Exploring The Merman and the

Book of Power Through Linda

Hutcheon’s Theory of
Postmodernism by Atif Hayat

Presented By : Atif Hayat

Subject : Postmodern Studies
 Musharraf Ali Farooqi
• Born on July 26, 1968 in
Hyderabad, Pakistan
• Now divides his time between
Toronto and Karachi
• He is an author, novelist and
translator.
• He founded the publishing house
Kitab (2012)
• Launched online Urdu Thesaurus
(2016)
• Designed Storykit (2016) an
interactive storytelling and
activity-based learning program.
Works
Qissas
• The Jinn Darazgosh (2010)
• The Merman and the Book of Power
(2019)
Novels
• The Time of the Termites (2001)
• The Story of a Widow (2008)
• Between Clay and Dust (2012)
Children's Fiction
• The Cobbler's Holiday or Why
Ants Don't Wear Shoes (2008)
• The Amazing Mustaches of
Moochhander the Iron Man and
Other Stories (2011)
• Rabbit Rap: A Fable (2012)
• Tik-Tik, the Master of Time (2013)
Translations
• The Adventures of Amir Hamza (2007)
• Hoshruba: The Land and the Tilism (2009)
• Rococo and Other Worlds (2010)
• The Beast (2010)
• Mouse Pickle (2012)
• The Adventures of Amir Hamza - ABRIDGED (2012)
• Three Sindhi Folktales (2014)
Characters
1 Alexander
• Alexander the Great (356BC-323BC)
• Macedonian
• Dhu’l – Qarnayn, meaning ‘The Two-Horned One’ or
‘Bicornous’, he appears in the eighteenth Surah of the
Holy Quran [18: 83-100] as the one who imprisoned Gog
and Magog (Weinfield, 2008, p.71, as cited in Shaheen et
all, 2020, p.1050) and became the central figure in
Alexander Romance.
• Alexander’s Rampart
2 Juvayni
• He was a Persian historian and an official of the Mongol
state who wrote an account of the Mongol Empire
entitled, History of the World Conqueror
• Governor of Baghdad
• Friend of Qazwini
• Arrangements for Qazwini to study Gujastak
3 Qazwini
• A thinker, jurist and cosmographer
• Trapped in Wisdom Chamber.
• Positioned as judge
• Studies Gujastak
• A book on cosmography and natural history
• Origin of beast-human's and association of ill omens with
the creatures.
• Destroys a mysterious book, The Book of Power
4 Gujastak
• A mysterious creature
• Gujastak, the Accursed
• Intelligent
• Marries Aydan
• Kills Duraid
• The sorcerer
5 Aydan
• A beautiful and wild girl with greater sexual powers
• Used to taunt Qazwini’s manhood
• Brought as a slave in Juvayni's harem.
• A partner for Gujastak by Qazwini
• Gave birth to a child
• She trapped the Tartar Captain
• Fled with her family
• The mermaid
Minor Characters
• Duraid
• Tusi
• Hulagu Khan
• Ibn-Fadlan
• Khadish
• Caliph Mamun
• Caliph Motasem
Significance of the Title

