The Mercy of Allah · Chapter
I: Al-Rafsat, or 'The Kick' explained
The wealthy merchant Mahmoud tells his seven nephews the story of his youth, beginning with his father kicking him out of the house with 100 dinars.
What happens
The wealthy merchant Mahmoud tells his seven nephews the story of his youth, beginning with his father kicking him out of the house with 100 dinars. He stows away on a ship and, after a week, multiplies his capital fifteen-fold, attributing his success to the Mercy of Allah and a relentless appetite for gain.
Themes in this chapter
Divine Mercy and Justice
Mahmoud attributes his fortune to the Mercy of Allah, emphasizing divine favor as a key factor in wealth accumulation.
Suffering and Redemption
Mahmoud's early poverty and rejection by his father set the stage for his later rise to wealth, suggesting a redemptive arc.
Fate and Free Will
Mahmoud reflects on the role of fate ('Mektub') and personal appetite in determining one's fortune.
Characters to notice
- Mahmoud
The elderly merchant who narrates his early life to his nephews.
- The old man
Mahmoud's father, who kicks him out of the house with 100 dinars.
Key passages
“It is my opinion that a man’s first duty is to his own children, and though I have no children myself, I must observe the general rule.”
Mahmoud believes a man should prioritize his own children, even though he has none, so he refuses to leave his wealth to his brother.
Mahmoud's justification for disinheriting his brother.
“For Allah, in his inscrutable choice, frowns on some and smiles on others. The first he condemns to contempt, anxiety, duns, bills, courts of law, sudden changes of residence and even dungeons; the second he gratifies with luxurious vehicles, delicious sherbet and enormous houses, such as mine.”
Mahmoud explains that God arbitrarily grants fortune to some and misery to others, and he counts himself among the blessed.
Mahmoud's fatalistic view of wealth and divine will.
“I discovered in my pouch as I set out along the streets of the city the sum of 100 dinars, with which my thoughtful parent had provided me under the legal compulsion which he so feelingly described.”
Mahmoud finds that his father gave him 100 dinars only because the law required it, not out of generosity.
The meager inheritance Mahmoud received upon being kicked out.