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On the surface, “Zaabalawi by Nagiub Mahfouz is a classic story. By looking deeper, one finds strong religious and social undertones. The main religious themes in the story appear through the characters of Zaabalawi and the Narrator. The social themes are approached through Sheikh Quamar, the District Officer, Hassanein, and Sheikh Gad. Mahfouz partially uses these characters as an example of the effects that reason, technology and big business have on an individual, he also uses them to demonstrate the close relationship between art, human sympathy and spiritual value (Mack)



These themes are common in many of Mafouz’s works. The “mosaic-like depiction of urban reality in his novels reflects, from time to time, a spiritual light that issues from his own religious discipline.” (D’Evelyn 1) Zaabalawi reflects the spiritual need present in daily life. This short story tells the tale of a common man who has decided to seek out a mystical solution to his affliction. “I became afflicted with that illness for which no one possesses a remedy” This implies that the narrators affliction is a common one, however no person has been able to physically obtain the cure, suggesting a spiritual malady. Through the story, we follow the narrator on his quest to find a cure. He has attempted to find it through commonly accepted means but has been unable to. Somewhat disenchanted with the idea of finding a cure he half-heartedly seeks out Zaabalawi, a man whom is the subject of local legend.



While in his search to find this “saint” the narrator is brought into contact with many acquaintances of Zaabalawi. Each of them has a significant role in Mahfouz’s statement. The first man that the protagonist meets is Sheikh Quamar, a prominent lawyer in Cairo. Quamar has almost forgotten Zaabalawi and offers little help. “[t]The languor became firmly entrenched in...