s water comes from underground streams and springs (Rushdie, 1998: 94).

In Jahilia also, water becomes the most important material but dangerous as well since the droppings of water in Jahilia may cause a disaster towards the city.

Water is the enemy in Jahilia. Carried in earthen pots, it must never be spilled (the penal code deals fiercely with offenders), for where it drops the city erodes alarmingly. Holes appear in roads, houses tilt and sway (Rushdie, 1998: 94).

Geographically, Jahilia is placed in the Hijaz. Still in the same area, there was a mountain nearby. The name of the mountain is Cone Mountain or Mount

Cone; alternatively, this mountain is also called the Coney. There is a cave in the mountain; it is the cave which Mahound usually used to retreat himself from the people of Jahilia.

The inhabitants of Jahilia are called the Shark tribe. The tribe is a descendant of nomadic tribe. At the time when Mahound lived, the tribe just lived their settled life in about three or four generations. ”These people are a mere three or four generations removed from their nomadic past, when they were as rootless

as the dunes, or rather rooted in the knowledge that the journeying itself was home” (Rushdie, 1998: 94). The Jahilian’s main way of living is by trading; since farming is something which is almost impossible in such area as Jahilia.

The religious life of the Shark tribe is quite significant in the subplots.

Contrary to Mahound’s teaching which only believes to one God, the Jahilians worship many deities. There is a building called the House of the Black Stone which holds the Black Stone. In Jahilia’s history, the stone was found by Adam and its original color was white.

Adam came here and saw a miracle: four emerald pillars bearing aloft a giant glowing ruby, and beneath this canopy a huge white stone, also glowing with its own light, like a vision of his soul. He built strong walls around the vision to bind it forever to the earth. This was the first house. It was rebuilt many times – once by Ibrahim, after Hagar’s and Ismail’s angel-assisted survival – and gradually the countless touchings of the white stone by the pilgrims of the centuries darkened its colour to black (Rushdie, 1998: 99).

This House of the Black Stone, which is known as the place to worship God, shifted its function in the era when Mahound lives. “By the time of Mahound, three hundred and sixty stone gods clustered around God’s own stone” (Rushdie,

1998: 99). Meanwhile, God or Allah is only considered as one of the gods who is acknowledged but “isn’t very popular” among the people of Jahilia (Rushdie,

1998: 99). Ironically, the most popular deities in Jahilia were three local goddesses; Lat, Manat, and Uzza. Among the three, Al-Lat is the highest and considered equal to as well as the opponent of Allah.

Jahilia is led by several rulers. The highest ruler of Jahilia is Karim Abu

Simbel; who was entitled the Grandee of Jahilia. As the greatest ruler of the city,

Abu Simbel is the wealthiest, yet the most powerful person in Jahilia. The

dwelling places in Jahilia are build in a cluster; a pile of rough circles with the

House of the Black Stone as the center of the circles. The nearer a house to the

House of the Black Stone, the higher status the inhabitant has and vice versa. The

Grandee of Jahilia of course, lived in the innermost circle:

Jahilia has been build in a series of rough circles, its houses spreading outwards from the House of the Black Stone, approximately in order of wealth and rank. Abu Simbel’s palace is in the first circle, the innermost ring; . . . (Rushdie, 1998: 96).

Twenty five years after Mahound left Jahilia, it is described that Jahilia changed. The sand of the city became solid and Jahilia no longer had special features which are worth for living.

The city of Jahilia was no longer built of sand. That is to say, the passage of the years, the sorcery of the desert winds, the petrifying moon, the forgetfulness of the people and the inevitability of progress had hardened the town, so that it had lost its old, shifting, provisional quality of a mirage in which men could live, and become a prosaic place, quotidian and (like its poets) poor. Mahound’s arm had grown long; his power had encircled Jahilia, cutting off its life-blood, its pilgrims and caravans. The fairs of Jahilia, these days, were pitiful to behold (Rushdie, 1998: 359-360).

The condition was due to the fact that the city had lost to Mahound. Mahound’s army had defeated Jahilia and the people of Jahilia suffered from a great loss.

3. The Characters in the Novel a. Mahound

Mahound is the central character in the subplots. The first time stated in chapter two, Mahound was not introduced as a Prophet but a businessman. The depiction of Mahound in Gibreel Farishta’s dream is started with a short family line of Mahound the businessman from his grandfather. “Muttalib of the scarlet

tents, father of the child with the silver hair who fathered, in turn, the businessman” (Rushdie, 1998: 92). His name, Mahound, has the meaning “he-for- whom-thanks-should-be-given” (Rushdie, 1998: 93). From the description in the novel, it can be concluded that physically, Mahound is an attractive man who is also a deep thinker, cautious as a nature of an orphan, sensitive, and humble in appearance.

The businessman: looks as he should, high forehead, eaglenose, broad in the shoulders, narrow in the hip. Average height, brooding, dressed in two pieces of plain cloth, each four ells in length, one draped around his body, the other over his shoulder. Large eyes; long lashes like a girl’s. His strides can seem too long for his legs, but he’s a light-footed man. Orphans learn to be moving targets, develop a rapid walk, quick reactions, hold- your-tongue caution (Rushdie: 1998: 93).

Although he is a businessman, Mahound’s traits are somewhat different from any usual businessmen in Jahilia. He has particular manner which denotes him out of the ordinary people. Mahound did not fancy luxurious life like other

Jahilian businessmen. At his forty-fourth birthday, instead of having a glamorous birthday party, wearing new birthday suit, or joining the pilgrims in the crowded, great festival of the feast of Ibrahim which was held in Jahilia, Mahound preferred to climb up Cone Mountain and retreated himself in a cave within the Mountain alone.

He’s coming: making his way up Cone Mountain to the cave. Happy Birthday: he’s forty-four today. But though the city behind and below him throngs with festival, up he climbs, alone. No new birthday suit for him, neatly pressed and folded at the foot of his bed. A man of ascetic tastes. (What strange manner of businessman is this?) (Rushdie, 1998: 92).

Mahound is not a party person. Rather than joining the crowd, he preferred to retreat himself alone. His choice was Cone Mountain. He often went to this

mountain to make himself secluded from others. Sometimes he stayed in the cave of the mountain until a month. So often he went there, the people of Jahilia nicknamed him “he-who-goes-up-and-down-old-Coney” (Rushdie, 1998: 93).

Mahound’s beginning of prophethood was started in this mountain that he Met

Gibreel and received his first revelation here.

Although Mahound is a chosen man who is burdened by the prophetic duty, he was not a man without fear. However, Mahound did not show his fear to any people; only his 70 years old wife had witnessed his fright. There was a time in the novel which depicted Mahound’s fear. That was Mahound’s very first time of meeting the archangel Gibreel. At the time, he had a tremendous fear that he thought he was a crazy person. His thought of craziness also shows that Mahound was an innocent man because he did not realize that he was a special person who was chosen to be God’s Messenger.

...and then a panic begins, O God, he cries out, O allgood allahgod, I’ve had my bloody chips, me. Got bugs in the brain, full mad, a looney tune and a gone baboon. Just as he, the businessman, felt when he first saw the archangel: thought he was cracked, wanted to throw himself down from a rock, from a high rock, from a rock of which there grew a stunted lote-tree, a rock as high as the roof of the world (Rushdie, 1998: 92).

Other than laughing at him, Mahound’s much older wife believed in him and said to Mahound that his experience was an event which denoted that Mahound was a chosen prophet.

When he thought himself crazy she was the one who believed in his visions. ‘It is the archangel,’ she told him, ‘not some fog out of your head. It is Gibreel, and you are the Messenger of God (Rushdie, 1998: 118).

At the beginning of his prophethood, Mahound’s faith on his religion was not steady yet. Mahound was easily persuaded to do terrible change towards the

religion. The persuasion was performed by Karim Abu Simbel, the Grandee of

Jahilia. He asked Mahound’s approval to “concede” (Rushdie, 1998: 105) the existence of Lat, Uzza, and Manat. They are Jahilian’s most beloved deities. In return, Mahound was guaranteed that his religion would be tolerated and he would be given a position in the council of Jahilia.

‘He asks for Allah’s approval of Lat, Uzza, and Manat. In return, he gives his guarantee that we will be tolerated, even officially recognized; as a mark of which, I am to be elected to the council of Jahilia. That’s the offer’ (Rushdie, 1998: 105).

Mahound’s disciples, consequently, disagreed the offer strongly. They considered the offer was just a trap from Abu Simbel which was aimed at destroying

Mahound and the religion, Submission.

Salman shakes his head. ‘This is being done to destroy you.’ And Bilal adds: ‘God cannot be four.’ And Khalid, close to tears: ‘Messenger, what are you saying? Lat, Manat, Uzza – they’re all females! For pity’s sake! Are we to have goddesses now? Those old cranes, herons, hags?’ (Rushdie, 1998: 107).

As the result of the offer and the disciples’ rejection, Mahound underwent a great confusion. His concentration was split whether to concede or to reject the approval of the three goddesses. Apparently, for Mahound, acknowledging the three goddesses by giving them lesser status than God was the best solution he could think of. Because, by doing so, Mahound said to his disciples, it would be easier for the people of Jahilia to accept Submission (Rushdie, 1998: 105-107).

Mahound then climbed Mount Cone to ask the Archangel Gibreel’s revelation about the matter. In fact, what Mahound told to his disciples was not the only reason why Mahound decided to acknowledge the three goddesses. At the mountain, Mahound’s unsteadiness was shown even more. He admitted that he

was also tempted with the offer of a seat in Jahilian council. Not only tempted by authoritative influence given by Abu Simbel and confessed that Abu Simbel was more powerful than him, the worst of all, Mahound doubted God’s idea on monotheism by trying to compromise with Lat, Uzza, and Manat. This is shown in

Mahound’s anguish to Gibreel.

He asks: is it possible that they are angels? Lat, Manat, Uzza . . . can I call them angelic? Gibreel, have you got sisters? Are these the daughters of God? And he castigates himself, O my vanity, I am an arrogant man, is this weakness, is it just a dream of power? Must I betray myself for a seat on the council? Is this sensible and wise or is it hollow and self-loving? I don’t even know if the Grandee is sincere. Does he know? Perhaps not even he. I am weak and he’s strong, the offer gives him many ways of ruining me. But I, too, have much to gain. The souls of the city, of the world, surely they are worth three angels? Is Allah so unbending that he will not embrace three more to save the human race? – I don’t know anything. – Should God be proud or humble, majestic or simple, yielding or un-? (Rushdie, 1998: 111).

Apart from his unsteadiness, Mahound still has a notable quality.

Mahound is an endurable person. After the Satanic verses incident occurred, all the terrible things seemed to happen to Mahound at once: an everlasting fight from Hind towards him and Submission, the death of his beloved older wife, the ban from Abu Simbel towards Submission and the faithful, and the physical assaults suffered by the followers of Submission. Although great sadness overflowed Mahound, he kept his sadness within himself and did not complain to other people. Mahound still also managed to lead Submission followers. It is proven that he could still make a decision for the faithful to leave Jahilia and headed for Yathrib which citizen offered a shelter for him and his followers

(Rushdie, 1998: 125-126).

Twenty-five years after his flee to Yathrib, Mahound, about sixty-five, returned to Jahilia. Mahound had grown strong and authoritative. While away, he had gained power over Jahilia. “Mahound’s arm had grown long; his power encircled Jahilia, cutting off its life-blood, its pilgrims and caravans”. Mahound also remarried more than once (Rushdie, 1998: 360).

Gradually older, Mahound became an ambitious person. His return to

Jahilia was not a mere visit. Mahound at least had four purposes of his coming.

Namely: to win over his old enemies: Abu Simbel, Baal, and Hind, to destroy all the deities in Jahilia, to conquer the people of Jahilia under Submission completely, and to find Salman the Persian who betrayed him by intentionally scribing false verses in the compilation of God’s Revelations. From the purposes, it is found out that Mahound is not an easily satisfied person. Before all the purposes done and the people of Jahilia submitted to Submission, Mahound would not take any rest.

