The Thief & the Dogs; continued.

The 6th chapter of Mahfouz's novel is the one in which Nur, the prostitute, conspires with our main character in order to steal a car from one of her clients. I loved the juxtaposition of: "... he could hear through the silence the sounds of love being made in whispers." :} Said recalls how his mentor, Rauf used to justify their stealing by saying that the INTENTIONS were 'good.' I found it ironic that Said called the prostitute Kindhearted, almost reminescent of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. Said is incredibly sarcastic with Nur, even though she risks herself to help him. He is aware of the sincerity of her affection but wants none of it and so she refers to him as heartless.
Chapter 7 of The Thief & the Dogs is one of the kinds that begin in the mind of the protagonist. He admits to himself that he acts on impulse a lot. He's actually conscious that it isn't always correct to act without thinking. What disturbed me was when he told himself it 'better would be to settle with Rauf instead of killing both Ilish & Nabawiyya. Why better? As if the betrayal the two committed was not as huge or personal.
For the first time ever, Said considers sparing his ex-wife's life in order for her to look after their beloved daughter, Sana. Finally, the thief shows some sort of thought process. He still remains vindictive:

It was not right that Ilish Sidra should stay alive for even one day while Said Mahran was a free man.

Said is plotting, a little. He tries to break into the Sidra home and shoots the first figure he sees and Said flees at the sound of a woman's screams. He assumes it was his ex-wife and that he had shot Ilish in front of her... only to read it in the paper the next day that the man he murdered was a stranger.
I found the stylistic symbolism at the end, in which Nur [whose name signifies LIGHT] is the one he avoids as a safe place to hide out because he knew she'd be some one the police would likey investigate. The chapter ironically ends:

"Darkness must extend from now on to all eternity."