Summary of Qandil Umm Hashem

The novel tells about a young man named Ismail, who had finished his secondary school studies, so he left for Europe to study ophthalmology there. He returned one day with a medical degree, and saw his mother applying eye drops to his cousin who had ophthalmia, and the drop was oil. It was taken from the blessed lamp located in the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab.

Ismail conducted an examination of his cousin’s eyes, to discover that her eyelids had been damaged by the effects of ophthalmia, and that the eyeballs had also been damaged. He expressed his annoyance because if she had been provided with health care and appropriate treatment, her eyes would have been in better condition, and the use of oil was nothing but great harm. Because of its heat, which hurts the eyes.

Ismail raises his voice to his mother with great emotion, and accuses her of practicing superstition in her belief, since there are no such rituals in religion. He in turn denounces the extent of reactionaryism in which his town and its people are still immersed, especially since he was introduced to European civilization and the development of the thought of the people of that country. The country, and his anger intensifies because how can this oil, which cauterizes the eyelid due to its intense heat, be believed to be a cure?

Ismail opened his own clinic to treat patients in the Sayyida Zeinab neighborhood, but he was always surprised by the delay in the recovery of his patients. He discovered, after a short period, that all the residents of the neighborhood were being treated with the same jellyfish oil. He lost his mind about these myths and these wrong practices, and what was wrong. However, he smashed this oil lamp with many cursing words and insults that drowned his community.

What Ismail gained from this action was that the people of the neighborhood accused him of insulting the teachings of religion, so they attacked him and moved away from him, and the same applies to his family, as he became an outcast. The story included many conflicts that occurred with Ismail, especially his failure to restore the sight of Fatima, which made him rearrange himself and his actions, as he stood contemplating what he had achieved as a result of his attack on the beliefs of his society.

Ismail reopened his clinic again, where he began to carry jellyfish oil with him to the clinic. This was an attempt on his part to make peace with the people of his neighborhood, and to convince them that the faith he was raised with would not be shaken, and that he believed in the effectiveness of the oil in healing, and that he had not abandoned these beliefs for a moment. Like all members of his society, even if he studied in Europe, he is trying in one way or another to reconcile the Eastern society, which is full of adherence to religion and beliefs, and the knowledge that he learned in Europe.