The Mercy of Allah

by Hilaire Belloc

First published in 1922, The Mercy of Allah describes the civilization of the Arabs through the extraordinary tales a wealthy grandfather relates to his beloved grandchildren. These richly textured stories show how this prosperous Arab deceived his own countrymen to gain great fortunes, while also demonstrating the richness of Arab culture through the ages. The cultural standards described are still quite common in the Middle East. Mahmoud's saga points out the contrasts between Western and Eastern attitudes toward trade, banking, and human relations. And, of course, we see the central roles that religion and family play in everyday Arab life.

Genres: Fiction

344 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 1991

About the author

People considered Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc, French-born British writer, as a master of light English prose and also knew widely his droll verse, especially The Bad Child's Book of Beasts in 1896.

Sharp wit of Hilaire Belloc, an historian, poet, and orator, extended across literary output and strong political and religious convictions. Oxford educated this distinguished debater and scholar. Throughout his career, he prolifically across a range of genres and produced histories, essays, travelogues, poetry, and satirical works.

Cautionary Tales for Children collects best humorous yet dark morals, and historical works of Hilaire Belloc often reflected his staunch Catholicism and critique of Protestant interpretations. He led advocates of an economic theory that promotes and championed distribution of small-scale property ownership as a middle ground between capitalism and socialism alongside Gilbert Keith Chesterton, his close friend.

In politics, Hilaire Belloc served as a member of Parliament for the Liberal party, but the establishment disillusioned him. His polemical style and strong opinions made a controversial figure, who particularly viewed modernism, secularism, and financial capitalism as threats to traditional Christian society in his critiques.

Influence and vast literary legacy of Hilaire Belloc extends into historical circles. Erudition, humor, and a forceful rhetorical style characterized intellectual vigor and unique perspective, which people continue to study and to appreciate, on history, society, and human nature.

Reviews

[Adam Marischuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely brilliant and hilarious reflection on modern society and the accumulation of wealth, still as pertinent today as when it was written nearly one hundred years ago.

Hilaire Belloc, the economic and political theorist, historian and liberal member of parliament uses the story of a wealthy Arab merchant to deconstruct and poke fun at the wealthy of his day. This wealthy merchant relates the rises and falls in his economic success in forteen chapters to his nephews (in lieu of an inheritance). Each story manages to illustrate a particular weakness in the Capitalist system of Belloc's day (from monopolies to price fixing to government contracts).

The chapters are:

1) The Kick (a reference to his father kicking him out of his home at 17)
2) The Pearls (his first business venture, selling fake pearls)
3) The Pipkins (another business venture where he undercuts and destroys the competition)
4) The Bridge (the construction of a bridge and the destruction of the local ferrymen by use of the local council)
5) Salt
6) The Lawyers
7) The Sheep
8) The Orchard
9) Camels and Dates
10) The Horse
11) The Holy One
12) The New Quarter of the City
13) The Money Made of Paper
14) The Peace of the Soul

In each story the merchant Mahmoud lies, steals, cheats or abuses his power, abuses the innocent, gullible or simply the honest to acquire wealth, as he said: "a great fortune, as I need not inform young people of your sagacity, is hardly to be acquired save at the expense of others." (p.5)

He shows no remorse but neither does he complain when the same happens to him, it is all up to 'The Mercy of Allah'.

The opening lines give a wonderful taste:

In the days of Abd-er-Rahman, who was among the wisest and most glorious of the Commanders of the Faithful, there resided in the City of Bagdad an elder merchant of such enormous wealth that his lightest expressions of opinion caused the markets of the Euphrates to fluctuate in the most alarming manner.

This merchant, whose name was Mahmoud, had a brother in the middle ranks of Society, a surgeon by profession, and by the name El-Hakim. To this brother he had frequently expressed a fixed determination to leave him no wealth of any kind. "It is my opinion," he would say, "that a man's first duty is to his own children, and though I have no children myself, I must observe the general rule." (p.3)

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a strange book. So, there is that very rich old guy, Mahmoud, telling his nephews the story of his life, which is exclusively how he made his fortune. In the very last chapter it is mentioned that he married eventually, but there is not a single female as a character in the story. Every chapter he talks about some scheme, where he made money, sometimes loosing his fortune, and making it again in the next chapter. We are in the 10th century. The story and the tone of telling has something of an Arabian Night story. And I was also reminded of Voltaire’s Zadig. But after a while it gets a bit boring. Mahmoud gets his fortune with methods that are morally dubious, to say the least. To give one example. He builds a bridge across some river for private use, he is partner of the ferry man. First he lets neighbors pass and little children. Then he collects a small fee for maintenance of the bridge. And eventually he ruins the ferry man and finally makes a lot of money by making the bridge free for everyone. It is not really clear if the author intends to deliver some kind of message. At the end one of the nephews inherits everything. What qualified him? You may guess. (7/10)

[Zbigniew Zdziarski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! Behing a supposed work of fiction Belloc masterfully describes how today's business, politics, law, trade, banking, economics, and human relations work. I see this as a precursor to Orwell's Animal Farm. A perfect commentary on how the rotten part of human nature will always find a way to swindle no matter the circumstance or situation - a la Machievelli. Belloc just got it.

[Petr Moschner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toto je velbloud.

[Perry Whitford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mahmoud the rich Islamic merchant tells the story of his fluctuating fortunes to his seven nephews, all eager to discover the secrets of his success.

And what a scurrilous, immoral story it is too! With a winning combination of grandiloquence and mock humility Mahmoud regales his captive audience with a shameless litany of the lies and luck which saw him rise from rags to riches more than once.

At the risk of dissuading you from reading this witty and entertaining satire on capitalism and basic human greed, I will provide the simple secret of Mahmoud's success, as he himself expresses it:

'one, the unceasing appetite to snatch and hold from all and at every season ; the other, that profound mystery, the Mercy of God.'

The irreverent tone of Mahmoud's narrative is underlined by its ongoing serialisation between the end of the latest public executions and 'the intolerable shriek of the Muezzin,' more of which in a moment. The merchant has chosen this moment between punishment and prayer with pointed consideration:

'No pastime affords greater relief from the dull, everyday round of buying and selling; while the contrast between one's own pleasant position and that of the pauper who is to be beheaded, adds a zest which I recommend to all men of affairs.'

All this is highly piquant and amusing, but is it Islamophobic? Substantially not, to a small degree yes. During his career of infamy Mahmoud, among other unlikely exploits invents paper money, the stock exchange, and life insurance - hallmarks of Western capitalism, not Islam.

Then there is that derogatory reference to the daily Muslim call to prayer, reiterated each chapter with a similarly unflattering adjective. And there are also Belloc's other writings. He was an ardent Catholic who saw Islam as a threat to his own religion.

So the ayatollah might not find much to laugh about in these pages, but funny is funny in my book.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good cerebral reading with a strong sense of humor. This is a very good book and will give you something to laugh about as well as food for thought. The plot concerns the way that business works.

[Simeonberesford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ernst Bramah's influence on Belloc is just a little to evident. This comes over as a cross between Kai Lung and The richest man in babylon

[Ondřej Šefčík · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarkastický román z dávné Arábie, ve skutečnosti komentář ke kapitaliamu, daňovým a pensijním systemum... osvěžující a provokativní... Mahmoud rulez, bohužel.