Unlike in his early period of prophethood, Mahound at sixty-five was loyal towards Submission and its idea of monotheism. His faith had become steady and he ran everything under the religion’s rules. Mahound executed the people who were against Submission, and spared all those who submitted. One person being executed in the novel by Mahound was Baal the poet. Baal was beheaded because of his mockery could not be tolerated anymore. Not only mocking the religion,

Baal also aroused Mahound’s anger by disrespecting his household. It was

Mahound himself who sentenced the punishment in front of Baal.

‘In the old days you mock the Recitation,’ Mahound said in the hush. ‘Then, too, these people enjoyed your mockery. Now you return to

dishonour my house, and it seems that once again you succeed in bringing the worst out of the people’ (Rushdie, 1998: 392).

Although he executed Baal, Mahound showed his compassion by sparing many people who were at first against Submission but later submitted or re-submitted.

They were namely Abu Simbel, Salman the Persian, Hind, and many Jahilians.

By forgiving all those who submitted, Mahound maintained his innocence.

He forgave every person without having negative thought towards each of them.

Mahound did not know that Hind actually had committed fake submission and afterward, she had retreated from the outside world and trained herself a kind of witchcraft. Two years and two months after, Hind had gained enough power needed and sent Al-Lat to revenge upon Mahound. As the result of the sorcery,

Mahound was fallen into a fatal sickness (Rushdie, 1998: 392-393).

Nearly died because of the sickness, Mahound confirmed his compassion and faith once more. Although his soul was not withdrawn by the Angel Azraeel as he thought before, Mahound still gave his thanks to Al-Lat for the ‘gift’; for the death. This is simply because as a Prophet, Mahound had achieved a great accomplishment for Submission and he would be in the Paradise afterwards.

Ayesha, who accompanied Mahound in the room, came out to inform the other wives and disciples that Mahound had died. As they began to lament, Ayesha did not grief. Otherwise, she reminded them:

But Ayesha wiped her eyes, and said: ‘If there be any here who worshipped the Messenger, let them grieve, for Mahound is dead; but if there be any here who worship God, then let them rejoice, for He is surely alive’ (Rushdie, 1998: 393).

b. Karim Abu Simbel, the Grandee of Jahilia

As an authority of Jahilia, Abu Simbel’s figure is standing out of the average people. He has his charisma as a leader.

And, among them, one wanders whose furrowed brow sets him apart from the cheerful crowd: a tall man in loose white robes, he’d stand almost a full head higher than Mahound. His beard is shaped close to his slanting, high-boned face; his gait contains the lilt, the deadly elegance of power (Rushdie, 1998: 95-96).

For a while, Abu Simbel seemed to have anything people ever wanted: he was the leader of a city, wealthy, powerful, and had a very beautiful wife. But his fancy living was disturbed by Mahound who started to spread his idea of one God to

Jahilia’s inhabitants. Abu Simbel feared the idea of singularity while his idols were always divided. Therefore, he asked, more exactly: with force, Baal the satirist to write provocative verses about Mahound and his followers.

The water-carrier Khalid is there, and some sort of bum from Persia by the outlandish name of Salman, and to complete this trinity of scum there is the slave Bilal, the one Mahound freed, an enormous black monster, this one, with a voice to match his size. The three idlers sit on the enclosure wall. ‘That bunch of riff-raff,’ Abu Simbel says. “Those are your targets. Write about them; and their leader, too’ (Rushdie, 1998: 101).

Abu Simbel is a smart person that he did not attack Mahound physically but rather to disturb Mahound from his mental aspect. Besides striking Mahound with words which was carried out by Baal, Abu Simbel also did another attempt to defeat

Mahound by himself. Examining Mahound’s wealth and his lonely trait as an orphan, Abu Simbel made a decision to “set him a little test. A fair contest: three against one.” (Rushdie, 1998: 104). Abu Simbel commanded his eunuch to send his offer to Mahound; the offer which later put Mahound in a big trouble, the offer

of a seat in the council of Jahilia and the acknowledgement of Submission in

Jahilia if Mahound would concede the existence of Lat, Uzza, and Manat.

Abu Simbel truly had the quality of a person with manner. At the time

Mahound came to declare the verses acknowledged Lat, Uzza, and Manat in the

Jahilians gathering, Abu Simbel welcomed the arrival of Mahound whom he regarded as a kind of psychic in such an honorable behavior.

“Abu Simbel rises and calls to Mahound, ‘Welcome.’ He is all urbanity. ‘Welcome, Mahound, the seer, the kahin. ‘It’s a public declaration of respect, and it impresses the assembled crowd” (Rushdie, 1998: 113-114).

After the recital of the verses, Abu Simbel was the very first person acknowledging Allah, Mahound’s God and prostrated. Although regarding

Mahound as his enemy, Abu Simbel did not treat Mahound badly, at least not until Mahound repudiated the Satanic verses. Mahound’s repudiation of the verses made Abu Simbel showed his power over Jahilia that he issued a declaration for those who had faith in Submission to be estranged and restricted from their everyday activities until they fled to Yathrib.

After about a quarter-century after Mahound’s flight, Karim Abu Simbel was no longer as authoritative as in his golden age. He became old and wilted; not only that, he gradually lost his charisma as a leader. However, he gained more wisdom and gentleness. It was Hind, as young as ever, who took over the authority of Jahilia. When Mahound returned to Jahilia, Abu Simbel voluntarily came to see Mahound by himself to submit to the new religion. Back to his home,

Abu Simbel meekly announced from the balcony of his house that Mahound granted to do no harm to the people who came into his house. Rejected by Hind,

who stood beside him, Abu Simbel continued to tell the Jahilians that those who stayed within the house with closed door would be safe. Remained a little bit of his charisma; the now apathetic Jahilians obeyed him and ignored Hind who encouraged them to fight for Al-Lat. The graying Abu Simbel, with his wisdom, also advised Mahound to give some time for the people of Jahilia to adapt to their new attained religion.

For a time Mahound had considered telling Khalid to have all the brothels in Jahilia closed down, but Abu Simbel had advised him against so precipitate an act. ‘Jahilians are new converts,’ he pointed out. ‘Take things slowly.’ Mahound, most pragmatic of Prophets, had agreed to a period of transition (Rushdie, 1998: 381).

c. Hind

Hind is described as a pure antagonist character who is by far beautiful but tempting, slick, and dangerous. She is the enemy of the novel’s fictional Prophet,

Mahound. At first, the introduction of Hind was merely that she was the wife of the Grandee of Jahilia with an exceptional beauty who had an affair with Baal the poet. Hind’s family controlled the temple of Lat in the city’s southern gate. More than Abu Simbel and Baal, Hind was a fanatic devotee of Lat. Hind’s rejection towards Mahound’s prophethood was not obvious until he recited the verses which acknowledged Lat, Uzza, and Manat in a lesser status than Allah. After

Mahound recited the verses, he fainted on the street and rescued by Hind.

Mahound woke up for he heard and recognized Hind’s voice singing a chorus of the Jahilian women’s encouraging song of war:

Advance and we embrace you, embrace you, embrace you,

advance and we embrace you and soft carpets spread.

Turn back and we desert you, we leave you, desert you, retreat and we’ll not love you, not in love’s bed (Rushdie, 1998: 119).

In spite of accepting the acknowledgement gladly, Hind told Mahound not to do such thing. In her conversation with Mahound, she clearly stated that Mahound’s actual enemy was herself; not Baal or even the Grandee. Hind did not need

Allah’s approval upon her goddess, Al-Lat.

‘If you are for Allah, I am for Al-Lat. And she doesn’t believe your God when he recognizes her. Her opposition to him is implacable, irrevocable, engulfing. The war between us cannot end in truce. And what a truce! Yours is a patronizing, condescending lord. Al-Lat hasn’t the slightest wish to be his daughter. She is equal, as I am yours. Ask Baal: he knows her. As he knows me’ (Rushdie, 1998: 121).

Even more, she opened no reconciliation with Allah that “between Allah and the

Three there can be no peace” (Rushdie, 1998: 121). She declared a fight to

Mahound and his religion until death.

Hind is also described as a revengeful character. When she heard the news that her two brothers were killed by Hamza, Mahound’s uncle, she swore that

Hamza should pay for the murder he had performed. The furious Hind, who wore white mourning garments and loosened her long black hair pleaded that one eye should be paid by one eye too. Later on, Hamza’s action of killing her brothers was paid expensively; he was then slaughtered and his internal parts of his body were eaten by Hind in a war.

She was Hind, who had joined the Jahilian army disguised as a man, using sorcery to deflect all spears and swords, seeking out her brother’s killer

through the storm of war. Hind, who butchered the Prophet’s uncle, and ate old Hamza’s liver and his heart (Rushdie, 1998: 361).

While Jahilia’s changing and other people around her grew old, Hind in her sixty remained young as the result of her sorcery practice. As a sorcerer, she was able to cast spells to harm people upon her will. She became the authority of

Jahilia, replacing the aged Abu Simbel. As a leader of a city, Hind could be said as a bad ruler. She stacked luxurious jewelries and suits in her dwelling place. Not only was her physical appearance, her sexual desire well maintained too that she slept with all poets in the city but Baal. Meanwhile, she did not pay any attention to the criminal rating in Jahilia which increased rapidly. Although her hedonist life was harmful for Jahilia, nobody-Baal was an exception-in Jahilia could resist her charm. Hind wrote “a series of admonitory and hortatory epistles or bulls”

(Rushdie, 1998: 360-361) containing the idea on immortality to the Jahilians and placed them on each street in town. All of her actions were regarded permissible among the people of Jahilia for they had a big faith on her writings about immortality. In short, Hind was sharp; both pen and sword.

The return of Mahound to Jahilia threatened Hind. She realized that her power over the city was nearly over. One by one, including her husband, the people of Jahilia submitted to the new religion. But, Hind did not give up to the situation. She persisted upon her faith towards Al-Lat. Her headstrong trait is showed when Abu Simbel announced that Mahound made their house as a sanctuary, Hind rejected the decision and encouraged the people of Jahilia to fight in the name of Al-Lat, her deity. But nobody listened to her. Abu Simbel had a reason why she was so panicked at the return of Mahound:

‘Not many of us have as much reason to be scared of Mahound as you. If you eat a man’s favourite uncle’s innards, raw, without so much as salt or garlic, don’t be surprised if he treats you, in turn, like meat’ (Rushdie, 1998: 372).

After all the temples of the deities, including the temple of Al-Lat were destroyed and the House of the Black Stone was entirely cleaned from pagan idols, Hind knew that she lost. Slyly, Hind planned another way of defeating

Mahound. She distracted Mahound’s attention by committing fake submission in front of Mahound in a very outrageous way.

There is a distraction. A veiled woman kneels before him, kissing his feet.… Toe by toe, joint by joint, the woman licks, kisses, sucks.… Now, however, the woman is attending to the soles of his feet, cupping her hands beneath his heel . . . he kicks out, in his confusion, and catches her in the throat. She falls, coughs, then prostates herself before him, and says firmly: ‘There is no God but Al-Lah, and Mahound is his Prophet,’ (Rushdie, 1998: 374).

She was then freed from communal slaughter since Mahound had promised that

“All who Submit are spared” (Rushdie, 1998: 374).

After her submission, for a moment Hind was free from the chasing of

Mahound’s army. This shows how tricky Hind is. Beyond Mahound’s attention,

Hind retreated herself in the tower of her house and refused to meet any people.

Her aim of the retreat for two years and two months was to deepen her sorcerous power. The retreat was proved worthy. At the end of the time, Hind wore her finest clothes, prepared a huge party and invited all the people of Jahilia to come.

She was celebrating her victory over Mahound. In the meantime, nobody came to the party and instead, they grieved to know that their Prophet was seriously ill.

