Māshāʼ al-Lāh Khān dar bārgāh-i Hārūn al-Rashīd Persian 2020

Mashallah Khan at the Court of Harun al-Rashid is a satirical and critical novel by Iraj Pezeshkzad, first published in the 1950s (the 1330s in the Iranian calendar) in periodicals and later released as a book by Safi-Alishah Publishing, with more recent editions published by Farhang-e Mo’aser.

The story centers on Mashallah Khan, a bank doorman in Tehran who is fascinated by history and harbors vivid fantasies about the Abbasid era. After meeting an Indian ascetic who claims to have the power to transfer souls into the past, Mashallah Khan embarks on an imaginary journey through time and finds himself in Baghdad during the reign of Harun al-Rashid.

In this novel, Pezeshkzad employs gentle yet biting humor to deliver a serious critique of despotism, corruption, superstition, and the structures of power in Islamic history, while drawing implicit parallels to contemporary Iranian society. Mashallah Khan initially enters the past with excitement and curiosity, but gradually confronts the harsh realities of the caliphate—systematic violence, oppression, repression, and events such as the execution of Ja‘far al-Barmaki by the court executioner Masrur. Through these episodes, the author weaves sharp political, religious, and social criticism into an entertaining and ironic narrative.

Inspired by European traditions of time-travel literature, the novel is often considered one of the first Iranian works in this genre, distinguished by its historical satire. It has also been suggested that the popular Iranian television series Coffee Bitter (Qahveh-ye Talkh), directed by Mehran Modiri, drew inspiration from this novel.

Mashallah Khan at the Court of Harun al-Rashid is an engaging read for those who enjoy sharp satire, imaginative historical fiction, and unconventional perspectives on the past. Through humor and fantasy, the novel demonstrates how history can be used as a mirror to critique the present—inviting readers to laugh while also reflecting deeply.