''Death and the Dervish'' ( bcs-Latn-Cyrl, Derviš i smrt, Дервиш и смрт) is a novel by Meša Selimović, published in 1966. It is his most successful novel. The story is noted for its philosophical themes and discussion of government corruption and morality. In 1970 Selimović wrote ''The Fortress'', an independent thematic sequel to ''Death and the Dervish''.

Plot

The novel is separated into two sections.

Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

Ahmed Nuruddin is a respected

dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

in an

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

monastery in eighteenth century

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. He narrates the story as a kind of elaborate suicide note “from a need stronger than benefit or reason” and regularly misquotes (or misunderstands) the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

, the sacred scriptures of his faith. He learns his brother Harun has been arrested by the Ottoman authorities but he struggles to determine exactly what happened and what he should do. Nuruddin goes to the kadi hoping to talk about his brother, but they talk about the qadi's brother, Hassan. It's

St. George's Day Saint George's Day is the feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, regions, and cities of which he is the patron saint, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, England, Ethiopia, Greece, Georgia, Port ...

and everyone is celebrating except for Nuruddin. One evening, a fugitive from the authorities, Ishak, arrives. The Dervish hides him and starts comparing him to his own brother. Nuruddin tells Mullah Yusuf about the fugitive, but when Yusuf calls the police, they see that Ishak has already escaped. Ahmed and Harun's father arrives to visit his son in prison. Later, Ahmed meets Hassan and tells him why his brother was imprisoned. Haroun worked as a scribe and came across documents with prohibited information, for which he was arrested. Hassan suggests to Nuruddin that they go to the fortress and help Hassan escape, but the dervish refuses because he believes in a just system and believes that the government will release him. During a stroll, Nuruddin meets a man who threatens him to stop trying to free his brother. He returns to the

khanqah A Sufi lodge is a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood or ''tariqa'' and is a place for spiritual practice and religious education. They include structures also known as ''khānaqāh'', ''zāwiya'', ''ribāṭ'' ...

and learns from Hafiz Muhammed that Harun was killed in prison three days prior. Nuruddin falls into despair and pays his respects to his brother after praying in the mosque. During another walk, four men attack him and take him to prison. He remains detained for ten days and starts to lose his grip on sanity. In a state of

delirium Delirium (formerly acute confusional state, an ambiguous term that is now discouraged) is a specific state of acute confusion attributable to the direct physiological consequence of a medical condition, effects of a psychoactive substance, or ...

, he sees Ishak, with whom he thinks he is talking. After the tenth day, he is released from prison. The second part starts with Nuruddin talking about how he met Mullah Yusuf. Yusuf's mother was a

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

and, while Ahmed was in the army, she was killed because of her relationship with an enemy soldier. He took pity on little Yusuf and took him with him to the khanqah. He talks to Hasan and Hafiz Muhammad about Yusuf. Muhammad tells him that he saw Mullah Yusuf near the kadi's house. Nuruddin realizes that it was Yusuf who betrayed Harun and that he ended up in prison because of him. Mullah Yusuf repents and asks for forgiveness, and tries to commit suicide. Nuruddin visits the fortress and brings food to the prisoners. He learns that he has been given permission to bury his brother. Nuruddin writes a lot about Hasan and his life, as well about his own education and misery after falling in love with a married woman. A revolution takes place during which the kadi is killed. Nuruddin takes his place and is immediately forced to order Hassan's arrest. Hassan escapes and everyone is suspicious of Nuruddin's role in it. At the end of the novel, he meets a man and realizes that he is the son of the woman he fell in love with. Nuruddin reflects on the fact that he became a dervish because of this unfulfilled love.

Principal characters

* Sheikh Ahmed Nuruddin: the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

who is a religious

everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin and history The term ''everyman'' was used ...

. He states that his name

Ahmed Ahmad () is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other English spellings of the name include Ahmed. It is also used as a surname. Etymology The word derives from the root ( ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from ...

means friend in Arabic, whilst Nuruddin means “light of the faith”. * Hasan: Nuruddin’s principal friend outside the

. * Mullah Yusuf: the young student Nuruddin has brought into the khanqah as an orphan.

Writing and publication

The novel was written over a period of four years (1962-1966). It was published in 1966 by the

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

publishing house Svjetlost and quickly gained popularity in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

Themes

The principal theme of Death and the Dervish is "''malodušnost''," or faint-heartedness, cowardice or indifference (the Slavic word means literally "diminished" or "reduced soul" – the Latinate English word "pusillanimity" has the same etymology and meaning). The most popular interpretation of this popular novel is that Selimović employed a fictional Ottoman setting to obscure a real critique of life in socialist Yugoslavia. Another important component is the fact that the story reflects a real-life incident in the author’s own life, when his brother, Šefkija Selimović, an ardent Communist functionary, was imprisoned and executed by Communist authorities after the war as an example to others for a minor offense.

Awards

The novel brought Selimović many of the highest Yugoslav literary awards, including the Njegoš award, the Ivan Goran Kovačić award and the NIN award.

Critiques

Film adaptations

In 1972 the novel was adapted into a

TV drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular su ...

by the same title, directed by Sava Mrmak. A feature-length adaptation by the same title was made in 1974, directed by

Zdravko Velimirović Zdravko Velimirović ( sr-Cyrl, Здравко Велимировић; 11 October 1930 – 7 February 2005) was a Yugoslavian film director and screenwriter, University Professor, a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also directed ...

and starring

Voja Mirić Vojislav "Voja" Mirić ( sr-Cyrl, Воја Мирић; 7 April 1933 – 23 April 2019) was a Serbian television and film actor most noted for his role as Ahmed Nurudin in the 1974 Yugoslav movie '' Dervis i smrt'' (popularly known as ''Death an ...

as Nuruddin.

References

1966 novels Culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina literature Yugoslav fiction Historical novels Dervish Novels set in the Ottoman Empire Serbian novels adapted into films {{Authority control Novels set in Bosnia and Herzegovina Historical crime novels Philosophical novels Psychological novels Novels about religion First-person narrative fiction