“Sakina followed a path known only to herself, ducking down alleys that ended in tiny squares overgrown with jasmine or dot ted with pools of still water reflecting the moon; jewel-like places that Alif could only stare at for a moment before having to hurry to catch up He heard Sheikh Bilal murmur in appreciation at the scenery as he walked along behind him.

"A marvel," the sheikh said. "Truly, the work of the Lord of Worlds surpasses all our puny understanding. You know, I read once that the human mind is incapable of imagining anything that does not exist somewhere, in some form. It seemed a paltry enough truth at the time I thought, of course it must be so, since in a sense everything we will ever discover or invent has, in the eyes of God, already been discovered and invented, as God is above time. Seeing this, though, I begin to understand how much more profound that statement is. It does not simply mean that man's innovation is entirely known to God; it means there is no such thing as fiction.”