The illness came from Hind who sent her goddess Al-Lat to destroy Mahound. At last, Mahound died (Rushdie, 1998: 392-394).

d. Baal

In his youth, Baal, a poet, is described as an arrogant person with the sharpest tongue in Jahilia. It is strengthened by his statement that a poet’s work were “To name the unnamable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world and stop it from going to sleep” (Rushdie, 198: 97). Like the

Grandee and his wife, Baal was also a devotee of Al-Lat. In addition, Baal had an affair with the wife of the Grandee. In one of his conversation with Abu Simbel,

Baal made an ambiguous remark which could refer to both the affair and devotion. “Baal, concede: don’t I have some small claim upon you? We both serve, or so I thought, the same mistress” (Rushdie, 1998: 98).

Abu Simbel, who was aware of Hind’s affair with Baal, approached Baal and beat him. As the consequences, he asked Baal to write defamatory verses about Mahound and his followers. Although suffered from pain, the proud Baal was so surprised and put the request into a joke since he regarded that Mahound and his religion could do no harm to Jahilian deities.

Baal, for all his terror, cannot conceal his disbelief. ‘Grandee, those goons – those fucking clowns? You don’t have to worry about them. What do you think? That Mahound’s one God will bankrupt your temples? Three- sixty versus one, and the one wins? Can’t happen.’ He giggles, close to hysteria…. Giggling Baal can’t stop. ‘A revolution of water-carriers, immigrants, and slaves . . . wow, Grandee. I’m really scared’ (Rushdie, 1998: 101).

Seriously, Abu Simbel just warned Baal to do as he told; that he had to do the request and no other choice.

Baal is not as brave as he looks. Although he is arrogant and too proud of his writing skill, he was afraid of Abu Simbel’s threat. Baal fulfilled Abu

Simbel’s request to write defamatory verses about Mahound and Submission.

Fulfilling the request, Baal once wrote verses stated that Mahound had spread

Submission in the wrong place; that the idea of monotheism did not suit to the people of Jahilia.

Messenger, do please lend a careful ear. Your monophilia, your one one one, ain’t for Jahilia. Return to sender (Rushdie, 1998: 106).

As sharp as a sword, Baal’s pen created more and more verses mocking Mahound and Submission. When Mahound’s escape to Yathrib was discovered, Baal once again arranged cynical farewell poem.

What kind of idea does ‘Submission’ seem today? One full of fear. An idea that runs away (Rushdie, 1998: 126).

Being no longer young, twenty five years after Mahound’s escape to

Yathrib, Baal, now in his fifty degraded a lot. He gained weight, his eyes were blurred, he suffered from irregular pain in his chest and body, and his poetries were no longer sold that he became a poor man. Baal only wrote cheap love verses as a lack of fresh idea. His poetries were as dull as himself because he no longer had any inspiration to write.

Baal surveyed his own uselessness, his failed art. No that he had abdicated all public platforms, his verses were full of loss: of youth, beauty, love, health, innocence, purpose, energy, certainty, hope. Loss of knowledge. Loss of money. The loss of Hind (Rushdie, 1998: 370).

The condition made him feeling useless and even worse, when he came to worship Al-Lat at the House of the Black Stone, he saw that the statue of Al-Lat

dropped a single tear colored of blood; a sign that Mahound was on his way to return to Jahilia (Rushdie, 1998: 359).

Back in his home, Baal encountered an intruder within his room. The person talked about the coming of Mahound; a subject which put Baal into terror.

This flat statement filled Baal with the most profound terror. ‘What’s that got to do with me?’ he cried. ‘What does he want? It was a long time ago – a lifetime – more than a lifetime. What does he want? Are you from, are you sent by him?’ (Rushdie, 1998: 363).

The intruder calmed Baal that he was not the representative of Mahound and they both feared of Mahound. From his strange accent, Baal finally found out that the person was Salman the Persian, one of Mahound’s companions he mocked in his young age. Salman complained the authority ruled by Mahound. From Salman,

Baal learned that in Yathrib, the revelations accepted were not more than rules and that the faithful there were morally degraded.

The pathetic Baal feared that the return of Mahound was one of his plans to revenge. He faced a terrible dilemma and was angry within himself. He felt that he was harmless for Mahound since he was no longer young and sharp. He also defended that the satires he had written about Mahound and Submission were not based on his own will. In his youth, he wrote the satires under the pressure of the once most powerful person of Jahilia: Karim Abu Simbel.

Everyone knows why I wrote those satires years ago; he must know. How the Grandee threatened and bullied. I can’t be held responsible. And anyway: who is he, that prancing sneering boy-wonder, Baal of the cutting tongue? I don’t recognize him. Look at me: heavy, dull, nearsighted, soon to be deaf. Who do I threaten? Not a soul (Rushdie, 1998: 369).

Feeling unsafe, Baal looked for a protection. Being an opportunist, he knew exactly where to hide. Baal came to The Curtain, the most popular brothel

in Jahilia with labyrinthine corridors. The pimp of the brothel, the nameless

Madam of the Curtain, accepted him because of her memory of Baal’s young energy as a namable poet. When Khalid’s forces searched for him, they couldn’t find him as he was put in the fortieth room in the brothel.

…after looking inside thirty-nine stone urns and finding nothing but unguents and pickles they left, cursing heavily, never suspecting that there was a fortieth corridor down which they had never been taken, a fortieth urn inside which there hid, like a thief, the quivering, pajama-wetting poet whom they sought (Rushdie, 1998: 377).

Baal then disguised as one of the “large Circassian eunuchs, dressed after the ludicrous fashion of lamp-genies” (Rushdie, 1998: 376) in the brothel and started exercising the muscles in his body since his weakened body would undoubtedly produce any suspicions.

His hiding in The Curtain did not make Baal lacked of information. While guarding the chamber, he heard the customers of the brothel talked to the whores of what had happened in Jahilia. Baal is one kind of person who believes in intuition. When he heard the news that the temple of Al-Lat was destroyed, he believed that it was a sign that he would soon be over.

The news of the destruction of the great temple of Al-Lat at Taif … had plunged him into a deep sadness, because even in the high days of his young cynicism his love of the goddess had been genuine … Baal became convinced that Al-Lat’s fall meant that his own end was not far away (Rushdie, 1998: 378).

However, Baal was no longer afraid of death. Learned from his experiences, the dangers he had faced made him enable to taste the life’s pleasure. Started from that time, Baal stopped having faith to Al-Lat but he still rejected Mahound as a

prophet. Baal developed himself to be an atheist. Thus he continued his life in the brothel.

After a lifetime of dedicated cowardice he found to his great surprise that the effect of the approach of death really did enable him to taste the sweetness of life, and he wondered at the paradox of having his eyes opened to such a truth in that house of costly lies. And what was the truth? It was that Al-Lat was dead – had never lived – but that didn’t make Mahound a prophet. In sum, Baal had arrived at godlessness (Rushdie, 1998: 378-379).

In the brothel, Baal managed in rejecting Submission with his very own way. Due to his cleverness, Baal’s idea on the brothel’s new format made more and more men came to The Curtain. Since the whores of the brothel shared the exact numbers in the same range of age with Mahound’s wives, Baal suggested the whores to pretend to be the wives of Mahound. Although seemed dangerous, the Madam of the Curtain agreed the idea since that could make a lot of profit. It was the period of transition; the time when brothels were still permitted as the adaptation of Jahilia’s’ new attained religion, Submission. The people of Jahilia, especially men kept the news of the brothel from Mahound and his guards; they also secretly went to The Curtain concealed with masks. This morality degradation satisfied Baal because he succeeded in making the people of Jahilia put Submission behind.

…so on many days a line of men curled around the innermost courtyard of the brothel, rotating about its centrally positioned Fountain of Love much as pilgrims rotated for other reasons around the ancient Black Stone. All customers of The Curtain were issued with masks, and Baal, watching the circling masked figures from a high balcony, was satisfied. There were more ways than one of refusing to Submit (Rushdie, 1998: 381).

As the whores’ fondness of Baal grew, they asked the Madam of the

Curtain to marry them to him. The once shock Baal could not refuse the request.

Soon the Madam of the Curtain herself married them all. Fulfilling his duty as a responsible husband, Baal took turns in visiting his wives. Not long after the marriage, the twelve whores demanded Baal to take Mahound as his namesake and acted like him too. Baal still had clear mind that he rejected the idea because, unlike the whores who imitated Mahound’s wives with business reason, he didn’t see any necessity of doing that. Clearing the problem, the youngest prostitute whose namesake was ‘Ayesha’ said that all he had to do was to be the boss among them. To compromise, Baal began to do just what Mahound did to his wives and he gradually did the role as a blasphemous copycat of Mahound comfortably.

He began to find the confidence to order them about, to adjudicate between them, to punish them when he was angry. Once when they were quarrelling irritated him he forswore them all for a month.… In short, he had fallen prey to the seductions of becoming the secret, profane mirror of Mahound (Rushdie, 1998: 384).

Baal’s living with the twelve girls of the brothel aroused new spirit within himself that he gained the confidence to write again. His writings were more beautiful than any verses he had ever written. In addition, the inspiration of writing the poems only came while he was accompanied by ‘Ayesha’, who was the copycat of Mahound’s younger and most beloved wife (Rushdie, 1998: 385).

After two years and one day of his living in the brothel, one of the clients of ‘Ayesha’ recognized Baal. He was Salman the Persian who wanted to taste his last pleasure in Jahilia before going back to Persia the next day. Salman once again complained about Mahound. He didn’t agree the revelation on polygamy and sympathized Ayesha who could not do anything to face it. Salman also saw that the segregation of Mahound’s wives did not have any necessities. What

surprised Salman, instead of taking on his side, Baal stated his understanding upon Mahound’s involvement in a lot of marriage contracts. He also understood the reason of Mahound’s wives seclusion. Baal’s wisdom and understanding towards Mahound’s position as a husband were due to his own experience of facing the twelve prostitutes who became his wives.

‘You can see his point of view,’ Baal reasoned. ’If families offer him brides and he refuses he creates enemies, – and besides, he’s a special man and one can see the argument for special dispensations, – and as for locking them up, well, what a dishonour it would be if anything bad happened to one of them! (Rushdie, 1998: 386).

Two days after Baal’s conversation with Salman, Mahound arrived at

Jahilia; meant that the transition period was over. Soon all brothels in Jahilia, including The Curtain, were closed. Not wanting to take the responsibility over the brothel, the old Madam of the Curtain committed suicide. As the substitution of the pimp, the whores were captured. Luckily for the eunuchs, they were freed.

On the third day of the capture, still wearing his odd turban and pantaloon uniform, Baal bravely showed up in the jail where the whores were kept and started to sing his verses. Each night, he recited an ode “dedicated to a different woman, that the names of his twelve ‘wives’ were the same as those of another group of twelve” (Rushdie, 1998: 301). This shows Baal’s loyalty to his twelve wives. Although they were in jail, Baal did not leave them like other eunuchs. In reverse, Baal still accompanied them outside the jail.

On the twelfth night of the recitation, in front of Jahilian crowd, Baal revealed his identity. Soon he was dragged by the guards to see Mahound. Baal then honestly told his experience with the whores in the brothel which aroused

people’s laughter and hence made Mahound grew angrier. Baal was no longer afraid of Mahound nor the death punishment awaited. And since Mahound could not accept the insult both of Submission and his household, he sentenced Baal to be executed (Rushdie, 1998: 391-392).

e. Salman the Persian

Salman the Persian is one of the first three disciples Mahound had.

Together with Khalid and Bilal, “water-carrier immigrant slave” (Rushdie, 1998:

104) they were the most loyal companions of Mahound in Jahilia. Amongst the three, Salman is described as the calmest disciple yet the smartest. When

Mahound was thinking to reconcile with Abu Simbel’s offer, Salman the Persian was among of them who rejected the idea. He suggested Mahound that the offer was only a trap.