• The Merman and the Book of Power

• First part refers to Gujastak, a monstrous creature who

is taken as the agent of apocalypse

• Second part refers to Book of Power, which blesses its

possessor with unique powers, and also terrifies him
of Gog and Magog
Summary
• This Qissa comprises of two parts: The main narrative
is concerned with the plot of a mysterious merman and
daily life happenings of Juvyani, Qazwini, Aydan and
other citizens of Baghdad.
• While the sub-narrative deals with the magical powers
of a book which destroyed the Byzantines and the
Abbasids.
• The Qissa opens with the fall of Baghdad on
Wednesday,13 February 1258. Baghdad was sacked by
the Mongols forces, they killed 3000 people along with
the Caliph and his sons.
• After a year a merman was caught, brought before
Juvyani, the governor of Baghdad. A court official
asked a question, whether it was permissible to eat a
sea animal.
• Juvyani asked Qazwini to deal with the matter, he
inspected the merman, compared it with other sea
beasts like Sheikh of Sweet Speech, Sheikh Yehudi and
Demon-Tortoise and concluded that the merman was
one of the Creation’s marvels thus can’t be eaten.
• Qazwini got permission from Juvyani to study, the
merman, named Gujastak and then made arrangements
for housing the merman.
• Tusi and Qazwini changed their alliances.
• Qazwini got manuscripts from governor’s office to
check the existence of creatures like Gujastak, in the
history. He studied about various beasts for analogy
and discovered that Gujastak was different as in other
beast-humans the animal and human properties did not
breach their respective barriers.
• Qazwini was asked to conduct the physical
examination of a slave girl from Juvyani’s harem.
Qazwini recognised her. She was Aydan, with whom
Qazwini had shared his bed and could not come up to
her expectations, she cursed him and taunted about his
manhood.
• Qazwini wanted to explain the beast-humans in the
Creators scheme of existence and for this he contacts
Khadish’s The Protocols of Existence, in which Khadish
claimed claimed the existence of adversarial creators.
• While exploring the Abbasid travel log, Qazwini learns
about a mysterious creature which swept overland by
the Volga River.
• The creature was take as the Commander of Gog and
Magog., Ahmd Ibn Fadlan was sent by Caliph
Muqtadir to study it.
• Qazwini learns about various creatures from the
manuscripts like Dajjal, Kabikij, The Monster Tanneen,
The Thong-Legged Man-Eaters, The Sea Assassin
Zityron etc.
• In Baghdad, rumours spread that Gujastak was the
Agent of the Apocalypse, the potent of great
destruction to come. One day a mob attacked on
Gujastak, lead by Duraid.
• Duraid was former librarian whose son was killed by
the Mongols.
• He told Qazwini that the merman was the sign of the
End Time and the Mongols would also be annihilated
in the same manner as the Byzantines and the Abbasids
but Qazwini did not understand.
• Qazwini pondered over the association of Gujastak
and creature on Volga River with as the agents of
apocalypse.
• In his investigation Qazwini adds two questions, why
strange beasts were seen as signs of impending
destruction by the people? How did a being control and
fashion the destiny of an individual or people?
• Qazwini rejected Khadish’s idea of multiple creators
and gave his theory that creatures came from other
worlds in the form of plants and then modified like The
Man-Shaped Fruit of the Tree, The Waq-Waq Tree, The
Women-Shaped Fruit of the Tree etc.
• Tusi sent books to Qazwini about the Abbasid court
and its record. Qazwini learns that when the Abbasids
conquered Amorium, they retrieved a magical book
from the House of Relics which was being guarded by
the griffins
• The book blessed its possessor with unique powers,
revealed secrets to him and also cautioned him about
the arrival of the End Time creatures, Gog and Magog.
• Caliph Motasem had a dream about the End Time
creatures escaping from the Alxenader's Rampart.
• He sent fifty men under the leadership of Sallam
Tarjuman to check Alexander's Rampart. Sallam
Tarjuman went there and checked Rampart .
• On his way back to Baghdad, Sallam Tarjuman visited
the creature on Volga Rivers, and talked to him.
• Sallam was told by the creature that he was on a
mission to destroy the Abbasid empire and someone is
present in Baghdad to facilitate him.
• Sallam Tarjuman realizes that it was the book which
was facilitating that creature, he informs the Caliph
about the confinement of Gog and Magog, and the
existence of the Commander of Gog and Magog who
was called by the Power Book.
• The Caliph did not trust Sallam Tarjuman about his
revelations about the magical book and erased his name
from the official records.
• His preceding caliphs, Wathiq and Muqtadir had also
the same dreams because of the possession of the book.
Mutasim was the last Abbasid Caliph killed by Hulagu
Khan.
• He and his subjects also had the same dreams about
the arrival of End Time, so they were destroyed by the
Mongols.
• Qazwini helps Duraid to get a job as a cataloguer in the
Wisdom Chamber. Gujastak was visited by Hulagu
Khan, Gujastak demanded a life partner and Aydan got
ready to be his life partner. Qazwini wanted to do an
experiment.
• He aimed at studying about Gujastak through his son
because he would be able to speak human language.
• Child could not speak human language, Aydan started
losing human language.
• One day the family escaped, Qazwini tried very hard to
find them but all in vain.
• On the night of escape, Qazwini saw Gujastak flying
and killing Duraid who was holding that magical book.
• Qazwini took the book in his possession and read it.
• While reading the book he came across a Compact in
which the author, Apollonius of Tyana, asked the
possessor of the book to pay gratitude to the Creator,
use the book for good purposes and keep it away from
those who want to use it for evil purposes.
• There were seals of several Abbasid Caliphs under the
Compact which indicated their obedience to it. The
entire text was a talisman.
• In the Power Book, the author had described the glorious
deeds of Alexander and a story of a sorcerer and a
mermaid whose fates were rewritten by him into a
talisman, and bound them in its text.
• The book unfolds with victories of Alexander, then how
he was visited by demons who asked him to battle
against the God and lead them in the heavens and they
will help him in pursuing his ambitions and was
defeated and then how he visited the sea in a glass
machine and was attacked by the sea monsters, and
then build Alexander’s Rampart to secure Gog and
Magog behind that.
• When Alexander visited the sea in a glass machine, a
beautiful mermaid saw him, followed him to the shore
and fell in love with him after learning about his
glorious deeds.
• At the same time, there was a sorcerer who was
studying four elements: water, earth, air and fire. He
had then mastered only water. He saw the mermaid
and fell in love with her.
• The mermaid approached the Apollonius of Tyana,
asked him for a talisman, to join her fate with
Alexander’s life. The sorcerer also approached the
Apollonius of Tyana to give him powers so that he
could win the mermaid from Alexander. The author
wrought a talisman in which he merged the Past,
Present and Future and bound the fates of mermaid
and sorcerer .
• The author witnessed the mermaid finally discovering
the falsity of what she sought. Her love was not. On the
other hand, the sorcerer had attained power over the
elements and Time with the help of the author's
talismans. He established his rule over the water.
• He became proud because of his power and
knowledge. He lost his original purpose and no longer
remembered the mermaid. Because of his lust for glory
he deformed into a half-beast
• Apollonius of Tyana stated in his Talisman that the
sorcerer and the mermaid will be together one day
when the possessor of the Power Book destroys it.
• Now all the mysteries were clear to Qazwini. He got
answers of his questions.
• He came to know about the origin of beat-humans.
• He also understood what Duraid had told him earlier.
• It was clear to him that, The Power Book destroys the one
who possess it and also invites evils who are sign of the
End Time.
• Qazwini drowns the book into the Tigris, Gujastak and
Aydan were united.
• They were manifestations of the sorcerer and the
mermaid, present in that magical book.
Symbols

