The Sufi’s Nightingale
£13.99
“A brilliant work of historical fiction.” – The Telegraph
“A tale of transcendental love woven around poetry and prose with confidence and tenderness.” – Farah Bashir
In a small house beneath a mosque in the Bazaar e Husn, home to the pleasure houses of sixteenth-century Lahore, lives the mystic Shah Hussain. A former Islamic scholar now disavowed by the clergy, he courts rejection and abuse as a means of conquering his ego. Despite his notoriety, his exquisite poems—sung by his dearest disciple Maqbool, his nightingale—have won the hearts of thousands.
Into this world strides Madho, the handsome scion of a high-born Brahmin family, seeking the favours of the most famous courtesan in Lahore. Shah Hussain is smitten the moment he lays eyes on Madho, who replaces Maqbool as his favourite acolyte. Torn between devotion and jealousy, Maqbool sings Shah Hussain’s exquisite songs of love, which he thinks are addressed to Madho… but will he ever understand the true nature of their relationship?
Thus unfolds a saga of sublime love, heartbreak, scandal, mystical experience and, ultimately, spiritual triumph.
Told in the voices of Hussain and Maqbool, The Sufi’s Nightingale is a moving and transcendent novel about the wonders and mysteries of love and faith.
“This well-researched and magnificently crafted book would appeal to a variety of readers (and) would also strike a chord with young South Asian queer folks looking for pre-colonial and non-Western queer narratives and icons to affirm their existence.”
– Open Magazine
“In Sarbpreet Singh’s hands, the poet’s life and world come alive with a charming subtlety and elegance, elevating the small details and everydayness of a Sufi’s life, as much as its raptures and leaps of faith and emotion. This is historical fiction at its finest.”
– Manu Pillai, Sahitya Academy honoree and author of The Ivory Throne