MANIFESTATIONS OF SUFISM IN THE NOVEL NUQTAT AL-NOOR BY BAHAA TAHER

Abstract

As Sufism is a religious path adopted by a large number of the people of the Islamic nation, it became clear to me that the characteristics of this path must be present within the rich material of life from which novelists draw. Therefore, I decided to research the manifestations of Sufism in the novel Nuqtat al-Noor (Point of Light) by Bahaa Taher. I chose this novel because it is a realistic one thst presents a side of life of a particular segment of people. Sufism here appears naturally in the lives of some individuals without introducing it forcibly. Additionally, the author succeeded in arousing the curiosity of those interested in Sufism when he mentioned, at the end of the novel, that he referred, during its writing, to some studies and Sufi books. This encouraged me to explore the manifestations of Sufism in the novel. The present study aim to achieve several objectives: to define Sufism, clarify its goals, reveal the most its important characteristics, provide a brief introduction to Sufi stations and states, and then to observe the manifestations of Sufism in the thresholds and structure of the text. After the introduction, the study presents an introductory section and then two main sections. In the introductory section, I presented the definition of Sufism, the objectives of the Sufi path, the traits of Sufis, and the Sufi stations and states, followed by a biography of the author and a summary of the novel. In the first main section, I studied the manifestations of Sufism in the thresholds of the novel: the title, the dedication, the preface, and the notes. In the second main section, I examined the manifestations of Sufism in the structure of the text: the characters, the events, and the setting. The study adopted the descriptive-analytical method.