The story’s attitude toward the religious relic is ambiguous since it induces opposite feelings in different people. Some love money, and those are truly religious and care for Godly acts.
In the story, Hashim was a Muslim, and after getting the holy hair, he was supposed to return the hair to the mosque. However, due to his love for money, he decided to keep the hair and sell it to an American billionaire. In particular, in the text, Hashim states that “the Prophet would have disapproved mightily of this relic-worship; he abhorred the idea of being deified”.
Therefore, Hashim kept “this rotting hair from its mindless devotees”, showing that he was not afraid of God and the holy hair. However, the hair changed Hashim’s character and revealed his hypocrisy, ultimately destroying his family. The relic caused many problems for Hashim and his family because it was displaced from its shrine.
The hair caused the magic that made the protagonist confess his adultery and revealed that the life of his family was not perfect. The story shows that Hashim was inhumane and incapable of true belief in God. The disrespect to the divine powers of the hair caused troubles that intensified every day. The defaulters increased to the point that Hashim accidentally killed his daughter. Such a tragedy was the payment for the evil that he was doing.
The holy hair destroyed Sheikh Sin and cured his wife and four children. The Sheikh stole the holy hair and did not return it to the holy place. This behavior shows his disrespect for God which leads to his destruction. His family was unaware of Sheikh Sin’s wrongdoings; therefore, they were cured by the holy hair.
A significant impact of magic realism characterizes the story. At first, Hashim’s body changed and was filled with pressure, which led to his confession to his family. Indeed, in the story’s text, the protagonist says,” ‘an end to politeness!’ he thundered. ‘An end to hypocrisy’”. The second manifestation of magic realism was that the death of the Sheikh Sin caused ruin to the life of the four children but a great relief to the wife. Indeed, her sight was restored as a magical sign of the curing effect of the hair.