The Symbolical and Mystical Meanings in ‘cAbdullah of the Sea and cAbdullah of the Land’ (The Arabian Nights)

Abstract

This article argues that the tale (#163, Nights 940–46)) from The Arabian Nights, entitled ‘cAbdullah of the Sea and cAbdullah of the Land’ encapsulates highly spiritual and symbolical meanings that appear different on land and on sea. It is divided in three parts. The first tackles the view of a simple and clear Islam represented by a fisherman named cAbdullah. Part two deals with a more hermetic Islam embodied by a merman who bears the same name. Part three analyses the complex symbols encoded in the three even numbers, namely, two, four, and 40. The tale as a whole illustrates the difference between exoteric Islam (the Land), characterized by simplicity and clarity, and Sufi Islam, distinctive for its depth and its mystery (the Sea).