| Shaddad bey | Abd Al Hamid | The cotton merchant. |
| Ahmad | Abd Al-Jawad | Amina's wealthy husband. |
| Al-Hajj | Abd Al-Jawad | Ahmad's father. |
| Mutawalli | Abd Al-Samad | The shaykh. |
| Ahmad | Abduh | The coffee shop owner. |
| Muhammad | Abduh | The Egyptian theologian. |
| Muhammad | Ajami | The expensive narcotics vendor. |
| Hassuna | Al-Baghl | A drug dealer. |
| Khalil | Al-Banan | Zubayda's lover. |
| Kamal | Al-din Husayn | The Prince who refused to ascend the throne of his father. |
| Ibrahim | Al-far | The copper merchant. |
| Jamil | Al-Hamzawi | Ahmad's assistant. |
| Al-Sayyid | Ali | The flour merchant. |
| Umm | Ali | The matchmaker. |
| Aisha | Al-Jawad | Ahmad and Amina's daughter. |
| Amina | Al-Jawad | Protagonist. |
| Fahmy | Al-Jawad | Ahmad and Amina's son. |
| Kamal | Al-Jawad | Ahmad and Amina's son. |
| Khadija | Al-Jawad | Ahmad and Amina's daughter. |
| Yahsin | Al-Jawad | Ahmad's son. Amina's step-son. |
| Mr. | Amos | The assistant British judicial counsel. |
| Mr. | Costaki | The grocery store owner. |
| Hajj | Darwish | The bean vendor. |
| Hasan | Effendi | Ibrahim's father. |
| Muhammad | Farid | The Egyptian nationalist leader. |
| Ahmad | Faud | The new sultan. |
| Uncle | Hamdan | One of the shop owners. |
| Umm | Hanafi | Amina's servant. |
| Uncle | Hasanayn | The barber. |
| Hasan | Ibrahim | A police officer who likes Aisha. |
| Muhammad | Iffat | One of Ahmad's friends. |
| Mustafa | Kamil | Farid's predecessor and mentor. |
| Umm | Maryan | Amina's next-door neighbor. |
| Madam | Nafusa | The owner of 7 stores. |
| Adli Yeken | PAsha | Husayn's colleague. |
| Hamad Basil | Pasha | The chieftain of a ferocious tribe. |
| Husayn Rushdi | Pasha | The Prime Minister of Egypt. |
| Urabi | Pasha | The 19th century Egyptian patriot. |
| Al-Sayyid Muhammad | Ridwan | Amina's neighbor. |
| Ibrahim | Shawkat | Khalil's older brother. |
| Mr. | Shawkat | The oldest friend of Ahmad and Amina. |
| Mrs. | Shawkat | Mr. Shawkat's widow. |
| Mr. | Shaykh | The seminarian. |
| Muhammad | Uthman | A renowned vocalist. |
| Muhammad | Uthman | The composer. |
| Sa'd | Zaghlul | Vice President of the legislative assembly. |
| Ya'qub | Zaynhum | A bakery owner. |
| Abbas II | | The khedive of Egypt and Sudan. |
| Abduh | | The blind performer. |
| Al-Bayumi | | The drinks vendor. |
| Al-Far | | One of Ahmad's friends. |
| Al-Fuli | | The milkman. |
| Al-Hamuli | | A renowned vocalist. |
| Al-Manilawi | | A renowned vocalist. |
| Fino | | Jalila's tambourine player. |
| Fuad | | Jamil's son. |
| Haniya | | Yahsin's mother. |
| Jalila | | Ahmad's former lover. A famous performer. |
| Jaljal | | Zubayda's maid. |
| Julian | | One of Kamal's friends. |
| Maryam | | Ridwan's daughter. The girl Fahmy likes. |
| Nur | | Zaynab's maid. Yahsin's mistress. |
| Sabir | | The male vocalist. |
| Sadiqa | | The maid of Amina's mother. |
| Zanuba | | Zubayda's foster daughter. The girl Yahsin likes. |
| Zaynab | | Yasin's wife. |
| Zubayda | | The performer. Ahmad's mistress. |
