Ibn Zuraiq Al-Baghdadi

About the Book

In fact, that night, I could not sleep a wink. I imagined Abu al-Hasan Ali Ibn Zuraiq al-Baghdadi's last night, sleeping restlessly until he took his last breath, beaten by despair, sorrow, homesickness, regret, and while reciting his only lines of poetry. That night, I was about to take my last breath too. Two souls passing away! The travelers would return to Baghdad with the news that my soul followed Ibn Zuraiq's soul in the same inn, inside the same room, on the second floor, in glamorous Cordoba. Yet the inn was a bad omen for everyone who came to it from the East! The news of my death shall reach the minister, who will inform the caliph. The latter will give orders to crucify me—I mean crucifying my memory, because I never came back with the definite truth.

About the Author

Ahmad Al Dosari is a Bahraini poet and novelist. He published many collections of poetry, novels, and literary studies. He has a PhD in literature and philosophy from University of Geneva. He has translated different books from French to Arabic. He is the author of 'Ibn Sina (Avicenna) Opera', the first opera written in Arabic. It was performed in Doha on the largest open theatre in the whole world. 'Ibn Sina Opera' was performed in Arabic and English by the best operatic worldwide. His novel Ibn Zuraiq Al-Baghdadi: A Passenger of Time was widely received when it was first published. Many critics admired it for being a classical historical novel and a romance. Several editions of the novel were reprinted.

Dr Al Dosari presented many lectures in different universities. In Cairo, he participated in a poetic musical evening event with the Arab musician Ahmad Mukhtar. The event had the title of Al Dosari's famous novel The Sparrows of the Ancient. His novels, such as Ibn Zuraiq, The Sparrows of the Ancient, An Ordinary Man, No Free Zone, and Leukemia, carefully depict the human dimensions of the characters and gradually portray the concept of human existence. His condensed narrative discourse endows the novels with unlimited poetic richness. The setting in his novels swings between realism and imagination which makes them unique and definitely preeminent.