SCENE (19) – SULTAN MEETS ALAM
Characters
- THE SULTAN
- NUR QUTBI ALAM
Setting
- A narrow path leading toward Adina Mosque. Pre-dawn. The sky is grey, undecided. Mist hangs low. Footsteps sound louder than they should.
(The SULTAN walks alone, wrapped in a cloak.
He pauses when he sees a figure seated beside the path.)
SULTAN
Shaikh.
(NUR QUTBI ALAM does not rise immediately.)
NUR QUTBI ALAM
My Sultan.
(He stands, bows lightly.)
SULTAN
You expected me.
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Dawn makes men honest. Honest men seek quiet counsel.
SULTAN
The palace is loud.
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Then power has begun to echo.
SULTAN
I am surrounded. Inside and out.
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Inside is always harder.
SULTAN
Not the walls. Not the guards.
The loyalty.
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Betrayal in the heart feels larger than betrayal in the state.
SULTAN
Should I punish?
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Punish which part?
The wounded husband—or the threatened ruler?
A ruler who bleeds in public teaches others where to cut.
SULTAN
Tell me—how do I restore order?
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Order is not restored. It is redistributed.
You lost it gradually—by allowing others to decide what did not require your voice.
SULTAN
There is a man who acts without waiting.
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Removing him now will not restore authority. It will expose absence.
SULTAN
Then what must I do?
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Strength now lies in restraint. Publicly affirm order. Privately reduce noise.
(He gestures gently toward the mosque.)
Begin with prayer—not because Allah needs it, but because people need to see that you still bow.
And do not walk alone where impatience has learned your name.
SULTAN
You speak plainly.
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Plain speech is safest before dawn.
(The first hint of light appears.)
SULTAN
Pray for me.
NUR QUTBI ALAM
I already have.
(The SULTAN walks toward Adina Mosque.)
(NUR QUTBI ALAM watches him go—not relieved, not hopeful.)
(The call to prayer begins faintly.)
(Lights fade.)
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