Ibn Fattouma, also called Qindil, is the main protagonist of the fable. He isn’t convinced by the workings of his home country, where corruption and peaceful preaching of Islam appear to coexist in a paradoxical unity. He has a conversation with his teacher who suggests that he should look for Gebel, a land of perfection that doesn’t have such similar issues.
Qindil embarks on a trip to search for Gebel. His first stop is a land called Mashriq, and he is baffled by the structure of the society which is a complete opposite of what he’s used to. It is a pagan society, where men and women freely explore their sexuality and believe in the moon as a god. Nevertheless, he soon becomes accustomed to the society, takes a woman called Arousa as a partner and has children with her.
Qindil eventually gets banished from the land because he wanted to teach his children about Islam. He then finds himself in a land called Haira. Haira and Mashriq have a conflict which ends up in war and defeat of Mashriq. Haira is ruled by an all-powerful king who is also seen as divinity. Qindil ends up in jail for trying to reunite with Arousa.
Haira eventually falls, and Qindil’s journey takes him to Halba, a land that values individualism above anything else. Halba believes in freedom and equality, but wants to aggressively influence other lands with this system. They come into conflict with neighboring Aman, that is ruled by a system of justice.
Just before the war between these two lands, Ibn Fattouma or Qindil leaves and reaches the land called Ghuroub. This is the final stop before Gebel, the land of perfection, and Qindil starts to have an inner-conflict, questions his being and desire to reach Gebel. The story ends with him embarking toward Gebel.
