What kind of person is Gamasa Al-Bulti, and what happens to him?

Gamasa Al-Bulti is the police chief under the Governor Khalil al-Hamadhani. Al-Bulti is a corrupt man who punishes innocent people and arrests his friend Sanaan Al-Gamali but who does not recognize that he himself has an evil side. Al-Bulti's main function is to serve his superiors rather than to mete out justice.

A genie named Singam decides to acquaint Al-Bulti with the error of his ways. Singam helps Al-Bulti to recognize his own corruptness by...

Gamasa Al-Bulti is the police chief under the Governor Khalil al-Hamadhani. Al-Bulti is a corrupt man who punishes innocent people and arrests his friend Sanaan Al-Gamali but who does not recognize that he himself has an evil side. Al-Bulti's main function is to serve his superiors rather than to mete out justice.

A genie named Singam decides to acquaint Al-Bulti with the error of his ways. Singam helps Al-Bulti to recognize his own corruptness by causing crimes to erupt across the city, making Al-Bulti feel futile and wounded. As Mahfouz writes, "He was angry about being insulted and his strong and defiant nature took control of him. His tendencies toward good became submerged and disappeared to faraway depths." In other words, the genie causes Al-Bulti to feel defensive, and, after feeling wounded, Al-Bulti resolves to do good and change his evil ways. When Singam asks Al-Bulti what his wish is, Al-Bulti responds that he wants to "destroy criminals and rule the nation with purity and justice."

To make up for his past errors, Al-Bulti decides to kill the governor, Khalil al-Hamadhani, as he believes that killing the corrupt governor is justified. After he carries out the killing, he is sentenced to die. However, at the last minute, the genie, Singam, saves Al-Bulti by creating a double who is executed. Al-Bulti witnesses his double being killed, and Singam explains, "You are alive—all they killed was a likeness of my making." The death of Al-Bulti's double symbolizes his turn to righteousness. Al-Bulti becomes a mad prophet named Abdullah the Porter, also called Gamasa II, who tries to rid the world of corruption and evil.