Alif the Unseen

Dina has been friends with Alif since they were both children. She has loved him for some time but has kept those feelings to herself. She veils her face, even though women of her poor station do not do such a thing. Dina is a foil for Alif. In contrast to his fear, Dina is confident, capable, and comfortable in her skin.

Like Alif, Dina is of low rank. Though she is “expected to become the bare-faced, underpaid ornament to someone's office or nursery” (30), she chooses not to accept the path society would have her take. Where Alif hides himself out of fear, Dina’s decision to hide her face symbolizes her power and ability to control her life.

Dina fears losing Alif. Her refusal to call him Alif, instead calling him Mohammad, shows her dedication to keeping Alif’s real (seen) self alive. Alif has already pulled away by shedding his name, and Dina uses her considerable strength to keep him from completely slipping from her grasp. When Dina and Alif are reunited after he left her to travel to the Immovable Alley, Dina admits she was terrified she would never see him again. After Alif escapes prison and finds Dina in Irem, she admits she was scared but, having been separated from Alif before, kept her fear under control. In NewQuarter’s apartment, Dina stands as a beacon of holy light against the demon that has come for Alif and the Alf Yeom. Conquering her fears changes her from confident to a force of nature and religion. Instead of fearing for Alif, she protects him. When Alif finally grows into his unafraid (seen) self, Dina is his perfect match.

Vikram is a jinn and the most prominent member of the unseen race in the book. He has “yellow eyes in a handsome, raceless face” (90). His appearance shifts between human and jinn depending on each character’s willingness to believe in the unseen world, and as a character’s beliefs change, so does their perception of Vikram. Vikram protects Alif, Dina, and the convert while they work to uncover the mystery of the Alf Yeom.

Vikram acts like a trickster, but this is a front. He cares about humans and willingly helps them without receiving anything in return, making him an anomaly among the jinn. His actions throughout the novel show the dichotomy of his personality—a jinn with human-like emotions. Vikram grows to love the convert, and this relationship represents a bridge between seen and unseen. The half-jinn, half-human baby the convert carries strengthens this link. When Alif and his friends take refuge from State in the mosque, Vikram distracts and frightens the men, sustaining injuries in the process. He knows bringing Dina and the convert to Irem for their protection will kill him, but he chooses to do so anyway. Before he dies, Vikram weds the convert to extend favors and protections to her and, by extension, Dina. At the end of the book, Vikram appears to Alif while he fights the Hand and offers Alif the boost of self-confidence he needs to win the battle.

The convert is an American student who has come to “an exciting new country” to study ancient texts (129), something she was already doing back in America. She enters the story when Alif, Dina, and Vikram seek her expertise on the Alf Yeom. She sought out Vikram some time ago because she found the legend of Vikram the Vampire interesting. Vikram has been a constant in her life ever since, and while she begins the story thinking of him as a nuisance, she realizes her love for him by the end.

The convert’s real name is never learned, and as such, the character serves as a link between the seen and the unseen. Like Alif, her lack of a given name keeps her in the unseen. This foreshadows her choice to remain in Irem. Vikram’s child is the tipping point for her to be more unseen than seen. She begins the story unable to perceive the jinn world. Her change links the seen and unseen worlds, much like Vikram does.

The convert is a mirror for Alif throughout the book, as Alif recognizes his own insecurities about belonging and identity in the convert. The convert also represents the idea that all people, seen and unseen, are alike, no matter what culture they come from. 

Sheikh Bilal oversees the mosque where Alif takes refuge from the state detectives. The sheikh is a father figure who mentors Alif both in religion and in identity. He is the starting point for many of the points debated throughout the book, most notably a person’s identity in reality versus cyberspace.

The sheikh’s eyes are “a rheumy, unfocused blue” (182). His failing vision symbolizes his ability to recognize the unseen. When he first encounters Vikram, the sheikh perceives him as a dog, but he understands what Vikram is quickly. Sheikh Bilal decides to remain among the jinn, where the seen is not so important and his vision does not matter so much.

Intisar is a rich girl who is solidly rooted in her rank, “like a pearl embedded in one of the ancient mollusks” (12). Intisar embodies the book’s major theme of belonging. She does not want to give up her elite status to be poor with Alif. Intisar brings trouble to Alif throughout the novel. When she breaks up with Alif, she starts the chain of events that leads to Alif being a fugitive. Later, she leads the Hand and state forces to Alif’s hiding place. When Alif stops giving Intisar control over his emotions at the end of the book, he walks away from her toxic effect on his life.

The Hand is a man with “bearing that suggested long-held authority” (254). Until he visits Alif in prison, he is an unseen figure, a representation that mirrors his obsessive desire to obtain the power of the Alf Yeom. The Hand is the main antagonist and the source of Alif’s fear. The two waged an online battle for years. When the Hand challenges Alif in the real (seen) world, Alif initially cannot match him. By starving and torturing Alif, the Hand unintentionally gives Alif the confidence and capability to emerge victorious at the end of the book. 

NewQuarter (internet name NewQuarter01) is the “city’s first blogger” and a member of the royal family (17). He struggles to perceive the unseen world, represented by his disappearance from the online scene and his love for expensive furniture (material items of the seen world). Like Alif, he primarily goes by his internet handle. This loyalty to the unseen of the internet allows him to gain an awareness of the unseen jinn world by the end of the story.

Sakina is a friend of Vikram’s whose appearance “lacked any discernible ethnic trait or distinction” (162). She confirms Alif’s copy of the Alf Yeom is the original. Like Vikram, she has greater faith in humans than other jinn. After Vikram’s death, she becomes a willing contact to the unseen for Alif.

Azalel is Vikram’s sister. For years, she appeared to Alif and Dina as a black and orange cat. Azalel’s fondness for Alif leads her to help him at every available opportunity. She convinces Vikram to aid Alif and Dina because Alif sheltered her during the sandstorm earlier in the book. Later, she rallies the jinn to fight alongside Alif even after the Hand seems to have won. Azalel represents Alif’s growth throughout the story. At the beginning, Alif sleeps with her in a dream because he subconsciously realizes his feelings for Intisar are fake. At the end, Alif refuses her advances because his feelings for Dina are real.