The journey of Ibn Fatouma

Life and death, dream and wakefulness, stations for the wandering soul that it passes through stage after stage, receiving signals and hints from things, struggling in a sea of darkness, clinging stubbornly to a hope that renews itself, smiling in mystery. What are you searching for, O traveler? What emotions surge in your chest? How do you steer your instincts and whims? Why do you laugh like the knights? And why do you shed tears like children? The search for justice, perfection, and utopia, and reaching God, represent the human journey that "Mahfouz" presented with a mystical inclination, a philosophical vision, and a brilliant genius in the journey of "Qandeel Al-Anabi"; he is a young Muslim living in the lands of Islam, who became distressed in his homeland and decided to travel to the land of the mountains where wisdom and justice are. His teacher encouraged him to do so, and during the journey, he passes through five places, each expressing a different stage in history, religion, and system of rule; in the East, the primitive and pagan stage, in Al-Hirah, royal and military tyranny, in the land of Al-Hilba, a free system but frightening capitalist, in the land of safety, a totalitarian communist system, and in the West, asceticism, Sufism, and spiritual elevation, which is the final station before entering the land of the mountains, but "Mahfouz" leaves the ending open, emphasizing that the pleasure of the journey surpasses the pleasure of the destination.