There's a moment in Prodigal, Pakistani writer Irshad AbdulKadir's latest novel, where the protagonist Akbar Ali is severely tested, where everything he thought he knew about God comes into question. It's this emotional abyss, as well as figuring out his purpose and calling, that is at the heart of this passionate story. For AbdulKadir, 85, the book is a reflection of a lifetime of ruminations about God, the universe and the roles we play as individuals in the grand narrative – a slight departure from his days as an active civil rights activist and author of articles on governance and politics.
AbdulKadir has led what one would call a full life. Now a resident of Karachi, he practised law for several decades, armed with an education from Cambridge. This included a 17-year stint in the UAE, where he was part of one of the country's oldest law firms, now known as Afridi & Angell.
He has worn many other hats – lecturer in legal studies, social activist arguing for free speech and democracy, documentary filmmaker and theatre critic. But his favourite has always been writing. "I was always inclined towards it, and when I stopped active practice, time presented opportunity," AbdulKadir tells The National. Prodigal is his third book, after Clifton Bridge: Stories of Innocence and Experience From Pakistan (2013) and The Deriabad Chronicles (2018). The former is on the negotiating table to be made into a TV series.
Even though he has been under the weather, AbdulKadir is the perfect subject to chat to, as we did on Skype as his granddaughter held up the phone for him. (He later introduces me to her and graciously invites me to his home if I'm ever in Karachi). It's almost embarrassing to enquire about age, but he divulges it with old-world humour and a twinkle in his eye, saying, "Oh, now the cat's out of the bag!"
Prodigal is a result of AbdulKadir's meditations on various facets of Islam – its intellectualism, religiosity and divinity, and where these three intersect, as well as digress. Arguments between characters ranging from fanatics to scholars to professors are scattered across the book. Through Akbar, there's continuous exploration of the texts and scriptures going back centuries, which seek to explain Islamic scholarly tradition.
But Akbar's out-of-body experiences – an aspect that's at the heart of Sufism, for example – present the possibility of a relationship with God. However, AbdulKadir believes people who are able to communion with God "are chosen, as examples for us. Some people are obviously touched. Transcendence is appealing".
And while AbdulKadir isn't one of them, he says he has witnessed it happening to someone else. "I watched someone disappear while I was waiting," he says. He was watching a man meditate when he suddenly saw him in a trance, as if his spirit was transported to a higher plane, leaving his body rigid and unmoving. "It appeared that he had vanished into a dream."
AbdulKadir's previous books, however, had little to do with divine connections. Clifton Bridge, for example, touched upon the everyday lives of Pakistanis, and the struggles they face. He cringes while classifying the stories as set in the middle class, because he doesn't consider himself classist. The Deriabad Chronicles, on the other hand, is a fictitious story that focuses on the offspring (from different wives) of the ruler of the Indian princely state of Deriabad, and the inevitable family secrets and mysteries that unravel in the process. "It explores the realities of adjusting [to the world]," says AbdulKadir. "The ending, however, is something of a fantasy." Prodigal is his most political book yet.
These days, Islam is at the forefront in our political reality. There's consistent tussle. The quantum of misery and fear has increased manifold since I was a little boy.
Considering the volatile sociopolitical climate, resistance from different corners of the Islamic world isn't difficult to imagine, especially from conservative quarters. In fact, AbdulKadir takes extremism by its horns in this book. "These days, Islam is at the forefront in our political reality," he points out. "There's consistent tussle. The quantum of misery and fear has increased manifold since I was a little boy."
A lack of education and poverty, as well as firebrand teaching in madrasas, have adversely affected an understanding of Islam among Muslims, he says. The Quran and Hadith are in Arabic, so non-Arabs don't understand the language they pray in. Additionally, the pantheon of Islamic scholarly texts requires knowledge of the likes of Farsi, Urdu and Turkish, to be understood by the reader, and even then, their content is not easily understandable without some scriptural or theological understanding. "I have read translations, but it's been difficult," says AbdulKadir. "There are so many layers, meanings and nuances to these texts, a mysticism which words cannot fully encompass."
Prodigal does come across as heavy in parts, and the reader may feel lost amid the stream of arguments or philosophical narratives. But it is precisely in these that one can just about begin to understand the width and depth of a religion so vastly misunderstood, misinterpreted and maligned. On the humanistic side, what's most fascinating are the ways in which people around Akbar come to terms with his divine reality – his family, friends, mentors – and how efforts are made to apparently secularise him or exploit him. Akbar too is periodically conflicted about his purpose and calling; the question AbdulKadir poses for him is: "I can go towards divine communion, but is that good for humanity?"
At around 300 pages, Prodigal is a charming read that grapples with grief and struggle in a matter-of-fact yet compassionate manner. For anyone with a curious mind, it will raise many questions, which is perhaps what AbdulKadir is aiming for.
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
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Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 0
Manchester City 2
Bernardo Silva 54', Sane 66'
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Chelsea 2 Burnley 3
Chelsea Morata (69'), Luiz (88')
Burnley Vokes (24', 43'), Ward (39')
Red cards Cahill, Fabregas (Chelsea)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
SHAITTAN
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
Final: UAE beat Qatar by nine wickets
Third-place play-off: Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by five runs
Table
1 UAE 5 5 0 10
2 Qatar 5 4 1 8
3 Saudi 5 3 2 6
4 Kuwait 5 2 3 4
5 Bahrain 5 1 4 2
6 Maldives 5 0 5 0
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg
Ajax v Real Madrid, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
