Abdul Saleh is a devout Server of God who is upset by the dubious behaviour of one of his neighbours and he promotes her lapidation. But instead of feeling at peace with himself for being God's Justice's tool, he must carry the consequences of his deed. The reader is taken into this man's inner tragedy, a honest, fair man who used to live according to God's Law and who will wonder whether he paid for his sin..., if that was so.
This is the index:
Three days later Abdul was walking on the outskirts of he town when he met an old man.
«May God be with you, young man».
«And with you, noble old man».
«You look tormented by something».
«You must be a foreigner, old man. Otherwise you'd know that recently a young woman was executed because of her defilement».
«You are right, young one: I live in the desert and knew nothing about any execution».
Abdul looked at the stones on the way with a sad expression.
«Did you know her?», added the old man.
«Oh, yes. Reya was about my age, and I knew her for a number of years».
«What could that girl do, what was her crime to deserve death?»
«The worst one, venerable old man: defilement».
«Was she a whore?»
«No, but she did not firmly oppose the men who wanted to lay her down».
«What could a girl do against several men, if every one of them was stronger than she was?»
«A woman worthy to bring good God's children into the world must oppose her raping even at the cost of her own life, if she needs to, for just a moment of acceptance turns rape into a consent act, and then she is no longer a victim, but a criminal».
«You are very hard on your neighbour, pious youth. What is your name?»
«Abdul Saleh».
«Abdul Saleh», the man repeated. «God does not want his sons to kill his daughters; God wants his sons to love his daughters».
«Blasphemy, old man! What is your name?»
«I am called The Pro Fu».
«Theprofu, do you not know our Law is above any of our personal wishes? Nothing prevails over God's Will!»
The Pro Fu looked at that man project with pity itself on his face. After a moment's silence, he reproached:
«Abdul Saleh: are you stating God wants a young woman's life?»
«So the Law demands».
«God is merciful, God loves his children, God doesn't want them to kill one another».
«Blasphemy, old man! Who do you think you are to interpret God's wishes?»
«Look at me well, arrogant, quarrelsome youth: I am from the holy city of Ibn Alsaah, and I am called The Pro Fu because I am The Profet of the Future, who came here to punish you for your impiety and hardness in your heart. If you fulfil your punishment, you might go to Paradise with Reya some day».
And holding a handful of sand from the ground, he spat on it and opening his arms, he addressed his look to the sky and shouted:
«In the name of God, the Fair, the Merciful, the Highest, the Good, I sentence you, Abdul Saleh, to undergo what you condemned unjustly with so little respect and sensitivity! Let there be God's Will now and for ever and ever, amen!» And then he threw the sand on the young man.
Poor Abdul saw the Sun disappear out of the sky, everything went black and he felt a deep and sudden crave for sleeping, sleeping, sleeping...