Zaabalawi: The Wise and Loving Image of Zaabalawi The story of "Zaabalawi" written by Naguib Mahfous, takes us on a journey with the narrator in search of the healing powers possessed by the saint Zaabalawi. Throughout this pilgrimage the narrator, who has an illness of no known cure, seeks this Zaabalawi in hopes that he can relieve his pain and suffering. The author uses the image of a all wise, all loving Zaabalawi as a symbol of hope and faith that keeps the narrator searching for the truth and a cure from miracles that only a saint could conjure. The image of Zaabalawi was planted in the narrator's mind as a very young boy w