The Food of Paradise

By: Ibn Amjed

Exposition- The story took off with the introduction of the main character, Mullah Ibrahim, who
taught the religious beliefs of Islam to his Moslem students in the seminary being built by the Caliph.
The work doesnt really pay-off f or him. He, then, questioned the goodness of the Holy Allah and why
a diligent servant like him shall suffered. Mullah Ibrahim left the seminary and took a journey away
for the City of Baghdad where he had lived all of his life. He stayed and fell asleep in a cozy and
shady spot underneath the wide tree of cypress beside a river while waiting for the bounty of Allah.
Rising Action- Hunger gnawed at his vitals, and he recalled with envy the millet and the goats milk
the mullahs would now be enjoying at the seminary. Still he did not lose hope but prayed with usual
fervor. He slept again without eating, and woke up too faint from hunger to stand.
Stifling from the noontime heat, Ibrahim saw something floating on the river. It seemed a pack of
leaves with food inside. He waded into the water and reached for it. Back to bank with his prize, he
opened it. Inside was the most delicious halwa, that famous marzipan, the making of which only
Baghdad knows the secret, a sweet-meat composed of sugar mixed with paste of almonds and attar
of roses and other delicate essences. After some months, Ibrahim started to wonder where his daily
ration of food came from. If he could trace the spot on the river where it was deposited, he might see
a miracle. Curious to this, Ibrahim started out on a journey upstream one morning
Climax- When Ibrahim found out the Silver Castle and knew where his ration of halwa came from. It
all came from the Princess who had been inside the castle for a very long time because of the spell
her father casted all over it. Ibrahim then, cast himself into a trance, for as a holy man he had
acquired some knowledge of the magical art. His spirit walked in the land of the Jinns. There he met
Adhem, one of the Jinns, who promised to aid him in breaking the magic spells of the castle. With the
help of the other Jinns, Adhem tore down the invincible web which hangs around the castle itself.
Inside the castle, Adhem and a host of Jinns dueled with giant guards armed with spears and
scimitars.
Falling Action- Ibrahim tried to see the Princess. An old guard with a bared scimitar ushered him
into a magnificent hall. There, upon a dais, sat the incomparable Princess whom he has seen from the
castle veranda as she threw the package of halwa into the river. Before her, the Mullah knelt and told
his tale.
Denouement- Ibrahim cried and realized that he had been blind and that Allah surely gives food to
everyone but its quality and kind are dictated by what man deserves.
Insights /Learning- The theme of the story is hope and faith towards our God. We must always
hope and have faith to our God because when everything is at lost, He is the only one we can cling
to. The story also is more of a religious approach.
In our lives, we cant avoid to feel sometimes that the world is unfair but we should not question our
one and only creator. It is better to do good works, and just pray to God that He will guide us in every
way and be more thankful than ever. And for all the things that happened, happens and would
happen in our lives always remember that God has always a purpose.