The Satanic Verses: Study Questions. VI. The Return to Jahilia
1. Twenty-five years have passed since Part II. We learn of the intervening time through the eyes of Baal, who has stayed at Jahilia, and Salman, who has been with Mahound. What has happened in the interval? What is its significance? In particular, is Salman a reliable narrator of events and their meaning? In what ways have Mahound and Islam changed during their absence from Jahilia?
2. More specifically, Part II ends with the Muslim exit from Jahilia; Part VI begins with anticipations of the return. In what ways is it reasonable to think of migration as a central topic of the "Mahound" sections? Does the theme of migration connect these sections to others in Rushdie's novel? What connections are there between the concept of migration and the concept of pilgrimage?
3. A second possible meaning of the title "Satanic Verses" may be the verses that Salman deliberately altered and read back to Mahound, who did not detect the difference. Is this failure the reason Salman loses his faith? Or is the incident a trick he plays because of his lost faith? What does the incident suggest about the authority of the Qu'ran? (What is the significance of the fact that Salman finally does get caught?)
4. Baal's old poem has two tests. The first, a major subject of Section 2, asks what will an idea do when it is powerless. (Will it, in other words, compromise in ways that violate the integrity of the idea?) The second test asks what the idea will do when it is powerful. How will it behave towards its enemies when it is victorious? Does Islam pass this second test? Consider Mahound's treatment of Hind, of Salman, and of Baal himself.
5. The treatment of "The Curtain" may be the most controversial section of Rushdie's novel. But before we get to the controversy (in the next question), we should consider the personal relationships among the characters here. Is there a similarity between the willingness of the prostitutes to take Baal in hiding and the willingness of the Shaandaar Café to take in Chamcha? Do we like these characters?
6. Can we agree that, whatever else the prostitutes at The Curtain represent, they do not represent Mahound's wives, despite the fact that they take on their names? But if they do not represent the wives, what do they represent? Is "The Curtain" something like an anti-mosque or even a perverse version of the Ka'ba (with Baal playing the role of Mahound)? If it is, what does that anti-mosque stand for? Why is business so good?
7. Baal the poet does not defend his "wives," but he writes poems for them. What inspires his art? Was does this inspiration suggest about his role as a poet? What is the connection between Baal as a poet and Salman as a scribe? Why (according to Baal) are poets and prostitutes the two people Mahound cannot forgive?
8. Mahound is dead, but God surely lives. The death of Mahound, as Rushdie describes it, is mysterious. What are the roles of Hind and Al-Lat? Does Mahound change Al-Lat's revenge into something different? What is the importance of Ayesha? Does the death imply the final connection between religion and sexuality? Is it a fitting ending to Gibreel's dream?