Lumia is often angry with Abu Laith for putting the animals first but Abu Laith believes that if you don't have mercy on animals you cannot be a good person. Who do you agree with? Is it possible to agree with both Lumia and Abu Laith?

Lumia is often angry with Abu Laith for thinking about the animals when she thinks he should be prioritizing his family because they're humans and deserve his help before the animals do, but Abu Laith believes that if you don't have mercy on animals you cannot be a good person. Who do you agree with? Is it possible to agree with both Lumia and Abu Laith?

This can be tricky to answer. I think it is possible to agree with both Abu Laith and Lumia.

I think it really comes down to the specific circumstances. I think it can be possible to ultimately prioritize your family, while still having mercy on animals.

It's possible to do as much as you can to help animals, within reason, while ultimately seeing your family as priority. The trouble is "within reason" can mean different things to different people.

I think people who are kind and show mercy and compassion to other living creatures are good people. I can understand why Lumia gets angry with Abu Laith for putting the animals first. She is responsible for the majority of the child rearing and domestic care. He could be a little more sympathetic with her concerns and help his family AND the animals.

The author gives the reader limited information about these characters. The reader is left to a bit of guessing about what motivates each one of them. There is a LOT of anger between these two. It seems like each encounter includes some upheaval between them. Abu Laith has far more passion for animals than does Lumia. But that does not necessarily count as a strike against her. I personally am very passionate about animals. But I did not think negatively about Lumia as I read. Frankly, Abu didn't seem to display a high level of responsibility for the family. Lumia probably could not have been more attentive towards the animals simply for lack of time and cultural restrictions of dress and public exposure. I agree with other reviewers who stated that Abu is somewhat childish and found myself feeling frustrated with him. However, I do appreciate mercy towards animals.

You make an important point LindaSc about Lumia having different restrictions in her life to deal with as a woman. That totally makes sense when you look at it from that perspective, because she was so swamped with the children that she probably had no energy left to care emotionally for the animals.