Fardeqan – the Detention of the Great Sheikh
Youssef Ziedan
![](https://www.arabicfiction.org/sites/default/files/styles/slide-image/public/covers/WEB%20Fardeqan%20-%20the%20Detention%20of%20the%20Great%20Sheikh%20%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%86%20%E2%80%93%20%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%AE%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A6%D9%8A%D8%B3.jpg?itok=C4mXriIs)
The novel depicts the life of Avicenna, or “the Great Sheikh”, the Muslim polymath whose work has had a profound influence for the last thousand years. It takes the reader on a thrilling journey from Avicenna’s birthplace in a village near the ancient Uzbek city of Bukhara, until his death in Persia after an eventful life. Although he became a vizier twice, Avicenna was detained in the remote fortress of Fardeqan, where he wrote some of his philosophical works.
Publisher
Dar al-Shorouk
Nomination
2020 Shortlist