# Allah — Poetry character guide > Allah in Poetry by Ameen Rihani. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Rain Allah, Allahu **First appearance:** 0001-salaam ## Snapshot The merciful, rain-bringing presence invoked across the desert poems, whose pity chains the simoom and turns Arabia's wounds into flowering ground. ## Who they are Addressed directly in 'Prayer in the Desert' and hymned in 'The Song of Rain,' Allah appears less as doctrine than as the force that answers thirst—'a little rain, a little rain' becomes the refrain of a whole parched people. The tension is between drought and deliverance: the faithful lie prostrate, pierced by flaming darts, begging the Bestower to sustain his 'sun-crowned Daughter.' He matters because the collection's geography of longing—sand, simoom, palm, and stone—only makes sense as a landscape waiting on his mercy. ## Relationships ### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/characters/unknown_narrator) _psychological_ The narrator experiences a profound, often conflicted spiritual and existential connection with Allah, marked by longing and questioning. ### [Zahra](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/characters/zahra) _psychological_ Zahra's relationship with Allah is one of devout submission and spiritual comfort, contrasting with the narrator's turmoil. ### [Hanem](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/characters/hanem) _psychological_ Allah is invoked in relation to Hanem, often as a moral or spiritual counterpoint to her earthly allure. ### [Alcazar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/characters/alcazar) _rivalry_ Alcazar challenges the concept of Allah, representing a skeptical or rationalist opposition to faith. ## In the story ### [Poetry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/poetry) Invoked as the source of poetic inspiration and divine truth. ### [Fardi wa Nafli](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/fardi-wa-nafli) Addressed as 'God of Love' and 'God of Light,' the deity to whom the speaker prays for Saada's recovery. ### [A Bed of Flame](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/a-bed-of-flame) Implied as 'God' in the final line, contrasted with Satan as a source of trial. ### [Unadorned](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/unadorned) The divine figure to whom the speaker clings even in hell. ### [Allah wa Ana](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/allah-wa-ana) The divine speaker who declares unity with humanity and eternal love. ### [In Memory of E. M. El-K.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/in-memory-of-e-m-el-k) Invoked in the line 'O God, where went the light?' as the speaker cries out in despair. ### [The Cataclysm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/the-cataclysm) Referenced indirectly through the 'riddled emblem of God' and the act of thanking the rain. ### [Reflections](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/reflections) Implied as the 'Eye Unseen' that sheds charitable sheen on the soul's byways. ### [Andalusia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/andalusia) Referenced in 'Arabia, in Allah’s chaplet strung' as a symbol of divine connection. ### [In the Palm Groves of Memphis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/in-the-palm-groves-of-memphis) Referenced in the context of divine bounty and the eternal nature of God, as in 'Allah’s bounties abound' and 'God liveth still.' ### [Prayer in the Desert](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/prayer-in-the-desert) Addressed as Lord of Bounties, Thou Bountiful, Thou Merciful, and Allah; the recipient of the prayer for rain. ### [The Song of Rain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/the-song-of-rain) Central figure praised for mercy, wisdom, and power in bringing rain to revive the earth. ### [The House of Night](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/the-house-of-night) Referenced indirectly through 'the infinities of God' and 'the God of Chance,' suggesting a divine presence in the unfolding of the universe. ### [The Pagan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/the-pagan) Referred to as the 'One Eternal' and 'Love's one God,' the ultimate divine presence in the temple. ### [Hanem](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/hanem) Invoked in the oath 'By Allah' as the speaker swears to his memories of Hanem. ### [The Road of Make-Believe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/the-road-of-make-believe) Implied as the divine toward which the woman is heading ('she, to God'). ### [Renunciation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/renunciation) The Beloved, whose voice questions the pilgrim from within. ### [A Sufi Song](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/a-sufi-song) The implied recipient of the speaker's devotion and the one who sows, waters, and dwells in the heart. ### [The Two Brothers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/the-two-brothers) Addressed as 'God' and 'thou,' the divine brother who shares the same light and cosmic essence as Man. ### [God of the Distances, Hear Us](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/god-of-the-distances-hear-us) Addressed as 'God of the Distances', the divine listener and guide sought throughout the poem. ### [The Sufi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/the-sufi) The divine presence to whom the soul's toll is paid; appears in the glades with food of love. ### [The Fugitive](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/the-fugitive) The divine pursuer who follows, calls, and shoots arrows of love at the fugitive speaker. ### [A Chant of Mystics](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/a-chant-of-mystics) Referred to as the Beloved, the Magnet, and the source of beauty and union. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/characters/allah - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_2_se/characters