: Standing before a wealthy man's ornate marble tomb, the traveler asks the angels of the grave if any ransom can save a soul. The answer is that there is no help or intercession except through prostration .

: Looking at the moon and stars, the traveler asks the universe if there is any "dirt of shirk" (associating partners with God) in them. The entire cosmos replies that they exist in a state of constant remembrance and prostration .

The narrative follows a traveler through several stages of spiritual searching: