When I began this novel, I knew that the poetry of John Keats and the words of the Quran would be integral to the development of Ishraaq’s voice. Aside from the explicitly attributed quotes, I’ve allowed myself the license of incorporating lines and phrases inspired by and adapted from these sources, as signs of Ishraaq’s journey.
Imam Zia’s sermon (Part Three, Section 19) is inspired by Abul A’la Maududi’s Towards Understanding Islam. The ideas presented there are Maududi’s, from the opening pages of his masterful treatise on the nature and meaning of Islam, which I read in a translation from the Urdu by Khurram Murad.
The John Keats speech (Part Three, Section 20) is comprised almost entirely of Keats’s own words, a mash-up of various poems and letters. The main ideas are from a letter to his brother and sister-in-law, dated April 21, 1819. Section 18 (Part Three) makes heavy use of his sonnet “To Sleep,” while Section 21 (Part Three) adapts lines from “Endymion,” and Section 35 (Part Three) repurposes “This Living Hand.” Elsewhere, I’ve drawn on lines from “A Song About Myself,” “Endymion,” “Ode to a Nightingale,” “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” “To Autumn,” “After Dark Vapors,” “Why Did I Laugh Tonight?,” “To J. H. Reynolds,” “La Belle Dame Sans Merci,” etc.
For the quotes from the Quran included in the novel, I’ve consulted the Yusuf Ali translation, along with that wonderful online resource Quran.com, which makes available several other translations, as well as the meanings of individual Arabic words. Section 34 (Part Three) is adapted from the surah Al-Kafiroon.
I’ve also used dialogues and lyrics from the movie Mughal-E-Azam; President Obama’s public speeches, including excerpts from the Cairo speech (Coda, Section 12); lines from William Wordsworth’s “Solitary Reaper” and “My Heart Leaps Up”; Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s “Muhjse Pehli Si Muhabbat”; and Momin Khan Momin’s “Wo Jo Hum Mein Tum Mein Qaraar Tha.”
I owe a debt of gratitude to my agent, Anjali Singh, and my editor, Dan Smetanka. I couldn’t have asked for better guides and champions. Many thanks, too, to all the teams at Counterpoint Press for their amazing work in bringing this book to life. I started the novel more than ten years ago, at the Helen Zell Writers’ Program, University of Michigan; the faculty and my cohort there are still among the first I turn to for counsel and support. I’m also grateful to the residencies—MacDowell, VCCA, Yaddo, Djerassi—and the organizations—Kundiman, Lambda Literary—that have provided much-needed encouragement and community along the way.
Many friends have read various drafts and given valuable feedback. Many more have sustained me with their companionship. My family has always cheered me on; my partner has never failed to cheer me up. To you all, my abounding love. This book wouldn’t have been possible without you.