Passage in the Blissful Land and News from the World of Survival
(مرور في أرض الهناء ونبأ من عالم البقاء)
The Lebanese Story : Book No. 5
Author : Chukri El-Khoury
Study and Presentation: Dr. Salim Khalil Kahwaji
Year : 2013
ISBN: 978-9953-562-43-8
“He dedicated all his words as a letter from a deceased friend to another who is alive as he described two wonderful scenes”. In the first scene, the author mentions the disadvantages of this terrestrial world, including ignorance, greed and ferocity, while the “land of bliss” is void of such corruptions and people there are closer to angels. Through the comparison between both worlds, the author tackles some environmental and educational issues and criticizes the injustice of judges. However, he hopes that one day the people’s issues will be taken care of by loyal governors. The second scene includes the trial of a king from the East and a Mutessarifat, and judging different people from the society. Naoum Labaki says in the introduction of the first edition (1905): “It is one of a few great books which were published in Arabic during the last Renaissance”.