Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 73
Rushdie: Haunted By His Unholy Ghosts 73 In Grimus, Rushdie has disguised the historical figures very cunningly, especially the Islamic ones. In Part Two of the book, in Times Past, the mystical ‘K’ can certainly be ascribed to the Ka’aba or even, indeed, the Koran. His description of a man called ‘Stone’ can be none other than Prophet Muhammad(sa). He has ridiculed the Muslims for being blind in their faith and not being able to express freely their own thoughts; for example, in the inside cover of the book it says : ‘you will arrive at the town of K where the blinkered and bizarre citizens successfully blind themselves to unacceptable truths about themselves and their island. ’ Even the concept of God has been given to ridicule and, in fact, the name Grimus is supposed to be God Himself vis-ê-vis The Grim Reaper perhaps. Rushdie has cunningly and mockingly used the Qur’anic style of daring to deny the favours of Allah from Surat Al-Rahman : ‘Surely, said Grimus tolerantly. But by shaping you to my grand design I remade you as completely as if you had been unmade clay. . . . . . Do you deny that by selecting you as a Recipient I shaped your life thenceforth ?. . . . . Do you deny that by allowing you to wan- der the world for centuries instead of bringing you here I made you the man you are, chameleon, adaptable, confused ? Do you deny. . . . ? Do you deny. . . . ? ( And then, dropping his voice:) “Which of your Lord’s blessings would you deny?’” (p. 293-294). Note how Rushdie has copied the Qur’anic style in trying to depict a conversation between his ‘fictional’ God, Grimus and one of his subjects. The relevant verses from Surah Al-Rahman are: The Gracious God has taught the Qur’an. He has created man and taught him plain speech. . . Which then, of the favours of your Lord will you twain deny, O men and Jinn? He created man from dry ringing clay which is like baked pottery. . . . Which then, of the favours of your Lord will you twain deny? (verses 2-5, 14,15,17). It would be appropriate here to shed some light on the subject matter of Surat Al-Rahman, the 55th chapter of the Holy Qur’an as some of its verses have been copied almost surreptitiously by