Abu ‘Amir (the author of your cat poem) lived in the late 11th century CE, and not in Egypt but Gorgan (northern Iran), as indicated by his surname al-Jurjani. Otherwise, nice work.
Another fabulous post!! You are opening up whole new areas of human (and feline) history and culture to this ancient reader. And your writing voice is such a delight!
reading this genuinely made life feel a little brighter today, i'm obsessed with the fact people loved their cats back then as much as we do now (cutting off the sleeve so muezza could continue to sleep uninterrupted is my favourite i think aswell as the custom shoes so his cat can sit with him on his prayer rug - i will remember this forever)
The story about the cat and the liver has a deeper mystical meaning. It raises a question that also appears in Phil Dick’s Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. I think it has something to do with the absorption of the self into God.
And the story about cutting off a sleeve so as not to wake a sleeping cat is mirrored in a famous Japanese print of a woman cutting off the hem of her kimono.
I think this distinction is clear since dogs in Islam are mainly used as a utility animal not a pet (with shepherds, security), cats take this place in most Muslim cultures as the favorite pet. Hence, all those IG cat videos from Turkey. They're still free roaming in the country. Another anecdote is the statue of the cat that died. https://www.boredpanda.com/laid-back-cat-statue-tombili-istanbul/
The muslim tradition is filled with animal cuteness in so many ways anyways hah.
Abu ‘Amir (the author of your cat poem) lived in the late 11th century CE, and not in Egypt but Gorgan (northern Iran), as indicated by his surname al-Jurjani. Otherwise, nice work.
Oh dear, thank you for the correction! I'll update the text.
Yay so glad you are on Substack now!
Another fabulous post!! You are opening up whole new areas of human (and feline) history and culture to this ancient reader. And your writing voice is such a delight!
Thank you so much!! This is high praise, I'm very glad you enjoyed :)
reading this genuinely made life feel a little brighter today, i'm obsessed with the fact people loved their cats back then as much as we do now (cutting off the sleeve so muezza could continue to sleep uninterrupted is my favourite i think aswell as the custom shoes so his cat can sit with him on his prayer rug - i will remember this forever)
The story about the cat and the liver has a deeper mystical meaning. It raises a question that also appears in Phil Dick’s Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. I think it has something to do with the absorption of the self into God.
And the story about cutting off a sleeve so as not to wake a sleeping cat is mirrored in a famous Japanese print of a woman cutting off the hem of her kimono.
https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.3925536498.0938/flat,750x,075,f-pad,750x1000,f8f8f8.jpg
I think this distinction is clear since dogs in Islam are mainly used as a utility animal not a pet (with shepherds, security), cats take this place in most Muslim cultures as the favorite pet. Hence, all those IG cat videos from Turkey. They're still free roaming in the country. Another anecdote is the statue of the cat that died. https://www.boredpanda.com/laid-back-cat-statue-tombili-istanbul/
The muslim tradition is filled with animal cuteness in so many ways anyways hah.