Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 107
Rushdie: Haunted By His Unholy Ghosts 107 many hours, and it was hinted, more and more loudly, that Safwan was a dashingly handsome fellow, and the Prophet was much older than the young woman, after all, and might she not therefore have been attracted to someone closer to her own age?. . . ‘What will Mahound do?’ Baal wanted to know. ‘O, he’s done it,’ Salman replied. ‘Same as ever. He saw his pet, the archangel, and then informed one and all that Gibreel had exonerated Ayesha. ’ Salman spread his arms in worldly resignation. ‘And this time, mister, the lady didn’t complain about the convenience of the verses. ’ (pp. 386/387). Even in the matter of the death of the Holy Prophet(sa), Rushdie has exacted historical information from somewhere and added his lewd style with spurious narrations that bring to the fore the sub- ject of the ‘satanic verses’ yet again in the guise of Al-Lat thus giv- ing food to the thought that even at the time of his death the Holy Prophet(sa) was influenced by one of the three goddesses that had caused all the controversies earlier in his ministry. Describing the demise of the Holy Prophet(sa), Rushdie writes: ‘Within an hour the news arrived that the Prophet, Mahound, had fallen into a fatal sickness, that he lay in Ayesha’s bed with his head thumping as if it had been filled up with demons. . . Then she wept, knowing that he was speaking of his death; whereupon his eyes moved past her, and seemed to fix upon another figure in the room. . . . ‘Who’s there ?’ he called out. ‘Is it Thou, Azraeel?’ But Ayesha heard a terrible, sweet voice, that was a woman’s, make reply: ‘No, Messenger of Al-Lah, it is not Azraeel. ’ And the lamp blew out; and in the darkness Mahound asked: ‘Is this sickness then thy doing, O Al-Lat?’ And she said: ‘It is my revenge upon you, and I am satisfied. Let them cut a camel’s hamstrings and set it on your grave. ’ Then she went, and the lamp that had been snuffed out burst once more into a great and gentle light, and the Messenger murmured, ‘Still, I thank Thee, Al-Lat, for this gift. ’ (pp. 393/394).