The contradiction in Said's thoughts is that he can't take Nabawiyya's life because she is the mother of his daughter. Instead, he obtains another punishment for her: "Thanks to Sana I've granted you life, but I"ll subject you to a punishment even severer than death, which is fear of death -everlasting terror. You"d never enjoy any peace of mind as long as I"m still alive.".
Rauf Alwan figures a great deal in the center as a dynamic agent in shaping Said's fortune. As Said's mentor, he is idealized by him. He is an integeral part of the influential years of his youth. After the tragic death of Said's father, Said grows to become a lonely child who is incapable of dealing with the responsibilities of the adult world in which he has been surrounded by. Rauf studied away from his family and struggled every day through starvation and deprivation. The change in his fortunes in terms of class serves as a vital component in Said's cynicism and resentment. .
While Rauf Alwan is a man of "history and reason", and wishes to relinquish his old value-system, Sheikh Ali al-Junaydi is a man who is not disheveled in the mesh of history. For Rauf, fundamental change is a purpose of social activism, whereas Sheikh Ali al-Junaydi views the problems rather in psychological terms. As a man of non-action, Sheikh Ali al-Junaydi makes no realistic attempt to reach the world; it is rather the world that comes to him out of its sense of bareness. Sheikh Ali is a reflexive bystander who is not troubled by the fluctuation and the upheaval of the present moment. The proposal which the Sheikh draws up for human salvation is one that claims individual choice, "You could save yourself if you wished." This choice involves patience: "Patience is sacred and bestows sacredness upon things." Patience in turn requires one's complete captivation in the present moment: "You've only got the moment in which you live.".
Wherever Said Mahran turns, he is expected to yield to some type of authority.
