Setting: A cozy living room in Riyadh. Two friends, Fahad (the superstitious one) and Omar (the rational thinker), are sitting on the carpet with a tray of dates and Arabic coffee between them. A breeze from the air conditioner hums softly in the background.
Fahad (gasps dramatically):
Ya Allah, Omar! You just spilled your qahwa! That’s such good luck! You know what this means, right?
Omar (grabbing tissues):
Yes. It means I now have to explain to my wife why there’s a coffee stain on the new carpet. Again.
Fahad (grinning):
No, no, no! In our culture, spilling coffee is a sign of barakah—blessing! Something good is coming your way. Just watch.
Omar (raising an eyebrow):
Fahad, the only thing coming my way is a lecture from Leena about being more careful around her new rug. I don’t think “coffee carpet prophecy” is going to save me.
Fahad (sips his cup dramatically):
You laugh now. But remember two months ago when I spilled coffee on my thobe before that job interview? I was sure it was a disaster. But guess what? I got the job and a raise two weeks in.
Omar (smiling):
Or… maybe you got the job because you’re actually qualified and you charmed their HR manager by bringing bakhoor to the interview.
Fahad (waves dismissively):
Coincidence. It’s happened too many times. My cousin spilled coffee the day before her wedding—turned out her husband had secretly bought her a car. Boom! Coffee magic.
Omar (chuckling):
I bet the car was already ordered. I mean, what are the odds her husband saw the spill and went, “Ah yes, the coffee gods have spoken—buy her a Camry!”
Fahad (mock offense):
Don’t mock the wisdom of generations! Our grandmothers didn’t believe in things for no reason.
Omar (kindly):
I’m not mocking, habibi. I’m just saying—it’s easy to connect two events that happen close together and say one caused the other. That’s how our brains work. But correlation doesn’t mean causation.
Fahad (suspicious):
You and your big scientific words again. Next you’ll say jinn don’t mess with people who whistle at night.
Omar (grinning):
Well, they don’t. But let’s stay with coffee for now. Think about it—if spilling coffee always brought good luck, Starbucks would be a fortune-telling parlor.
Fahad (laughing):
Now that I’d pay to see. “Here’s your tall caramel latte and—oh! You spilled? Mazal tov! You’re getting a promotion!”
Omar (playing along):
“And if you spill twice, congratulations—you’re having twins!”
Fahad (laughing hard):
Okay, okay, I admit—it sounds silly when you say it like that.
Omar (smiling warmly):
It’s not silly to want good things. Superstitions come from that place—we want to feel like we have control over uncertainty. But science gives us better tools. Instead of relying on coffee accidents, you could focus on preparation, networking, timing…
Fahad (thoughtful):
But don’t you ever feel like some things are signs? Like the universe is nudging you?
Omar:
Sure, I feel that sometimes. But feelings aren’t evidence. They’re powerful, but they’re not always right. Like when you felt that your phone was cursed because you dropped it during a full moon—and it turned out the battery was just old.
Fahad (grinning sheepishly):
Touché.
Omar (putting down his cup):
So how about this—next time you spill coffee, instead of thinking “this is luck,” think “this is an opportunity to pay attention.” Maybe it’s a moment to reset, to laugh, or to just be more careful. And if something good does happen, great. But no magic involved.
Fahad (raising his cup):
Deal. But if I win the lottery tonight, I’m pouring coffee on all my clothes.
Omar (laughs):
If you win, I’ll pour it for you.
Fahad:
Deal! But only on my old thobes.
[They both laugh, sipping coffee carefully now—but still with a bit of playful superstition in the air.]
Science Vs Superstition 
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