Salah Abdul Sabur and his Hallaj: a Heideggerian reading

الملخص EN

The aim of this study is to read Salah Abdul Sabur'sMurder in Baghdad (1968) in light of Martin Heidegger's philosophy of "Being".

As a major representative of existential thought, Heidegger's philosophy is concerned with explaining the various genuine avenues through which man can live authentically.

Authentic living, in this sense, means one's ability to maintain a sharp consciousness that can lend one a, somehow, comprehensive understanding of the surrounding reality.

Living in an epoch where the rise of suppressive ideologies dominated the scene in Europe, Heidegger questioned how one can escape from the authority of what he calls the "others" who prohibit onefromfreedom.

For Heidegger, man's awareness of the three dimensions of time; past, present and future, is considered the golden road towards living harmoniously in a world in which man only cares for what really concerns his/her life.

Language, Heidegger's "house of being", is considered the faithful vehicle towards experiencing an "ecstatic unity of time".

In a region in which totalitarian regimes rose to power, Abdul Sabur, through his plays, sheds light on man's inability to enjoy freedom because of the malicious hegemonic practices the "others" exert on individuals.

A close examination ofthe play will reveal how the characters are thrown up in their dramatic worlds without choices.

Moreover, their eagerness to achieve an authentic mode of Being is blocked by, what Heidegger calls, the "they" or the "others".