Books
• Symbolic for power and knowledge

Gog and Mogog

• Symbolic for destruction
• Secure behind Alexander’s Rampart

Mysterious Creatures
• Symbolic for ill omen
Themes
Destruction of Baghdad
• Mongols attack
• Three thousand corps
• The Caliph’s sons were beheaded
• Horrific death of the Caliph

Sexuality
• Accounts of Sheikh of Sweet Speech
• Depiction of Aydan in the book
• Treatment of mermaids.
• Coupling of Aydan and Gujastak

Friendship
• Juvyani and Qazwini
• Gujastak and cat
• Qazwini and Duraid
Exploitation of Women
• Patriarchal Society
• Shazia Omar points out that, ‘In the tale, we see how a
deeply-rooted patriarchy allows men to be leaders and
administrators, researchers and writers, philosophers and
thinkers; while women are relegated to the role of sex
slaves’ (India Today,10 January 2020).

Quest for Knowledge

• Qazwini’s struggle for seeking knowledge
• Mamun’s establishment of the Wisdom Chamber

Dreams of End Times

• Caliph Motasem’s dream
• Caliph Withaq’ dream
• Caliph Qadir’s dream
• Book of Power was the reason behind these dreams
Postmodern Elements in The Merman and
the Book of Power

 Postmodernism is a literary and philosophical
movement, characterized by metafiction,
historiographic metafiction, intertextuality, Parody,
presence of past, rejection of grand narratives, fluid
generic boundries and magical realism
 This study aims to look through Musharraf Ali
Farooqi’s Qissa; The Merman and the Book of Power in
the light of Linda Hutcheon’s theory of
postmodernism.
 This work of Farooqi has following elements of
postmodernism.
1. Metafiction

 Metafiction refers to a kind of fiction that self-
consciously reflects on its own status as an artificial
creation. It questions the nature of narrative and
challenges the traditional boundaries between fiction
and reality.
 This work has metafictional elements as it has non-
linear narrative, presence of story within a story and
ambiguity.
 
 The presence of supernatural beings clearly tell
about the artificiality of the work
 Qazwini comes across many stories which make this
work as an artificial work, as the stories of beasts like
Sheikh of Sweet, Sheikh Yehudi, the Horned Demon-
Tortoise and many more.
 
 The story moves from past to present and present to
past which makes the work very complex.
 As the work has been set in historical timeline so it
blurs the boundries between reality and fiction.
 The narrator describes the story in an ambiguous
way, the reader is confused to believe in the events
or not because historical events have been shown as
triggered by the beasts.
2. Historiographic Metafiction

 A specific kind of fiction which is self-reflexive and
deals with a historical event. It revisits historical
event but this is not nostalgic visit. It uses parody
and irony as tools for reinterpretation of the
historical evident.
 The Merman and the Book of Power opens with the sack
of Baghdad. History informs us that Baghdad was
sacked by the Mongol army and they were led by
Hulagu Khan but in this work the armies of Hulagu
Khan have been compared with Gog and Magog,
while Hulagu Khan has been depicted as the
Commander of Gog and Magog, the Antichrist.
 
 Qazwini comes to know mysterious things behind
the fall of the great empires. The official historic
records inform the readers that the reasons behind
the fall of great empires were lack of resources,
unskilled warriors, large number and skilled
attackers and so on, but this work touches history
through a unique perspective.
 Musharraf Ali Farooqi approached history and
reinterpreted it in a new way, he exposed the use of
black magic by great powers which caused their own
fall.
 
 The Merman and the Book of Power, informs us about
the existence of a magical book which gave excessive
power to its possessor.
 The fall of Byzantines, and Abbasids.
 The Byzantines relied upon that book for their safety
and were defeated by the Abbasids.
 
 When that book came under the Abbasids’ control, the
Caliphs started to have envisions about the End Time
creature, Gog and Magog. The book appeared in caliph
Motasem’s dream in form of his predecessor Mamun and
asked him to be just and warned him about Gog and Magog.
 A mission was sent to check Alexander’s Rampart.
 After the possession of the Book of Power, economy fell, people
lost hope and kept waiting for the End Time because that
book spread hysteria about the arrival of Gog and Magog and
the End Time.
 
 During the time of each empire the book was accompanied by
a mysterious creature.
 This work blurs the boundries between history and fiction.
By looking at the historical events one considers it to be
historical novel dealing with truths but on the other hand the
presence of supernatural beings and their influence on the
empire’s fall makes it an artificial work, having no reality at
all.
 