Salman the Persian says: ‘It’s a trap. If you go up Coney and come down with such a Message, he’ll ask, how could you make Gibreel provide just the right revelation? He’ll be able to call you a charlatan, a fake.’ … ‘Or it’s a different trap,’ Salman persists. ‘How long have we been reciting the creed you brought us? There is no god but God. What are we if we abandon it now? This weakens us, renders us absurd. We cease to be dangerous. Nobody ever take us seriously again’ (Rushdie, 1998: 106).

Unfortunately, his suggestion was abandoned by Mahound who argued the acknowledgement of the three goddesses was for the sake of the religion

Submission. Even so, Salman maintained his loyalty to Mahound that he also went to Yathrib to escape with Mahound and the faithful.

Anyhow, Salman’s loyalty towards Mahound was not well maintained in their new dwelling place. A quarter century after the departure from Jahilia,

Salman went back to Jahilia to escape from Mahound’s guards in Yathrib. In

Jahilia, Salman came to Baal’s house and told all his objections towards Mahound and Submission. Salman poured out all his disappointment at Mahound who was not being the person he expected at first; that he migrated from his country and being a stranger in another country just to follow him.

Listen: I changed my life for that man. I left my country, crossed the world, settled among people who thought me a slimy foreign coward for saving their, who never appreciated what I, but never mind that (Rushdie, 1998: 367).

Instead of receiving the Submission rules like other faithful, Salman shows his critical thought by censuring the rules which gradually were unfriendly to people except for Mahound. To Baal, Salman argued that the remaining revelations received in Yathrib contained only regulations which should be obeyed by the faithful and he started to hesitate that the revelations only gave the advantage for

Mahound but not the faithful. He also felt that it was not the Archangel who revealed the Message to Mahound but, conversely, it was Mahound who asked the

Archangel to approve the rules he wanted.

…Salman began to notice how useful and well timed the angel’s revelations tended to be, so that when the faithful were disputing Mahound’s view on any subject, from the possibility of space travel to the permanence of Hell, the angel would turn up with an answer, and he always supported Mahound, … It would have been different, Salman complained to Baal, if Mahound took up his positions after receiving the revelation from Gibreel; but no, he just laid down the law and the angel would confirm it afterwards… (Rushdie, 1998: 364-365).

In his conversation with Baal, Salman was unable to hide his pride as the one who had the idea of digging a ditch to combat the Jahilian army. In a war against the Jahilian, Salman had persuaded Mahound to dig a very deep ditch

constraining the Jahilian army so that they and their horses could not approach

Mahound’s guards. Salman’s pride as a foreigner was hurt because he did not receive any gratefulness from neither Mahound nor the faithful.

…I’m not a vain man but where were the public honours, where was the gratitude of Mahound, why didn’t the archangel mention me in dispatches? Nothing, not a syllable, it was as if the faithful thought of my ditch as a cheap trick, too, an outlandish thing, dishonouring, unfair; as if their manhood had been damaged by the thing, as though I’d hurt their pride by saving their skins. I kept my mouth shut and said nothing, but I lost a lot of friends after that, I can tell you, people hate you to do them a good turn (Rushdie, 1998: 365-366).

Furthermore, Salman told Baal the reason why he escaped from Mahound and his army. Being the most educated person among Mahound’s companions,

Salman had been trusted as the scribe of the revelations received by Mahound. To

Baal, Salman admitted that he had been tempted to test Mahound about the revelation by giving a little change to the words which Mahound did not notice.

‘Little things at first. If Mahound recited a verse in which God was described as all-hearing, all-knowing, I would write, all-knowing, all-wise. Here’s the point: Mahound did not notice the alterations. So there I was, actually writing the Book, or rewriting, anyway, polluting the word of God with my own profane language (Rushdie, 1998: 367).

Actually, Salman made the purposely mistaken scribe to draw Mahound’s attention towards himself. Salman had hoped Mahound would reprimand him and then revised the mistake. But, to his disappointment, Mahound did not notice the mistake. This small mistake led Salman to bigger profanity. “He said Christian, I wrote down Jew” (Rushdie, 1998: 368). He continued to scribe false revelation fatally until he realized he had gone beyond the line and Mahound would chastise him for what he had done. Therefore he ran away from Yathrib to Jahilia; to avoid the punishment from Mahound (Rushdie, 367-368).

Several days after his conversation with Baal, Salman the Persian was captured by Mahound’s guards. When Mahound was ready to pronounce the death sentence, Salman smartly distracted him by declaring the qalmah. Not only shrieking the qalmah, Salman also hysterically requesting forgiveness from

Mahound and eventually offered Mahound to show him Baal’s hiding place.

Scribe, ditch-digger, condemned man: unable to muster the smallest scrap of dignity, he blubbers whimpers pleads beats his breast abases himself repents…. Salman swears renewed loyalty, begs some more, and then, with a gleam of desperate hope, makes an offer. ‘I can show you where your true enemies are.’ … ‘What enemies?’ And Salman says a name. Mahound sinks deep into his cushions as memory returns. ‘Baal,’ he says, and repeats, twice: ‘Baal, Baal’ (Rushdie, 1998: 374-375).

Apparently Salman’s effort of asking forgiveness was succeeded. Although

Khalid disagreed, Salman, interceded by Bilal, was liberated from the death punishment.

After receiving his freedom, Salman continued his life in Jahilia. Using his writing skill, he made a living by being “a letter-writer and all-purpose scribe, sitting cross-legged by the roadside in the main street of the financial district”

(Rushdie, 1998: 385). What he did was to write some sort of love letters and business correspondences. From the job, in just two years he profited a lot of money and ready to leave Jahilia and back to his own country (Rushdie, 1998:

385-386).

f. Khalid

As another disciple of Mahound, Khalid had a job as a water-carrier. In

Jahilia, a water-carrier had inferior status. “The water-carriers of Jahilia are

loathed necessities, pariahs who cannot be ignored and therefore can never be forgiven” (Rushdie, 1998: 94). From the novel, it is found out that Khalid is depicted as an anxious and uneasy person. “Khalid the water-carrier is jumpy”

(Rushdie, 1998: 104). He iss also a high tempered man which could be seen from his quarrels with Hamza which debating Mahound’s weakness on accepting Abu

Simbel’s offer upon the three goddesses.

And Bilal bellows loyally: Sneaky or not, I have faith in him, in the Prophet. He won’t break. Hamza offers only a gentle rebuke: Oh, Bilal, how many times must he tell you? Keep your faith for God. The Messenger is only a man. The tension bursts out of Khalid: he squares up to old Hamza, demands, Are you saying that the Messenger is weak? (Rushdie, 1998: 105).

Despite his bad temper, Khalid also has melancholic trait. He was the one who tremendously sad while Mahound announced the Satanic verses which denied

Submission’s monotheist idea. So sad Khalid was, his teardrops were hyperbolically able to make hole on the earth. “Bursting into tears, the water- carrier flees into the empty heart of the city of sands. His teardrops, as he runs, burn holes in the earth, as if they contain some harsh corrosive acid” (Rushdie,

1998: 115).

After the migration to Yathrib, Khalid was no longer a water-carrier. He was made a general by Mahound. Taken from the passage below, it could be concluded that Khalid had through some battles which gave Mahound a great victory over Jahilia.

Mahound’s arm had grown long; his power had encircled Jahilia, cutting off its life-blood, its pilgrims and caravans. The fair of Jahilia, these days, were pitiful to behold”(Rushdie, 360).

Following the death of Hamza and Salman the Persian’s blasphemy, together with Bilal, Khalid remained the trusted person to Mahound. He also maintained his faith towards Submission as well as Mahound. His post as a general gave him the responsibility of eliminating Submission’s enemies. The very first thing he did after twenty-fife years’ return to Jahilia was to destroy all the temples and statues of pagan idols. One of them was Uzza’s temple. The first time he went there, Khalid only destroyed her statue. By Mahound’s command,

Khalid then returned to destroy the goddess herself.

So Khalid returned to the fallen temple, and there an enormous woman, all black but for her long scarlet tongue, came running at him, naked from head to foot, her black hair flowing to her ankles from her head. Nearing him, she halted, and recited in her terrible voice of sulphur and hellfire: ‘Have you heard of Lat, and Manat, and Uzza, the Third, the Other? They are the Exalted Birds . . .’ But Khalid interrupted her, saying, ‘Uzza, those are the Devil’s verses, and you the Devil’s daughter, a creature not to be worshipped, but denied.’ So he drew his sword and cut her down (Rushdie, 1998: 373).

Khalid was also given the duty to find Salman and discover Baal’s hiding place.

Not only that, when Jahilia was in the transition period and Mahound went back to Yathrib, the city was left to the care of Khalid and his guards who were easily deceived.

In those days Mahound had returned with his wives to Yathrib, preferring the cool oasis climate of the north to Jahilia’s heat. The city had been left in the care of General Khalid, from whom things were easily concealed (Rushdie, 1998: 381).

g. Bilal

Bilal was a black slave who was freed from slavery by Mahound: “the slave Bilal, the one Mahound freed, an enormous black monster, this one, with a

voice to match his size” (Rushdie, 1998: 101). Mahound paid his ransom while he found Baal was tortured by his master. Ever since, Baal became one of

Mahound’s loyal disciples. The event on Bilal’s liberation was taken from Abu

Simbel’s memory on Bilal.

He remembers the big one, the slave, Bilal: How his master asked him, outside the Lat temple, to enumerate the gods. ‘One,’ he answered in that huge musical voice. Blasphemy, punishable by death. They stretched him out in the fairground with a boulder on his chest. How many did you say? One, he repeated, one. A second boulder was added to the first. One one one. Mahound paid his owner a large price and set him free (Rushdie, 1998: 102).

Among the disciples, Bilal’s faith on one God was the deepest. When

Mahound was tempted to concede Lat, Uzza, and Manat, Bilal always reminded

Mahound about the one and only God. Bilal’s comments on the monotheism over the matter were: “’There is no god but God!’ Bilal shouts” (Rushdie, 1998: 105),

“’The people are sunk in darkness,’ says Bilal, unhappily. ‘But they will see. They will hear. God is one’” (Rushdie, 1998: 106-107), and “And Bilal adds: ‘God cannot be four’” (Rushdie, 1998: 107).

Bilal’s contribution to the story is not much in the chapter Return to

Jahilia. He only appeared twice in the sixth chapter. The first appearance was when he and Khalid guarded Abu Sufyan who wanted to meet Mahound in his tent (Rushdie, 1998: 370). Meanwhile, Bilal’s second appearance was when he interceded for Salman the Persian in front of Mahound. His motif of interceding

Salman was due to their old friendship (Rushdie, 1998: 385). In other words, when it comes to friendship, Bilal was a loyal person.

h. Hamza

Hamza was Mahound’s uncle who supported his prophethood. While

Mahound received the offer from Abu Simbel at forty-four years old, Hamza was sixty at the time. In his age, Hamza was still respected as a great fighter and lion- hunter. Yet, using money as inducement, his losses in some battles were concealed from the public.

Hamza at sixty is still the city’s most renowned fighter and lion-hunter. Though the truth is less glorious than the eulogies: Hamza has many times been defeated in combat, saved by friends or lucky chances, rescued from lion’s jaws. He has the money to keep such items out of the news (Rushdie, 1998: 104).

When Mahound came back from Mount Cone after accepting the offer from Abu Simbel, Hamza sensed something wrong. It turned out that Mahound was tempted to concede Abu Simbel’s offer. But Hamza did not corner him. As an older person among Mahound and his disciples, Hamza appears to be a neutral persona. As their conversation grew absurd and drew no conclusion, Hamza suggested Mahound to climb the Cone Mountain to find revelation. As the revelation resulted the Satanic verses, the city’s crowd began to riot.

