---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Arabic is very twisting, very beautiful…"
description: "\"Arabic is very twisting, very beautiful. The call to prayer is quite haunting; it almost makes you a believer on the spot.\" — John Updike"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/john-updike-396_almost_arabic-is-very-twisting-very-beautiful-t_1141937.png"
---

#  Arabic is very twisting, very beautiful. The call to…

![“Arabic is very twisting, very beautiful. The call to prayer is quite haunting; it almost makes you a believer on the spot.” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/john-updike-396_almost_arabic-is-very-twisting-very-beautiful-t_1141937.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/john-updike-396_almost_arabic-is-very-twisting-very-beautiful-t_1141937.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/john-updike-396_almost_arabic-is-very-twisting-very-beautiful-t_1141937.png)

> “Arabic is very twisting, very beautiful. The call to prayer is quite haunting; it almost makes you a believer on the spot.”

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Arabic's complex sounds and melodic call to prayer can evoke deep emotional resonance, sometimes inspiring belief.

**In simple terms:** Arabic sounds can feel spiritual and beautiful.

Key Takeaway

Appreciate linguistic aesthetics.

Themes

language culture spirituality

Mood

reflective inspired

Type

observational cultural

When to use this quote

- travel
- religious services
- language learning

Key Concepts

phonetics religious ritual aesthetic experience

Questions to Reflect On

- How does sound influence belief?
- What makes a language feel beautiful?

A Different Perspective

Personal taste varies; not everyone feels spiritual impact.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Almost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/almost/) [Arabic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arabic/) [Arabic Twisting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arabic-twisting-3187082/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beautiful Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-prayer-2507085/) [Believer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believer/) [Call](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/call/) [Haunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haunting/) [Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Prayer Quite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer-quite-3187084/) [Quite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quite/) [Spot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spot/) [Twisting Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twisting-beautiful-3187083/) [Very](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/)

## Related quotes

> [God enabled me to so agonize in prayer that I was quite wet with perspiration, though in the shade and the cool wind. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/god-enabled-me-to-so-agonize-in-prayer-that-i-was-quite-wet-with/)

[David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/)

> [“Together, on his back porch, his cigarette smoke rising like incense to the heavens, we spoke to the God of grace we both are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathleen-falsani/together-on-his-back-porch-his-cigarette-smoke-rising-like-incense-to/)

[Cathleen Falsani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathleen-falsani/)

> [I know of no more beautiful prayer than that which the Hindus of old used in closing: May all that have life be delivered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/i-know-of-no-more-beautiful-prayer-than-that-which-the-hindus-of-old/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [“when He has the ultimate solution for the problem. How beautiful is that! Prayer Jesus, I thank”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-robertson/when-he-has-the-ultimate-solution-for-the-problem-how-beautiful-is/)

[Alan Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-robertson/)

> [“He tries to picture how it will end, with an empty baseball field, a dark factory, and then over a brook in a dirt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/he-tries-to-picture-how-it-will-end-with-an-empty-baseball-field-a/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [I have never known what is Arabic or English, or which one was really mine beyond any doubt. What I do know, however, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/i-have-never-known-what-is-arabic-or-english-or-which-one-was-really/)

[Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/)

> [“Assad whistled a few notes of one of his native country's melancholic songs. It sounded as though he was whistling backwards”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jussi-adler-olsen/assad-whistled-a-few-notes-of-one-of-his-native-country-s-melancholic/)

[Jussi Adler-Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jussi-adler-olsen/)

> [All the sciences came to exist in Arabic. The systematic works on them were written in Arabic writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/all-the-sciences-came-to-exist-in-arabic-the-systematic-works-on-them/)

[Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/)

> [“By the affirmation of all scholars, Arabic is the most honourable language among all Semitic ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clemens-joseph-david/by-the-affirmation-of-all-scholars-arabic-is-the-most-honourable/)

[Clemens Joseph David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clemens-joseph-david/)

> [It's complicated for my music to be accepted, even in Lebanon and the Arabic world - I sing in Arabic, but there's no lute,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/it-s-complicated-for-my-music-to-be-accepted-even-in-lebanon-and-the/)

[Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/)

> [“In its classical form Arabic is of later date than Hebrew, but in its ancient form akin to Hebrew and Aramaic, certainly as old,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-john-courtenay/in-its-classical-form-arabic-is-of-later-date-than-hebrew-but-in-its/)

[James John Courtenay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-john-courtenay/)

> [World music can be sometimes like the lumber room in which all the non-English singers are dumped. When you are singing in Arabic, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/world-music-can-be-sometimes-like-the-lumber-room-in-which-all-the/)

[Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/)

> [“The Arabic language has had a great history, and in many respects is more remarkable than any other Semitic speech.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-john-courtenay/the-arabic-language-has-had-a-great-history-and-in-many-respects-is/)

[James John Courtenay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-john-courtenay/)

> [We were the outliers: my mother was the only Western woman (khawagayya, in Egyptian Arabic) to have married into the family, and during my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shereen-el-feki/we-were-the-outliers-my-mother-was-the-only-western-woman-khawagayya/)

[Shereen El Feki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shereen-el-feki/)

> [“Yet even when such languages did not face direct official sanction, speakers of older tongues knew that they had little chance of getting on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/yet-even-when-such-languages-did-not-face-direct-official-sanction/)

[Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/)

## More by John Updike

> [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. Only when the mind moves unwatched and becomes absorbed in images that tug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-mind-cannot-fall-asleep-as-long-as-it-watches-itself-only-when/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [“it was somehow wonderful of her to be, in every detail, herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/it-was-somehow-wonderful-of-her-to-be-in-every-detail-herself/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/in-fiction-imaginary-people-become-realer-to-us-than-any-named/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [“Her hair had been going gray as long as he could remember; she bundled it behind in a bun held with hairpins that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/her-hair-had-been-going-gray-as-long-as-he-could-remember-she-bundled/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/possession-diminishes-perception-of-value-immediately/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [I can't bear to finish things, beyond a certain point they get heavy. There's something so dead about a finished painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-can-t-bear-to-finish-things-beyond-a-certain-point-they-get-heavy/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I've always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/some-people-find-fall-depressing-others-hate-spring-i-ve-always-been/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

[Explore all 592 John Updike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

## More Almost quotes

> [My mother worked in the white world, but I lived almost exclusively in a black world. I don't think I had ever seen a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/my-mother-worked-in-the-white-world-but-i-lived-almost-exclusively-in/)

[Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/)

> [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/)

[Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/)

> [Music is almost like a therapy for me. It helps keep me centered and think straight. Before I discovered it, I was walking around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/music-is-almost-like-a-therapy-for-me-it-helps-keep-me-centered-and/)

[Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/)

> [My favourite designers always create a strong silhouette, like McQueen and Tom Ford and Alaia. I like structured things that you can throw on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liberty-ross/my-favourite-designers-always-create-a-strong-silhouette-like-mcqueen/)

[Liberty Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liberty-ross/)

> [Harry Truman wrote scathing letters, but he almost never sent them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/harry-truman-wrote-scathing-letters-but-he-almost-never-sent-them/)

[Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/)

> [It's almost inevitable there's going to be an escalation on both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-luther/it-s-almost-inevitable-there-s-going-to-be-an-escalation-on-both-sides/)

[Bill Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-luther/)

> [I like men who are very cool but who are also so brilliant that they are almost insane. Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Bob Dylan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jolene-blalock/i-like-men-who-are-very-cool-but-who-are-also-so-brilliant-that-they/)

[Jolene Blalock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jolene-blalock/)

> [If you watch wrestling, you now know the hip-hop culture is being represented with wrestling. For the longest time, the cultures have almost been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cena/if-you-watch-wrestling-you-now-know-the-hip-hop-culture-is-being/)

[John Cena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cena/)

> [Almost every Monday I have a charity thing. I like that. I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-berra/almost-every-monday-i-have-a-charity-thing-i-like-that-i-do/)

[Yogi Berra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-berra/)

> [Pete Seeger is a modest, unassuming, cheerful, and kind-natured man. He's a good folk singer, if you can stand folk singing. And he's such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/pete-seeger-is-a-modest-unassuming-cheerful-and-kind-natured-man-he-s/)

[P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/)

> [Almost immediately, I remember right when Tikrit even fell, a few days after Baghdad fell, there was talks of insurgency, there was talks of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farnaz-fassihi/almost-immediately-i-remember-right-when-tikrit-even-fell-a-few-days/)

[Farnaz Fassihi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farnaz-fassihi/)

> [While it is often true that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, it seems like Yahoo's almost obsessive focus on Google is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-swisher/while-it-is-often-true-that-the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend-it/)

[Kara Swisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-swisher/)

> [I'd had episodes before, but I swept them under the carpet. This time, I couldn't do that because everyone knew. I got on with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-kidder/i-d-had-episodes-before-but-i-swept-them-under-the-carpet-this-time-i/)

[Margot Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-kidder/)

> [I was hit by a car. I almost died. My show was taken away from me. I was frightened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-brennan/i-was-hit-by-a-car-i-almost-died-my-show-was-taken-away-from-me-i-was/)

[Eileen Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-brennan/)

> [With \*NSYNC, we shopped our deal for a year in America, sang a capella in everybody's office, then moved to Germany for almost two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jc-chasez/with-nsync-we-shopped-our-deal-for-a-year-in-america-sang-a-capella/)

[JC Chasez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jc-chasez/)

[Browse all 1,672 Almost quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/almost/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Arabic is very twisting, very beautiful. The call to prayer is quite haunting; it almost makes you a believer on the spot.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Updike"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/arabic-is-very-twisting-very-beautiful-the-call-to-prayer-is-quite/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Almost"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/arabic-is-very-twisting-very-beautiful-the-call-to-prayer-is-quite/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/john-updike-396_almost_arabic-is-very-twisting-very-beautiful-t_1141937.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/john-updike-396_almost_arabic-is-very-twisting-very-beautiful-t_1141937.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/john-updike-396_almost_arabic-is-very-twisting-very-beautiful-t_1141937.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Arabic is very twisting, very beautiful. The call to prayer is quite haunting; it almost makes you a…” — John Updike",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "John Updike",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Arabic is very twisting, very beautiful....",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/arabic-is-very-twisting-very-beautiful-the-call-to-prayer-is-quite/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/arabic-is-very-twisting-very-beautiful-the-call-to-prayer-is-quite/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
