Chapter 20 of The House of Islâm is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The House of Islâm is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Shems-ud-dìn fell back on reverie. Above the black gauze veil of earth, the stars beat slumberously. Across the terraced roofs came the voice of one singing, with the twang of a lute. The song was all of love. Now it rose to a frenzied howl, now sank to a passionate moan.
Chapter 20 of The House of Islâm is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
affected with or marked by frenzy or mania uncontrolled by reason
From this reading “Now it rose to a frenzied howl, now sank to a passionate moan.”
(medicine) bleached cotton cloth of plain weave used for bandages and dressings
From this reading “Above the black gauze veil of earth, the stars beat slumberously.”
emit long loud cries
From this reading “Now it rose to a frenzied howl, now sank to a passionate moan.”
a substance for packing a joint or coating a porous surface to make it impervious to gas or liquid
From this reading “Across the terraced roofs came the voice of one singing, with the twang of a lute.”
an utterance expressing pain or disapproval
From this reading “Now it rose to a frenzied howl, now sank to a passionate moan.”
absentminded dreaming while awake
From this reading “Shems-ud-dìn fell back on reverie.”
past form of “terrace” — provide (a house) with a terrace
From this reading “Across the terraced roofs came the voice of one singing, with the twang of a lute.”
cause to sound with a twang
From this reading “Across the terraced roofs came the voice of one singing, with the twang of a lute.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “Shems-ud-dìn fell back on reverie.”
In this reading “Across the terraced roofs came the voice of one singing, with the twang of a lute.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Across the terraced roofs came the voice of one singing, with the twang of a lute.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading Above the black gauze veil of earth, the stars beat slumberously.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Across the terraced roofs came the voice of one singing, with the twang of a lute.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading The song was all of love.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Shems-ud-dìn fell back on reverie.
come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
From this reading Above the black gauze veil of earth, the stars beat slumberously.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading Above the black gauze veil of earth, the stars beat slumberously.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Across the terraced roofs came the voice of one singing, with the twang of a lute.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading Above the black gauze veil of earth, the stars beat slumberously.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading Shems-ud-dìn fell back on reverie.
affected with or marked by frenzy or mania uncontrolled by reason
From this reading Now it rose to a frenzied howl, now sank to a passionate moan.
(medicine) bleached cotton cloth of plain weave used for bandages and dressings
From this reading Above the black gauze veil of earth, the stars beat slumberously.
emit long loud cries
From this reading Now it rose to a frenzied howl, now sank to a passionate moan.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Now it rose to a frenzied howl, now sank to a passionate moan.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading The song was all of love.
a substance for packing a joint or coating a porous surface to make it impervious to gas or liquid
From this reading Across the terraced roofs came the voice of one singing, with the twang of a lute.
an utterance expressing pain or disapproval
From this reading Now it rose to a frenzied howl, now sank to a passionate moan.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now it rose to a frenzied howl, now sank to a passionate moan.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Above the black gauze veil of earth, the stars beat slumberously.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Shems-ud-dìn fell back on reverie.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Across the terraced roofs came the voice of one singing, with the twang of a lute.
having or expressing strong emotions
From this reading Now it rose to a frenzied howl, now sank to a passionate moan.
absentminded dreaming while awake
From this reading Shems-ud-dìn fell back on reverie.
plural of “roof” — a protective covering that covers or forms the top of a building
From this reading Across the terraced roofs came the voice of one singing, with the twang of a lute.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading Now it rose to a frenzied howl, now sank to a passionate moan.
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading Now it rose to a frenzied howl, now sank to a passionate moan.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Shems-ud-dìn fell back on reverie.
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading Across the terraced roofs came the voice of one singing, with the twang of a lute.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Above the black gauze veil of earth, the stars beat slumberously.
a short musical composition with words
From this reading The song was all of love.
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading Above the black gauze veil of earth, the stars beat slumberously.
past form of “terrace” — provide (a house) with a terrace
From this reading Across the terraced roofs came the voice of one singing, with the twang of a lute.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Above the black gauze veil of earth, the stars beat slumberously.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Now it rose to a frenzied howl, now sank to a passionate moan.
cause to sound with a twang
From this reading Across the terraced roofs came the voice of one singing, with the twang of a lute.
a garment that covers the head and face
From this reading Above the black gauze veil of earth, the stars beat slumberously.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Across the terraced roofs came the voice of one singing, with the twang of a lute.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The song was all of love.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Across the terraced roofs came the voice of one singing, with the twang of a lute.
Chapter 20 of The House of Islâm by Marmaduke William Pickthall holds 77 sentences, grouped into 16 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 20 holds 77 sentences of The House of Islâm, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The House of Islâm by Marmaduke William Pickthall exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 77 sentences, grouped into 16 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 20 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The House of Islâm by Marmaduke William Pickthall on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4622 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63654 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63654, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 385 minutes of reading across 925 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The House of Islâm section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of The House of Islâm to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The House of Islâm, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