Comprehended the situation, Hamza went home and took his sword. At night,

Hamza found Khalid, Salman, and Bilal were attacked by men wearing lion masques. With the help of Hamza, they were rescued. Then Hamza realized he had killed Hind’s brothers.

Two masked assailants run away, two lie dead. Bilal, Khalid, and Salman have been cut, but not too badly. Graver than their wounds is the news behind the lion-masks of the dead. ‘Hind’s brothers,’ Hamza recognizes. ‘Things are finishing for us now’ (Rushdie, 1998: 117-118).

Hamza had to pay expensively for the murder. In a war, Hind revenged what he had done to her brothers. She tore open Hamza’s stomach, and ate his liver and heart (Rushdie, 1998: 361).

B. The Insufficiency of Reality in The Satanic Verses

The Satanic Verses depicts the story which has the reference to Islamic history. Even so, the novel does not preset sufficient reality in it because many intrinsic elements in the novel are not suitable with Islam’s history. The references to Islam in the story are shown by the similarity between the novel’s content and

Islamic history. Meanwhile, the lack of relevancy or the insufficiency of reality in the novel is shown in the differences between Islamic historical records and the content of the novel.

1. The Plot a. Chapter 2: The Beginning of Mahound’s Prophethood

Muhammad was a Prophet to Islam as Mahound to Submission. The name

Submission refers to English translation of Islam. The Prophet Muhammad received a revelation which rejects the existence of Meccan idols Lat, Manat and

Uzza in his third year of prophethood. Based on history, there was no preceding offer from any people which triggered Muhammad to have the revelation upon that issue. Muhammad simply received the revelation to make it clear that Islam is a monotheist religion and rejects any shirk or idolatry towards other deities.

Whatever the reason was, the revelation of Surah An-Najm made the Quraishi as

well as the Jahilians rejected the religion even more (Armstrong, 2001: 134-142).

Therefore to avoid harsh treatment from the people of Mecca, Muhammad made the hijra to Medina. Mahound also, he left Jahilia to find protection in Jahilia’s neighboring city named Yathrib.

Actually, Yathrib is the same with Medina. Yathrib is Medina’s name in the ancient time, while Muhammad had not settled in the city. So there is no surprise if the description of Yathrib in the novel is just like Medina: a fertile oasis. The novel also denotes that the flight to Yathrib as the beginning of Islamic calendar. Although was not stated as Islamic or Hijri calendar, it is written in the novel that the flight was done “on the first year at the new beginning of time”

(Rushdie, 1998: 125).

Compared with the history of Islam, similar events which happen in chapter 2 of the novel such as the clan ban, hijra event, and the Hijri calendar convey that the subplot has the relationship with Islam. Nevertheless, reality could not be said sufficient here because in the Islamic history, the Satanic verses accident was never triggered by Abu Sufyan nor other enemies of Muhammad

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_Verses).

b. Chapter 6: The Last Period of Mahound’s Prophethood

The Prophet Muhammad is not as ambitious as Mahound in the novel. His first visit to Mecca after the hijra in 629 CE, seven years and not twenty-five years later, was intended to perform the hajj ritual. Muhammad came to Mecca at peace and unarmed. This is contrary to Mahound’s return to Jahilia which was

intended to conquer all Jahilians. In the history, Mecca was conquered in 630 CE, which was a year after Muhammad’s return. Still, Muhammad’s second return to

Mecca was done to convert the Quraishi to Islam

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad). Muhammad did not come to Mecca to find Salman the Persian nor Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf whose fictional images had performed fatal blasphemy towards Submission with their very own way.

Both Mahound and Muhammad died after they had conquered their homeland and reunited its inhabitants under their notable religions. Mahound’s death which was due to sorcery was grieved by the faithful. A noticeable situation also happened while Muhammad died of poison. The person who reminded Islam followers to stick to Allah following Muhammad’s death was Abu Bakr, one of the companions of Muhammad (Armstrong, 2001: 256-257). Meanwhile in the novel, the duty of reminding the faithful was borne by Ayesha (Rushdie, 1998:

393), Mahound’s youngest and most beloved wife, who was also Abu Bakr’s daughter.

Chapter 6: Return to Jahilia shows more lack of relevancy if compared than the chapter 2: Mahound. In the plot of chapter 6, the writer of the novel only conveyed the general idea of Muhammad’s conquest towards Mecca but he did not bother to put the real records on the history of Islam itself. Therefore, it is clear that reality is insufficient in Chapter 6 of the novel.

2. The Setting

The city of Jahilia takes the city of Mecca as its model. It can be seen from the similarity between Jahilia and Mecca’s geographical aspects. Both cities are desert which are familiar with aridity. Still, both cities are placed in the Hijaz region where there is a mountain nearby. The Mount Hira with its cave, the place where the Prophet Muhammad received his first and later revelations, shifts its name to be the Mountain Cone in the fictional city Jahilia. Indeed the sand of

Meccan desert is very dry, but it does not mean that when the water drops upon its soil, the calamity would occur as in Jahilia. Such disaster would only happen in

Jahilia, a fictional city where even the most unbelievable thing could happen.

The word Jahilia, which is the name of the fictional city in the novel, refers to the word jahiliyyah. Jahiliyyah, which means ‘the time of ignorance’, is actually a period when the Meccans were still attained to pagan idols. The using of this word seems to show that the setting of place in the subplots has a reference to the period while the inhabitants of Mecca did not recognize Islam yet.

Therefore, for a while, it might be assumed that the period of Muhammad’s life with the setting of time in the novel is approximately the same.

However, there is a tiny detail which shows a difference of time between the time when the Prophet Muhammad lived in Mecca and the time while

Mahound became a prophet in Jahilia. It is known that the Prophet Muhammad lived in the 7th century (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad); it was the time when the Quraishi, Meccan dwellers tribe, were only two generations earlier of leaving their nomadic traits. Meanwhile, in the novel, it is stated that the

inhabitants of Jahilia were removed from their nomadic past for about three or four generations (Rushdie, 1998: 94). That means the setting of time of

Mahound’s life is younger than the era of Muhammad.

The tribe Shark in Jahilia refers to the dominating tribe in Mecca: Quraish tribe. The choosing of the word Shark for the name of the tribe in Jahilia is done probably to refer to Quraishi’s characteristics which are harsh and tough. It is the typical characteristic of shark as a voracious animal which is associated with the characteristic of the Quraishi. The Shark tribe shares the same way of making a living with the Quraishis. The main profiting activity in Jahilia, as well as in

Mecca, was trading.

The era when Muhammad struggled with his prophecy was indeed a hard situation. Just like what Mahound faced, Muhammad had to deal with 360

Quraishi pagan idols which were installed within and surrounded Kaaba or the

House of the Black Stone. The description of the origin of the House of the Black

Stone in the novel is not entirely in accordance with the real Kaaba. In Jahilia’s tradition, as well as Islamic tradition, the holy Black Stone is believed to be found by Adam. Adam was the first person who built Kaaba as well as the House of the

Black Stone and then secondly, it was rebuilt by Ibrahim. The matter is, the novel describes that the actual color of the Black Stone was white. “a huge white stone, also glowing with its own light” (Rushdie, 1998: 99). It was “the countless touchings of the white stone by the pilgrims of the centuries” (Rushdie, 1998: 99) which “darkened its colour to black” (Rushdie, 1998: 99). Meanwhile, the Black

Stone’s real color is genuinely black with red and yellow particles (Gibb and

Kramers, 1965: 191-192). The touching of hands of the pilgrims only smoothen its surface but does not change its color.

As in Jahilia, Mecca in Muhammad’s era had several chiefs who led the

Quraishi clans. Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, or Abu Simbel in the novel, was just one of them. Different from what is depicted in the novel; Abu Simbel was a powerful leader not yet the strongest. He did not become the only leader of Mecca until

Muslim army conquered Mecca and left him as the only Meccan leader remained since other Meccan leaders were killed in various battles. It is not clear where the house of Abu Sufyan was located. But, assumed that Kaaba was the center of

Mecca and he was one of the most powerful leaders, Abu Sufyan’s house was placed not far from the Kaaba.

In chapter 6 of the novel, it is portrayed that as the result of their losses to

Mahound, Jahilia’s sand became hardened, the mirages no longer occurred, and the city became poor and prosaic. In any places, war caused great losses and so did in Mecca when Muslim army defeated the Quraishis. But, the loss could not harden the soil. The metaphorical description which happened in Jahilia is only to convey that Jahilia had suffered a great lost that the city’s specialties were all disappeared.

The depiction of the setting in the novel is quite similar with the condition in Mecca. Not only in the geographical condition of the city, the similarities are also found in societal description as well as political and religious condition of

Mecca in Muhammad’s era. However, reality is still insufficient in the setting of the novel. There are significant differences which explain that reality is

insufficient in the description of setting in the novel. The differences are: the occurrence of calamity when the water drops in Jahilia which would not happen in the real city of Mecca, the different time of setting proved by the dissimilarity found in Islamic source and the novel’s content, the false origin of the holy Black

Stone’s color in the Kaaba, the introduction of Abu Simbel (fictional image of

Abu Sufyan) as the strongest leader of the city, and the desert which became hard soil as the result of the city’s loss.

3. The Characters a. Mahound

Mahound is the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in the novel. The portrayal of Mahound did not start from his early career as a prophet. Instead, the story was started while Mahound received the verses ‘The Star’ at his very own forty-fourth birthday. In Muhammad’s prophethood, the revelation of Surah An-

Najm or ‘The Star’ happened in his third year of prophecy. A short introduction about Mahound at the beginning of the story conveys that Mahound was the grandson of Muttalib which refers to Abdul Muttalib, Muhammad’s grandfather.

Mahound in the novel has the meaning “he-for-whom-thanks-should-be-given”

(Rushdie, 1998: 93) while the name Muhammad etymologically means “the praised one”. Although seeming different, these two meanings have a similarity.

The two meanings refer to a persona who is above the average people and has special quality hence is worth receiving gratitude.

The physical appearance of Mahound is more or less similar with

Muhammad’s physical description. The novel agreed that Mahound, as well as

Muhammad, was of average height with a rapid pace while walking. Furthermore, although not clearly stated, the characteristic of Mahound’s face which are: high forehead, eagle-nosed, and large eyes with long lashes like a girl’s suggest that

Mahound, like Muhammad, was handsome. The novel points Mahound as a businessman since Mahound, like many Jahilians, did trade for a living; the same way was performed by Muhammad in his time.

Mahound’s frequent visit to Cone Mountain in the novel is inspired by

Muhammad’s usual activity of retreating himself to Cave of Hira. In the novel,

Mahound’s visit to Mount Cone becomes the introduction of the subplot in

Chapter 2 of the novel. Abu Simbel’s offer which asks Allah’s approval to concede Lat, Uzza, and Manat was the trigger of all the incident happened in

Mahound’s life.

The novel conveys that during his confusion whether to concede Abu

Simbel’s offer or not, Mahound climbed Mount Cone and asked the Archangel

Gibreel for the answer. Mahound even stated to Khalid by himself that the acceptance of the revelation was a kind of asking and listening (Rushdie, 1998:

106). In other words, Gibreel in the novel seems to be consultable. The revelation of ‘The Star’ in the novel is the result of the consultation. This is somehow not suitable with Islamic teaching since Gabriel’s duty as an angel is only delivering messages from God hence Gabriel is unavailable for consultation.

The Satanic verses accident in the novel is inspired by Ibn Ishaq’s biography on the Prophet Muhammad which said that Muhammad had committed idolatry before he finally realized and repudiated it. This thesis will not see whether the event was true or not. Only, according to Ibn Ishaq’s record, there was no such preceding offer from any person which triggered the verses to be recited. Just like the other surahs, Muhammad simply accepted the revelation of

Surah An-Najm to later be recited.