 Official historic records shall never tell such thing about the
Caliphs, who were vicegerent of Almighty Allah, that they
used forbidden knowledge. But this Qissa of Farooqi brings
forth their misdoings.
 Sallam Tarjuman was the man, whose named was wiped off
from the official historic records because he asked the Caliph to
get rid of the Book of Power. This act highlights that how
important personalities who try to bring goodness are erased
from the official historic records.
 Mostly the historic works informs us about the cruelties and
horrors committed by the Mongols but this Qissa of Musharraf
Ali Farooqi also gives us their positive image.
 
 Qazwini was a Muslim but even then he was made judge. The
Muslims were being governed by the Mongols but they had a
just system of judiciary. In this work Farooqi invested the
history like fiction with interrelating plots.
 Thus through this work, Musharraf Ali Farooqi reinterpreted
history and came with new interpretation of the fall of empires
that the book and the evils linked with it, destroyed the great
empires.
3. Magical Realism

 This work blurs the line between reality and fantasy.
 Fall of empires because of mysterious creatures and a
magical book.
 This book is jam packed with supernatural creatures and
magic books which make it a magical realist play.
 Gujastak a mysterious creature with human head and
lower fish body. Sheikh of Sweet was a man with a tale,
and used to steel food from houses, Sheikh Yehudi was also
a mysterious creature with human face, dotted beard and
frog like body.
 
 A giant Horned-Demon Tortoise has also been discussed in
this Qissa. The Lord of Insects, long tailed Kabikij, the
Commander of Gog and Magog on Volga Bulgars, strange
Tree on the Mamkub Island, The Waq-Waq Tree of India,
and The Dog-Headed Man-Eaters have also been discussed
in The Merman and the Book of Power.
 The author touched the historic events and also
investigated the origin of the beasts. He interlinked both
the histories and came with the conclusion that the empires
fell because of these creatures.
 A magical book behind the fall of empires, magic plays an
important role in this work.
4. Intertextuality

 The interconnectedness and interdependence of texts, where
one text is influenced by, refers to, or incorporates elements
from another, involves the deliberate use of references,
allusions, or quotations from existing texts, whether literary,
cultural or historical.
 This Qissa of Musharraf Ali Farooqi is replete with
intertextual elements. In the book when Juvyani asks Qazwini
to study Gujastak he explores different texts.
 
 Qazwini answers the question that whether or not it was
permissible to eat Gujastak, he quotes from other famous
works like Qunia, The Jurist and the Merman, and Abdullah the
Fisherman and Abdullah the Merman. Qazwini was assigned to
study Gujastak and to know about its lineage.
 Qazwini tried to compare Gujastak with the Sheikh of Sweet
Speech, Sheikh Yehudi, and the Horned Demon-Tortoise: the
beasts which were recorded in Marvels of Things Created and
Aspects of Things Existing. It refers to the Farooqi’s intertextual
approach that how did he use the examples from another
work to give a way to proceed forward to his character in this
Qissa.
 
 Qazwini hypothesized that Gujastak is also from another
world by reading Khadish’s The Protocols of Existence
 The creatures came on Earth in form of plants and fruits.
 Tree on the Mamkub Island, The Waq-Waq Tree of India,
The Women-Shaped Fruit and The Tree of Youth. Musharraf
Ali Farooqi fused these examples in this Qissa from
Qazwini’s famous work, Marvels of Things Created and
Aspects of Things Existing.
 
 Musharraf Ali Farooqi also took allusions from The Book of
Abbasid Dream Chronicles. Dreams of Caliphs.
 Seven Sleepers, a reference from Christianity.
 So Farooqi incorporated references from, Qazwini’s Marvels
of Things Created and Aspects of Things Existing, Islamic
mythology, Bible, Khaidsh’s The Protocols of Existence, Qunia,
The Jurist and the Merman, and Abdullah the Fisherman and
Abdullah the Merman.
5. Blurring Generic Boundries

 A blend of history and fiction
1. The Qissa unfolds with the historic fall of Baghdad on
1258. Its sketches the inhuman acts of the Mongol armies,
their massive killings of the citizens of Baghdad.
2. The Merman and the Book of Power also touches the history
of Abbasid Caliphs that how they took interest in the
forbidden knowledge for maintain power.
 
