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In Tayeb Salih's novella The Wedding of Zein (Denys Johnson-Davies's English translation available here), during the actual wedding of Zein, "the leading local chanter" sings:

Blessed be he who takes his provisions and urges on his camels
And who, reaching the plain of Fereish, calls out for joy on seeing the banner.
He visits Hussein's grandfather.
Before him raisins, figs and water-melons, they spread -
And cups of wine. 'Go ahead and drink', they said.
When he visits Hussein's grandfather.

Apparently this makes people emotional, especially those who have performed the Islamic hajj:

People's eyes filled with tears and some broke into sobs, especially those who had performed the pilgrimage and visited Mecca, Medina, and the other places described by the chanter.

But I don't get the significance. Where is "the plain of Fereish", and what is meant by "Hussein's grandfather"? Is the singer describing a place near Mecca, and does "Hussein's grandfather" represent some religious figure, or what?

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  • I think the more usual romanization is "Furaysh". Commented yesterday

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This isn't a satisfactory answer but is too long for a comment and provides some background information that I hope will be useful. Hussein's grandfather is the prophet Muhammad. The plain of Fereish is apparently a location near Medina, but the only reference I can find is a 1917 handbook of routes prepared by the UK War Office. The route between Medina and Mecca is said to pass through this plain.

The geography of Sudan and Saudi Arabia is such that pilgrims could probably cross the Red Sea from Suakin to Jeddah, which is reasonably close to Mecca; a plain near Medina would seem to be very out of the way for those undertaking the hajj. Medina is where Muhammad settled after leaving Mecca, and is itself the second holiest site in Islam. So it's likely that the poem refers to a pilgrimage to Medina rather than Mecca. I do not know what banner is being referred to.

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