In the aftermath of Mahound’s repudiation of the Satanic verses, things were going worse for Mahound. His older wife at her 70 died. Abu Simbel soon declared a ban for the faithful and therefore Mahound fled to Yathrib; all happened so fast still in Mahound’s age of forty-four. The events which all seem to happen in a successive close time presents there is the irrelevancy of timeline between the history of Islam and the novel.

The age of 69 was Mahound’s golden age. After a quarter century of his flight to Yathrib, he finally returned to Jahilia and conquered the entire city.

Mahound also succeeded in accomplishing his mission in Jahilia. At the same time, the pagan idols of Mecca were all destroyed. Following the success, Abu

Simbel voluntarily submitted and Salman the Persian, who performed the blasphemy towards God’s recitation, was captured but then spared at nearly the same time. In Muhammad’s timeline, the events did not happen at once. It took time between one and another event to be entirely accomplished.

When it comes to poets, the similarity between Mahound and Muhammad is that both are really annoyed by them. Either Mahound or Muhammad is

recorded to have made a poet killed. Both are of the same reason: the verses of the poet contained strong messages of defamatory which really affected the people.

Baal was punished to death at Mahound’s last year of life. In reality, Ka’b ibn al-

Ashraf, the real image of Baal was assassinated during the period of war between

Mecca and Muslim army. Thus, Muhammad simply was at his middle age at that time because later, when he was in his sixties, the Prophet was no longer involved in battles.

Having been conquering Jahilia for two years, Mahound was tremendously ill. The illness also occurred to the Prophet Muhammad two years after Mecca was under his control. The symptom of illness before either Mahound or

Muhammad died was the same; a terrible headache. In the novel, Mahound died due to Hind’s sorcery. Meanwhile, it was stated in a source that Muhammad was poisoned by a Jewess (http://answering-islam.org/islam_index/Muhammad.html).

Since Hind was one of the Quraishi, it is clear that Hind did not kill the Prophet just as the fictional Hind did to Mahound. Furthermore, trusted evidence denotes that Hind had become a loyal Muslim before Muhammad died. Therefore there was no use for Hind to kill the Prophet.

The Prophet Muhammad died in 632 CE when he had reunited most of the

Quraishis under Islam. The same situation happened to Mahound; all the Jahilians had embraced Submission before his death. Both Muhammad and Mahound died in their most beloved as well as the youngest wife’s lap; Aishah for Muhammad,

Ayesha for Mahound. When Mahound died, most of the faithful grieved. But

Ayesha did not anguish. She remarked that the faithful should rejoice because,

even though Mahound had died, God was still alive; thus God was the one worth worshipped. There was also such remark following Muhammad’s death. Instead of Aishah, Muhammad’s wife who said the statement, it was Abu Bakr, Aishah’s father who stated it.

There is a different line of age between Muhammad and Mahound.

Roughly calculated, Mahound’s age is older than Muhammad when he died.

Muhammad died in 63 years of age while Mahound was around 71. The difference is presented in the table below:

Year Age Event c. 570 CE - Muhammad was born c. 610 CE 40 First revelation The revelation of Surah An-Najm (approximately three years after c. 613 CE 43 Muhammad announced his prophethood) c. 616 CE 46 The clan Hashim was boycotted c. 619 CE 49 Banu Hashim clan boycott ended; Muhammad’s wife, Khadijah died 622 CE 52 Hijra to Medina Muhammad Muhammad 629 CE 59 Muhammad returned to Mecca, which was the first hajj pilgrimage Mecca was entirely conquered by Muslim army, most of the city’s 630 CE 60 inhabitants submitted to Islam 632 CE 63 Muhammad died on June 8 44 The satanic verses incident (Chapter 2 of the novel) 44 Mahound’s older wife, in her 70, was dead (Rushdie, 1998: 124-125) 44 Mahound and the faithful fled to Yathrib (Rushdie, 1998: 125-126) A quarter-century after his flee (25 years), Mahound returned to Jahilia 69 and conquered the city; all his enemies as well as the people of Jahilia Mahound embraced Submission (Chapter 6 of the novel) Mahound died; two years and two months after Hind submitted, she 71 killed Mahound with her sorcery (Rushdie, 1998: 392-394)

(The Prophet Muhammad’s timeline is taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad)

The table shows that the novel does not follow the arrangement of Muhammad’s life timeline. Muhammad’s line of life is flowing while Mahound’s significant events of life mostly happened when he was forty-four years old. Therefore,

although depicts comparable depictions with Islam’s history, the novel does not present sufficient reality in it.

b. Karim Abu Simbel

As one of the authoritative leaders of the Quraish, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb was one of some people who have the influence over Mecca. He was also one of the strongest rejecters of Islam. Based on this characteristic, it is found out that

Karim Abu Simbel, the Grandee of Jahilia, is the fictional version of Abu Sufyan.

In reality, Abu Sufyan never asked Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf, a Jewish poet who is the model for the character Baal, to write mockeries about Muhammad and his followers. Ka’b did it by his own willingness. Furthermore, no record in history which denotes that Abu Sufyan happened to persuade the Prophet Muhammad to concede Lat, Manat, and Uzza. Such events which happened in the novel are merely fictious.

In the novel, it is conveyed that Abu Simbel announced the ban to the faithful. In fact, Abu Sufyan was the supporter of the decision meanwhile the person who declared the boycott was Abu Jahl, other Quraishi leader who was also one of the staunchest enemies of Islam (Armstrong, 2001: 134-142). In The

Satanic Verses, neither Abu Jahl nor his fictional image appears.

In 630 CE, Mecca was conquered by Muslim army and Abu Simbel sportingly submitted to Islam and admitted his loss; in return, the Prophet announced Abu Sufyan’s house as a sanctuary

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Sufyan). This is somewhat similar to Abu

Simbel of The Satanic Verses who voluntarily attained Submission when he realized that Jahilia had lost. Abu Simbel’s house was also made a sanctuary by

Mahound. After embracing Islam, Abu Sufyan was involved in several wars in

Muslim army’s side (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Sufyan). This shows that at the time he embraced Islam, Abu Sufyan’s health was still at good state because there is no way an old, drooping man could take part in not one, but several wars.

Abu Sufyan’s health state was truly different from the depiction of Abu Simbel as an old, wilted man who gradually lost his authoritative power at the time he submitted to the religion in the novel.

Obviously, there were some actions done by Abu Simbel which in fact were not performed by Abu Sufyan. In reverse, what Abu Sufyan could still do in the real life, especially joining wars, could not be done by his fictional image because of health problem. These reversions confirm that insufficiency of reality occurs in the character of Abu Simbel.

c. Hind

According to Islam history, Hind bint Utbah was the wife of Abu Sufyan, one of the Quraishi leaders. Both the novel and Islam history mention that Hind and her family controlled the temple of Al-Lat. Hind in the novel is described as an antagonist character from the beginning until the end of the story in The

Satanic Verses’ chapters 2 and 6. In reality, the real Hind did not as bad as her fictious depiction. Indeed, in Muhammad’s early prophethood, Hind bint Utbah was one of the keenest rejecters of Islam. Hind was known for at least her two

actions. Her vow to eat Hamza’s liver prior to her losing of father and two brothers at the Battle of Badr is the first action. Secondly, she was also denoted for her support by singing encouraging songs for the Quraish army at the Battle of

Uhud and rejoiced over their victory and after the Battle was over she mutilated the body of Hamza, who was killed by an Ethiopian warrior, and chewed his liver to fulfill her vow. Generally, it was Hind bint Utbah’s initial opposition towards

Islam and her two famous actions which become the idea of the fictional Hind.

Nevertheless, the idea is depicted in the novel in different way and arrangement so that it violates the real history about Hind.

What the novel and the history agree was that Hind chewed Hamza’s liver to fulfill her revenge towards him who had killed her two brothers. But the novel did not mention that Hind also lost her father to the same person. Other difference is that the two brothers of the fictional Hind died at the last night of Jahilia’s city fair which is in fact not appropriate with the history. Hind’s brothers were actually killed in the Battle of Badr. The way she managed to eat the liver of Hamza was also a bit different. Hind in the novel disguised as a man and killed Hamza to later mutilate and eat his liver. In fact, Hind came to the Battle as a woman with several other women to encourage Meccan army. Wahshi the Ethiopian warrior, not Hind, was the one responsible for Hamza’s death. Afer Hamza died, Hind then approached to his death body to slit his stomach and ate his liver.

Hind bint Utbah’s song while encouraging the Quraish army at the Battle of Badr is depicted in the novel page 119 with a rather different version from its genuine verses. A genuine single stanza of song was expanded to two stanzas in

the novel still with same idea. But, the two stanzas song in the novel was not sung in the battle; it was heard by Mahound while he woke up in Hind’s room after he blacked out. In the real circumstance, Hind bint Utbah never collided with

Muhammad by herself, except when she submitted to Islam, as her fictional image did to Mahound in the aftermath of the recital of the Satanic verses.

In the era of Muhammad’s prophecy, Arabia was a patriarchal country where women’s role among the people, especially in the governance, was unlikely to be seen. Consequently, it is rather awkward to notice that the fictional Hind took over the authority of Jahilia when Abu Simbel was old and wilted.

Conclusively, Hind’s reign in the novel is inappropriate with the real condition of

Mecca in Muhammad’s time.

Hind bint Utbah and her fictional figure both came to the prophet to submit to the new religion. After Hind bint Utbah submitted to Islam, opposite to the fictional Hind, she became a loyal embracer of Islam and respected

Muhammad until the rest of his life. When Muhammad died, he was poisoned by a Jewess. The death of Mahound, which was caused by Hind’s sorcery in the novel, therefore does not present enough relevancies on the reality.

d. Baal

Arabian lives could not be separated from poetry that it gives a great impact towards its people. In history, Muhammad was irritated the most by poets since words could be as sharp as a sword

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka%27b_ibn_al-Ashraf). Mahound in the novel also

shares similar trait with Muhammad. The poet in the novel, which becomes

Mahound’s enemy because of his verses, was Baal who was finally given a death punishment by Mahound. Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf, a Jewish poet is the model of the character Baal. Although there is a significant difference between Ka’b ibn al-

Ashraf and Baal, it could be concluded that Ka’b is the model for Baal since there was only one poet assassinated by the order of the Prophet Muhammad.

Dissimilar from Baal who was the inhabitant of Jahilia hence Mecca and a devotee of Lat, Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf was a Jewish who lived in Medina (Armstrong,

2001: 182-183). Therefore, the possibility that Ka’b was a worshipper of Allat is very small even naught since Allat was Meccan local deity. And, unlike Baal who wrote his verses about Mahound under Abu Simbel’s pressure, the record of the history stated that Ka’b went to Mecca and sang his verses to the Quraishi based on his own will and without any forces from other people (Armstrong, 2001: 182-

183). Although both died under the order of the Prophet, Baal’s death punishment is also unsuitable with the history because he was put on a trial (rushdie, 1998:

391-392) while Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf was assassinated (Armstrong, 2001: 185).

Meanwhile, Baal’s way of imitating Mahound’s life while living in the brothel with the whores is a mere satirization towards the life of the Prophet

Muhammad. The number of the whores and Mahound’s wives, twelve, is an average number of Muhammad’s wife after Khadijah. It is hard to tell the precise number of Muhammad’s wives since there was no exact record of Muhammad’s marriages. However, there were no real person, whether in Muhammad’s era or after, who perform such life in the history. Baal’s conversation with Salman the

Persian, which indicates that he understood the seclusion by hijab towards

Mahound’s wives and Mahound’s reason behind his polygamous marriages, depicts the Prophet Muhammad’s actual reason of marrying his wives. The hijab was used to respect the wives, while the marriages were to take care of the widows, to tighten family relationship, and to build a strong political affiliation.

When the twelve whores of The Curtain were captured, Baal recited odes to each prostitute in twelve different nights. This action, apparently, is inspired by the record that Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf once wrote defamatory verses about Muslim women.