 Musharraf Ali Farooqi referred to a historical book, “The
Book of Abbasid Dream Chronicle” which shed light on the
obsession of Abbasid Caliphs with the magical book and
how they totally relied on that book which ultimately
caused their destruction.
 This Qissa blurs the boundaries between history and
fiction.
 
 A blend of fiction and Islamic Mythology
1. Musharraf Ali Farooqi incorporated elements from Islamic
mythology.
2. In Islam there is a myth that on the End Time monstrous
creatures Gog and Magog would be led by Anti-Christ and
they would capture the whole world without two holy cities
guarded by angels.
 
1. This myth has been presented in this work and Dajjal is also
present as the commander of monsters. It is because of these
creatures that Caliph Wathiq sent a mission to check the
Alexander’s rampart behind which Gog and Magog were
locked.
2. The news about the arrival of End Time panicked the Caliphs
and their subjects as they became pessimist and stopped
working and as a result economy collapsed. The history has
been revisited by Farooqi through this myth of Gog and
Magog which further blurs boundaries between history and
mythology.
 Elements of Gothic Novel

1. This work also has the elements of gothic fiction as it is
replete with supernatural beings, for example Gujastak,
the Sheikh of Sweet Speech, Sheikh Yehudi, A giant
Horned-Demon Tortoise, The Lord of Insects, long tailed
Kabikij, the Commander of Gog and Magog on Volga
Bulgars, griffins, and strange Tree on the Mamkub Island,
The Waq-Waq Tree of India, and The Dog-Headed Man-
Eaters. So gothic elements also present in this novel.
 Elements of Science Fiction

1. The signs of science fiction also exist in this novel.
Qazwini was a scientist besides being a jurist.
2. He had access to the most advanced knowledge that was
available because the Abbasids were very powerful
empire and they had all kind of resources.
3. Qazwini was writing a book that was part cosmography
and part natural history. Like Qazwini there was another
astronomer, Tusi, who changed his alliance to Mongols to
save his life.
 
1. Tusi leads Baghdad and finds first observatory in
Uzbekistan. It is like setting up the Hubble Telescope
there.
2. In short they were at very advanced level of scientific
knowledge procurement as well as scientific
contributions.
 Illustrations

1. Farooqi’s wife, Michelle Farooqi and her teacher Fyza
Noon illuminated this book with illustrations. There
are seventeen illustrations in this book.
2. Nine of which were copied form Qazwini’s Marvels of
Things Created and Aspects of Things Existing and eight
are original which were made by Michelle Farooqi.
3. The illustrations on the front and back page of the
book were made by Michelle Farooqi and colored by
Fyza noon.
4. Following are the illustrations which are present in
The Merman and the Book of Power
Gujastak, made by Fyza Noon


The Mermaid


From Qazwini’s Marvels of Things Created
and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing

The Sheikh of Sweet Speech The Man of the Sea
From Qazwini’s Marvels of Things Created
and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing

Sheikh Yehudi The Horned-Demon Tortoise
From Qazwini’s Marvels of Things Created
and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing
 Dajjal, the Demon of
Kabikij, the Lord of Insects Destruction
From Qazwini’s Marvels of Things Created
and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing

The Monster Tanneen
From Qazwini’s Marvels of Things Created
and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing
 The Women Shaped Fruit of the
The Monster Tanneen
Tree
From Qazwini’s Marvels of Things Created
and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing

The Waq-Waq Tree The Human-Shaped Fruit of
the Tree
From Qazwini’s Marvels of Things Created
and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing

The Thong-Legged Man
Eaters
From Qazwini’s Marvels of Things Created
and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing

The Sea-Assassin Zityron Manticore