SCENE (4) — SAFA LEARNS FROM NUR QUTBI ALAM
Characters
- NUR QUTBI ALAM
- SAFA
Setting
- A small khanqah by the river road. Books stacked neatly. A low platform. No ornament.
(NUR QUTBI ALAM sits reading. He does not look up as SAFA enters.)
NUR QUTBI ALAM
You walk like someone who expects questions.
SAFA
I expect answers.
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Then sit.
(She sits, keeping distance.)
NUR QUTBI ALAM
You are not here for blessing.
SAFA
No.
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Nor forgiveness.
SAFA
No.
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Then you are here to –
SAFA
— learn from you.
NUR QUTBI ALAM
What do you want first—language, law, or stars?
SAFA
Accounting and Economics.
(He smiles—genuine. He gestures to a ledger.)
(This scene flows as tableaux, with small shifts in light and movement.)
[ Learning Economics ]
(They sit over grain ledgers.)
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Charity without structure feeds pride. Structure without mercy feeds rebellion.
SAFA
And mercy without memory?
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Feeds history.
(He watches her think. Impressed.)
[ Learning Islamic Law ]
(A prayer mat lies unused beside them.)
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Law is not punishment. It is expectation made visible.
SAFA
Then injustice is—
NUR QUTBI ALAM
—expectation betrayed.
(She absorbs this.)
[ Learning Languages ]
(He writes words on a slate.)
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Persian for administration.
Arabic for law.
Neither for love.
SAFA
What language is love?
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Silence.
[ Learning Stars ]
(Night. They stand on the roof. He points.)
NUR QUTBI ALAM
That star does not move.
SAFA
Yet sailors follow it.
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Power is similar.
(SAFA removes her burqa briefly to drink water. The rudraksha is visible.)
NUR QUTBI ALAM
You carry more than one grammar.
SAFA
Is that forbidden?
NUR QUTBI ALAM
No. — Only difficult.
SAFA
You knew?
NUR QUTBI ALAM
At the first glance.
SAFA
Why did you not ask?
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Because curiosity seeks possession. Understanding does not.
(SAFA places a small purse beside the books.)
SAFA
For food.
For paper.
For travelers.
NUR QUTBI ALAM
You give as if you expect nothing.
SAFA
I expect discretion.
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Then you will receive instruction.
And silence.
NUR QUTBI ALAM
Intelligence without refuge becomes dangerous. And passion without discipline becomes visible.
(He looks at her carefully.)
You are neither careless nor cruel.
(She lowers her eyes—moved.)
(Blackout.)
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