For some people, the story which portrays Baal as “the secret, profane mirror” (Rushdie, 1998: 384) of the prophet with his wives is regarded as a blasphemy. In reality, clearly that neither Ka’b nor other person happened to do the same thing. Such condition which only occurred in the novel undoubtedly shows the insufficiency of reality in Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf’ character.

e. Salman the Persian

Inferred from his name, it is known that Salman was not an Arabian man.

Both the real and fictional Salman the Persian were strangers in either Mecca or

Jahilia. Although shares the exact name with the real person in the history, the fictional Salman the Persian in the novel does not represent his namesake. Salman the Persian was not Muhammad’s first disciple and was not involved in the hijra from Mecca to Medina. In turn, Salman met the Prophet in Medina soon after the hijra, where Salman worked as a slave (Gibb and Kramers, 1965: 500). After

Muhammad freed Salman from the slavery, Salman became one of Muhammad’s loyal intimacies. His loyalty towards Islam remained until the end of his life.

Salman the Persian was the one who came up with the idea of digging a very deep moat in the Battle of Trench. The moat received a cynical protest from the Quraishi. They assumed that the work did not mirror Arabian characteristic hence was not suitable with any chivalric warfare (Armstrong, 2001: 203-204).

This is somehow different from what is written in the novel; the fictional Salman the Persian was very proud of his moat. And, instead of the enemies of

Submission who protested the moat, it was the faithful army that did not respect the idea of digging the trench (Rushdie, 1998: 365-366).

Other significant difference which denotes that the fictional Salman is not really based on the reality is that the real Salman the Persian never did such profanity which changing the characteristic of Allah intentionally in the scribe of

Koran. Indeed the incident happened, but it was performed by another person:

Abdullah ibn Sa’id. Just like the fictional Salman the Persian, Abdullah changed

‘alimun samiun (All Knowing and All Hearing) into ‘alimun hakimun (All

Knowing and All Wise) (Armstrong 2004: 432) but did not continue to other false scribe: Christian which was changed to Jew (Rushdie, 1998: 368). Abdullah then escaped to Mecca to join with the Quraishi. When the Prophet Muhammad sentenced death punishment to Abdullah, he sought support from Utsman ibn

Affan to intercede for him (Armstrong, 2004: 432). Unlike the fictional Bilal’s motif that saved Salman the Persian because of old friendship (Rushdie, 1998:

385), Utsman interceded for Abdullah because he was still counted as Abdullah’s

family. Different from the character in the novel, Abdullah was given the amnesty without offering Muhammad his enemy’s hiding place. After forgiven, both the person, the fictional Salman and Abdullah ibn Sa’id, re-submitted to the religion.

The difference is: the fictional Salman was no longer given the reliance in

Submission’s managerial, while Abdullah ibn Sa’id still became an important person in Muslim’s organization.

f. Khalid

Khalid in the novel refers to Khalid ibn al-Walid who was one of the greatest Muslim champions. Formerly known as a Muslim enemy, he defeated

Muslim army in the Battle of Uhud in 625 B.C. After that, Khalid ibn al-Walid converted to Islam and led Muslim army to many victories. Khalid ibn al-Walid did not become Muhammad’s companion until Muhammad married his aunt,

Maimunah in 630 B.C. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_ibn_al-Walid). They, the battles and the marriage, were all happened after 622 B.C or after

Muhammad’s hijra to Medina. So, it is clear that Khalid ibn al-Walid was not an early convert of Islam. Due to this fact, the depiction of Khalid in the novel which pictures him as one of Mahound’s first disciple and as one of the faithful who followed the Prophet in the hijra is not true hence lacks of relevancy with the history of Islam, especially the life of Khalid ibn al-Walid.

Grew up as a Makhzumi, Khalid al-Walid was prepared to be a fighter since his childhood. He was taught how to use weapons and ride horses

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_ibn_al-Walid). Therefore, Khalid ibn al-

Walid was also very familiar with martial world. So, it is impossible that the real

Khalid shares similar job with the fictional Khalid as a water-carrier since Khalid ibn al-Walid grew up among the horsemen and was educated to be a warrior. In any way, the water-carrier thing is not suitable with the real Khalid’s life since he was young. Moreover, inferior status which is identically stuck with a water- carrier in Jahilia does not suit Khalid ibn al-Walid. As a son of the chief of

Makhzum clan, which in fact was one of the most powerful clan in Mecca, Khalid ibn al-Walid of course had a higher status than any ordinary Quraish.

Khalid’s second status in the novel, especially in chapter 6: The General is more suitable with Khalid al-Walid’s real trait as an Islamic warrior. As a general of Muhammad’s army, Khalid al-Walid’s main duty was to lead Muslim army to battle against Islam enemies. He destroyed Uzza’s temple at Nakhlah as well. But,

Islamic tradition never stated that he faced the goddess whom he faced in the odd form of a woman as stated in the novel. Even more, no records which stated he temporarily took over the authority of Mecca after the city surrendered to Muslim army and converted.

g. Bilal

Bilal ibn Rabah, the model for the fictional Bilal was the first muezzin in

Islamic history. Bilal ibn Rabah was once a slave of Abyssinian origin who was attracted by Muhammad’s preaching. Instead of freed by the Prophet as depicted in the novel (Rushdie, 1998: 101), he was given his freedom by Abu Bakr, one of

Muhammad’s companions who also freed several other slaves

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Bakr) but never mentioned in the novel. Just like Mahound in the novel, Abu Bakr paid a great amount of money to Bilal’s master to free him.

The fictional Bilal’s good faith on monotheism is inspired by Bilal ibn

Rabah’s steadfastness on Muhammad’s teaching. Although being the object of persecution by Muslim enemies, Bilal ibn Rabah maintained his faith towards

Islam. He did not change his view on the idea of monotheism at all although the torture he accepted was beyond the limit.

Referred from the novel, Bilal was a black, very huge person with big voice: “the slave Bilal, the one Mahound freed, an enormous black monster, this one, with a voice to match his size” (Rushdie, 1998: 101). Although not mentioned in the novel, Bilal’s characteristic with big voice refers to his duty as a muezzin. Another passage in the novel which also denotes his quality as a muezzin is his answer when he was asked by his master to enumerate God “‘One,’ he answered in that huge musical voice” (Rushdie, 1998: 102). The insufficiency of reality towards Bilal ibn Rabah’s character, in this case, tends to his physical appearance. In reality, Bilal ibn Rabah was tall, but not big. Reversely, he was a thin man, more likely to be gaunt as a result of continual tortures he received as a slave.

Other event which shows that the fictional Bilal is somehow different from

Bilal ibn Rabah that the real Bilal did not intercede for Salman nor involved in the accident which made Salman the Persian was sentenced to death. Additionally,

there was no such action performed by Salman the Persian which made him worth punished to death.

h. Hamza

Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib, like his namesake in the novel who was the uncle of Mahound, was also the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad. Since Abdul

Muttalib, Hamza’s father, was Muhammad’s grandfather, therefore Hamza was

Muhammad’s uncle (Gibb and Kramers, 1965: 131). It is referred that in reality,

Hamza and Muhammad were at the same age and were brought up together. It is truthfully different from the description in the novel which shows that the fictional

Hamza and Mahound’s range of age reaches 16 years since the fictional Hamza was in his sixty when Mahound was forty-four years old. In the novel, Hamza tends to be Mahound’s advisor, while in reality, Hamza was more or less a friend to Muhammad. Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib was not a lion hunter literally. Indeed, he was a fighter and since he was a fearless soldier, he was addressed as the Lion of God and his Prophet (Gibb and Kramers, 1965: 131).

Just like the fictional Hamza who killed Hind’s brothers, Hamza ibn Abdul

Muttalib killed Hind bint Utbah’s two brothers and additionally her father. But, in spite of killing them accidentally in the city’s festive night, he murdered them in the Battle of Badr. Next at another battle, the Battle of Uhud, Hamza ibn Abdul

Muttalib was killed by an Ethiopian warrior taking Quraish side named Wahshi.

After Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib died, Hind bint Utbah fulfilled her revenge by

slitting his stomach and chewed a bit of his heart. Not stopping there, she also mutilated his other organs and wore them as body decoration.

Besides the similar name, there are some indications which show that the name Hamza in the novel refers to Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib. The first is the family relationship between him and Mahound which reminds us of Muhammad’s relationship with his uncle. Secondly, fictional Hamza’s reputation as a lion hunter is derived from Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib’s title as the Lion of God. The third indication is that the fictional Hamza’s death as well as its cause was quite similar to the real Hamza’s.

Yet, we cannot ignore that although quite the same with his real model, the character of Hamza still lacks of relevancy. The considerable different range of age between Hamza-Mahound and Hamza-Muhammad shows that the reality is still missing in the fictional Hamza’s character. Although both the real Hamza and his fictional image were great fighters, the title of the Lion of God could not be the same with the post as a lion hunter. Furthermore, the novel does not show that

Hamza had also killed Hind’s father. Still, there is also a missing point that the real Hamza was in fact not killed by Hind but by Wahshi

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamza_ibn_Abd_al-Muttalib). These lacks of relevancy in the character of Hamza in the novel by far explain that like other characters in the novel, the character of Hamza does not present sufficient reality on Hamza’s ibn Abdul Muttalib’s real trait.

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

From the analysis which had been done in Chapter IV, the writer finds the insufficiency of reality in the irreverence aspects which are found in the content of the novel and the history of Islam. Indeed the novel shares several similarities with the real situation in Muhammad’s era, but the fictional aspect in the novel is well maintained since many differences between Islamic history and the content of the novel are found. The similarities found show that the novel is in fact in reference to the history of Islam, especially in Muhammad’s era. Otherwise, the differences discovered show that the novel lacks of relevancy with the real Islamic record. Therefore, the novel does not show sufficient Islam history which existed in the real world. This condition denotes that there is an insufficiency of reality in the novel. The insufficiency of reality in the novel could be seen from three elements of the novel. They are plot, setting, and character.

Firstly, in the plot of the novel especially two subplots in each chapter: 2 and 6, the arrangement of time and events of Islamic tradition in chapter 2 is different from the real timeline. Furthermore, Islamic significant events which were experienced by the Prophet Muhammad consecutively in several years are piled up and just happened within a year, at the age of 44, in Mahound’s timeline.

In chapter 6 of the novel, the insufficiency of reality is shown even more since the general idea of Meccan conquest by Muhammad is modified by really different happening events which occurred in the novel.

95 96

The setting of the novel, the second element being analyzed presents

Jahilia with much similar description with Mecca. Even so, not all the description of the setting in the novel is appropriate with the real Mecca. The calamity caused by the droppings of water and the sand of Jahilia which gradually became hardened are not the characteristics of Mecca’s land. From the setting also, it is found out that the inhabitants of the two cities left their era of nomadic tribe in different time. Additional finding shows that the novel depicts that the holy Black

Stone in Mecca’s Kaaba was actually white; which is not true. Also, political life in Mecca did not have Abu Sufyan as its most powerful leader just like Jahilia had

Abu Simbel.

The insufficiency of reality in The Satanic Verses is mostly found in the characters of the novel. Each character in the novel had similar persona in the history. Some characters in the novel share similar names and the other have rather different names from their real model. What becomes the matter is that no characters were presented suitably with their real traits. Each of the characters in the novel was generally depicted worse than their real personality. Additionally, there were also some characters who were described to perform actions which in fact were done by other persons in the history of Islam. Exclusively for the character Baal, his action of imitating the Prophet’s marital life in the brothel with twelve whores as his wives is a satirization. No records of history or Islamic historians would agree to this part of the novel.

To sum up the analysis, it is concluded that the insufficiency of reality in the novel The Satanic Verses is found in several intrinsic elements namely plot, 97

setting, and character. By stacking Islamic experiences in just one year instead of in a consecutive year, the plot of The Satanic Verses shows the absence of reality.

While the description of the desert of Jahilia is suitable with Meccan land, the period of Jahilia inhabitants’ nomadic ancient lacks of relevancy. Thirdly, the characters in the novel which are not depicted as their real traits strengthen the evidence that reality is proved to be insufficient in the description and depiction of

Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses.

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APPENDICES

Appendix 1: The Summary of The Satanic Verses

The story of The Satanic Verses began as the two central characters, both Indian actors, found themselves falling out of the sky dashing to the earth as their plane, the Boeing 747 Bostan Flight AI-420 on course for London was hijacked for 111 days by four terrorists and finally blown up in the air. Gibreel Farishta, an attractive film star in Bombay with a halitosis problem, left his glamorous world of fame to pursue Alleluia (or Allie) Cone who had captured his heart in London. Allie Cone was an English—mountaineer who climbed the Everest—woman. Farishta’s loath companion was Saladin Chamcha, a successful commercial voice- over man who was excellent at imposture. Chamcha whose real name was Salahudin Chamchawala, however, left India with a crisis of Indian identity plus a quarrel with his father. They somehow landed safely, but then troubles followed. Chamcha grew horns and hooves and temporarily turned into goat-like devil. Losing his passport, he was captured by immigration officers and later put in a sanatorium with other deformed people without any effort of help from Farishta. On the other hand, Farishta developed himself to be a schizophrenic; which made him unable to distinguish whether he was really awoken or in a sleeping state. Separated, both characters struggled to mend their broken lives back. Farishta sought and found Allie Cone, but their relationship was agitated by his mental illness. Chamcha, having escaped from the sanatorium and miraculously regained his human shape, now bore a revengeful hatred towards Farishta for having forsaken him after their fall from the hijacked plane. Chamcha took revenge on him by exploiting Farishta's pathological jealousy and thus destroying his relationship with Allie. In another moment of crisis, Farishta realized what Chamcha had done to his love relationship, but forgave him and even saved his life in an accident; exactly when Chamcha was trapped in a burnt café. Separately, the two men later returned to India. Farishta, still suffering from his illness, killed Allie in another outbreak of jealousy and then committed suicide. Chamcha, who

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had found not only forgiveness from Farishta but also reconciliation with his estranged father and his own Indian identity, decided to remain in India. During his stage of mental illness, Farishta dreamt the life of a prophet named Mahound. Sometimes he witnessed the events in Mahound’s life and at another time, he took part in the dream of becoming the Angel Gibreel; the angel who delivered God’s message to Mahound. The religion in which Mahound attained to was called Submission. Mahound lived in the city of Jahilia, among pagan-follower tribe called Shark. In Jahilia, Mahound’s preaching was not widely accepted considering that the tribe was still attained to their pagan idols. Among the idols, Al-Lat, Manat, and Uzza were three goddesses worshipped the most. The people of Jahilia usually worshipped them in the House of the Black Stone. Mahound also encountered strong refusal from Abu Simbel, the ruler of Jahilia and Hind, his wife. Along his prophetic career, Mahound received the verses from the Archangel Gibreel who had up to this point been dictating holy recitals to him. Once, Abu Simbel asked Allah’s approval of the three goddesses and in return, Mahound was given a guarantee that he and Submission would be tolerated and even officially recognized. Confused, Mahound climbed the Mount Cone to ask a revelation on the matter to the Angel Gibreel and there he became convinced that some verses acknowledging the three goddesses as the daughters of Allah should be announced. Not long after the recitation, Mahound realized the verses were delivered not by the angel but the Satan; thus the verses indeed satanic. Soon Mahound went to the House of the Black Stone to repudiate them and refused the acknowledgement of the goddesses. Hind, Al-Lat’s most loyal follower declared an everlasting battle to Mahound and Submission. Following, a severe bias to Mahound’s followers was unleashed and he had to flee to Yathrib, a city which was more fertile than Jahilia and, most importantly, a place where he and his followers were more accepted. Twenty-five years later Mahound returned to Jahilia. He had gained many followers while he was away. The aged Abu Simbel converted to the new faith. Hind however, miraculously remained young, continued her power over the city.

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At first Hind resisted to submit the religion, but after the House the Black Stone was cleansed of pagan idols, she embraced Submission as well. It was later revealed that her submission was merely a trick to distract Mahound’s attention while she trained herself in sorcery necessary to defeat him. Ultimately she sent the goddess Al-Lat to destroy the Prophet who, with his dying breath thanked her for killing him.

Appendix 2: Ayatollah Khomeini’s Fatwa on The Satanic Verses

“In the name of God Almighty. There is only one God, to whom we shall all return. I would like to inform all intrepid Muslims in the world that the author of the book entitled The Satanic Verses, which has been compiled, printed, and published in opposition to Islam, the Prophet, and the Qur'an, as well as those publishers who were aware of its contents, have been sentenced to death. I call on all zealous Muslims to execute them quickly, wherever they find them, so that no one will dare insult the Islamic sanctities. Whoever is killed on this path will be regarded as a martyr, God willing”. (http://lark.phoblacht.net/AM2405061g.html)

Appendix 3: Terms in the Novel Quoted in the Thesis kahin: seer, a person of supposed supernatural insight who sees visions of the future (Arabic) (Rushdie, 1998: 52) qalmah: The central statement of faith of Islam, “La ilaha ilallah! La ilaha!” which fuller translation: “There is no God but God, the God” (Arabic) (Rushdie, 1998: 67)

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Appendix 4: Islamic Terms al-hadjar al-aswad: a holy Black Stone stuck in the Kaaba which is believed to have fallen from heaven (Gibb and Kramers, 1965: 192) ayat: lit. ‘sign’, verses in the Koran (al Fārūqī and al Fārūqī, 1986: 100) ayatollah (ayatullah): literary ‘Sign of God’, title of a high ranking Shii religious leader (Esposito, 1998: 253) banu: tribe, used also for clan and sub-clan in Arabia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quraish) fatwa: a formal legal pronouncement in Islam made by an Islamic scholar capable of issuing judgments on Islamic law (Esposito, 1998: 253) hadith (pl. ahadith): narrative report of the Prophet Muhammad’s sayings and actions (Esposito, 1998: 253) hajj: annual pilgrimage to Mecca required for all Muslims at least once in their lifetime, the fifth pillar of Islam (Esposito, 1998: 253) hijab: 1. veil or head covering worn by Muslim women in public (Esposito, 1998: 253) 2. partition or curtain to seclude (Esposito, 1995: 108) hijra: departure, emigration; the Prophet’s journey from Mecca across the desert to Medina in 622 B.C., this also marks the start of the Muslim calendar (Ahmed, 2001, 239) Islam: submission or surrender to the will of God (Esposito, 1998: 254) jahiliyyah: the time of ignorance, the period when the people of Arabia still worshipped pagan idols (Armstrong, 1994: 134) kaaba: literary ‘cube’, a cube-shaped building placed in the center of Mecca which holds the holy Black Stone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka'ba) muezzin: a person appointed as a caller to prayer at the mosque (Ahmed, 2001: 239) mullah: a local religious leader; especially in Muslim (Esposito, 1998: 254) muslim: one who submits to God’s will (Esposito, 1998: 254) rukn: literary ‘pillar’, the basic teaching of Islam namely the Five Pillars (Esposito, 1998: 88)

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salat: official prayer or worship observed five times daily, the second pillar of Islam (Esposito, 1998: 255) sawm: fasting, the fourth pillar of Islam which requires abstention from food, drink, and sexual activity from dawn to sunset during the month of Ramadan (Esposito, 1998: 255) shahadah: the confession or profession of faith: “there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet/Messenger”, the first pillar of Islam (Esposito, 1998: 255) shirk: idolatry, literary ‘associating other beings with Allah’ (Armstrong, 1994: 148) sunnah: normative practice or exemplary behavior of Muhammad (Esposito, 1998: 255) surah: chapters in the Koran (al Fārūqī and al Fārūqī, 1986: 100) ummah: Islamic community, brotherhood (Esposito, 1998: 255) zakat: annual alms tax or tithe of 2.5 percent levied on wealth and distributed to the poor, the third pillar of Islam (Esposito, 1998: 256)

Appendix 5: The Koran Surah 53: An-Najm (The Star)

THE STAR Revealed at Mecca In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. 1. By the Star when it setteth, 2. Your comrade erreth not, nor is deceived; 3. Nor doth he speak of (his own) desire. 4. It is naught save an inspiration that is inspired, 5. Which one of mighty powers hath taught him, 6. One vigorous; and he grew clear to view 7. When he was on the uppermost horizon. 8. Then he drew nigh and came down 9. Till he was (distant) two bows’ length or even nearer, 10. And He revealed unto His slave that which He revealed. 11. The heart lied not (in seeing) what it saw. 12. Will ye then dispute with him concerning what he seeth? 13. And verily he saw him yet another time

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14. By the lote-tree of the utmost boundary, 15. Nigh unto which is the Garden of Abode. 16. When that which shroudeth did enshroud the lote-tree, 17. The eye turned not aside nor yet was overbold. 18. Verily he saw one of the greater revelations of his Lord. 19. Have ye thought upon Al-Lât and Al-‘Uzzâ 20. And Manât, the third, the other? 21. Are yours the males and His the females? 22. That indeed were an unfair division! 23. They are but names which ye have named, ye and your fathers, for which Allah hath revealed no warrant. They follow but a guess and that which (they) themselves desire. And now the guidance from their Lord hath come unto them. 24. Or shall man have what he coveteth? 25. But unto Allah belongeth the after (life), and the former. 26. And how many angels are in the heavens whose intercession availeth naught save after Allah giveth leave to whom He chooseth and accepteth! 27. Lo! it is those who disbelieve in the Hereafter who name the angels with the names of females. 28. And they have no knowledge thereof. They follow but a guess, and lo! a guess can never take the place of the truth. 29. Then withdraw (O Muhammad) from him who fleeth from Our remembrance and desireth but the life of the world. 30. Such is their sum of knowledge. Lo! thy Lord is best aware of him who strayeth, and He is best aware of him who goeth right. 31. And unto Allah belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, that He may reward those who do evil with that which they have done, and reward those who do good with goodness. 32. Those who avoid enormities of sin and abominations, save the unwilled offences—(for them) lo! thy Lord is of vast mercy. He is best aware of you (from the time) when He created you from the earth, and when ye were hidden in the bellies of your mothers. Therefor ascribe not purity unto yourselves. He is best aware of him who wardeth off (evil). 33. Didst thou (O Muhammad) observe him who turned away, 34. And gave a little, then was grudging? 35. Hath he knowledge of the Unseen so that he seeth? 36. Or hath he not bad news of what is in the books of Moses 37. And Abraham who paid his debt: 38. That no laden one shall bear another’s load, 39. And that man hath only that for which he maketh effort, 40. And that his effort will be seen, 41. And afterward he will be repaid for it with fullest payment; 42. And that thy Lord, He is the goal; 43. And that He it is Who maketh laugh, and maketh weep, 44. And that He it is Who giveth death and giveth life; 45. And that He createth the two spouses, the male and the female,

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46. From a drop (of seed) when it is poured forth; 47. And that He hath ordained the second bringing forth; 48. And that He it is Who enricheth and contenteth: 49. And that He it is Who is the Lord of Sirius; 50. And that He destroyed the former (tribe of) A‘âd, 51. And (the tribe of) Thamûd He spared not; 52. And the folk of Noah aforetime, lo! they were more unjust and more rebellious; 53. And Al-Mu’tafikah He destroyed 54. So that there covered them that which did cover. 55. Concerning which then, of the bounties of thy Lord, canst thou dispute? 56. This is a warner of the warners of old. 57. The threatened Hour is nigh. 58. None beside Allah can disclose it. 59. Marvel ye then at this statement, 60. And laugh and not weep, 61. While ye amuse yourselves? 62. Rather prostrate yourselves before Allah and serve Him. (Pickthall, 1996: 377-379)