Ma Wara' al-Tabi'a

Ma Wara' al-Tabi'a (Arabic: ما وراء الطبيعة, lit. 'Beyond Nature'), which can be translated also as Metaphysics, Supernatural, or Paranormal is the title of a series of horror/thriller novellas written by Ahmed Khaled Towfik. As of 2014, 81 novellas were published. Set in the 1960s, it follows hematologist Dr. Refaat Ismail unwillingly become a go-to guy for paranormal investigations. A Netflix adaptation, Paranormal, was released on the 5th of November, 2020.

The stories are told from a first person perspective, where the protagonist, Refaat (رفعت), is nearing seventy years of age and is recounting his adventures starting when he was in his late thirties. All of the events are related to the metaphysics in a way or another, and most often are caused by supernatural phenomena, although some are caused by culprits who are faking the events. Refaat usually solves the mystery, and always gets out alive whether or not he has fully understood the phenomenon. He is accompanied by many friends and characters throughout the stories, some stories are more centered around them than him, and some are totally narrated by them.

The stories are noted for the character's sarcastic attitude towards almost everything in life, although he is kind-hearted on the inside. He usually disbelieves everything until it's proven, and rarely pretends to be smart, as he always thinks that there is nothing that he could do about problems. The writer's style is always renewed, with more than once the story told through newspaper clippings and retellings by other characters, who are given each a distinct point of view and different telling of the story. One very good example of this is #7 (Ostorat allahab alazrak, translated as The Myth of the Blue Flames), which is told from multiple POVs across multiple chapters, forming one clear picture of events at the end of the story. One distinctive feature of the writing style is sarcasm, which is often heavily featured in these stories. Characters are often cynical and/or very sarcastic, lending a unique flavor to the novellas.

• Refaat Ismael: The main character in the series. He is an old and disgruntled hematologist who becomes a reluctant expert on the supernatural after a series of unfortunate adventures he underwent in his youth. He is the main protagonist for most of the series' books; however, some of the stories star other characters such as Salem and Salma, although he is often still the narrator for these stories, or, absent that role, the narrator for the frame story.
• Ezzat Sherif: Refaat's neighbor whom he met in the 3rd story, he was thought to be a cannibal but he turned out to be innocent. Ezzat is a sculptor, a little famous in Egypt, loves Alexandria and is awake all night. He has Addison's disease which weakens his health and shape.
• Maggie McCaleb: Refaat's love interest. She is the daughter of Refaat's Scottish professor, Sir James McCaleb. She studied physics. The character often makes recurring appearances in the series, with one novella being titled "Ostoratha", translated as Her Myth, with the possessive adjective 'Her' referring to Maggie. The story centers around a serial killer targeting Maggie and Refaat's old friend group. Interestingly, her and Refaat never end up getting married or even being officially in a relationship.
• Adel and Seham. Adel is his school friend who now works in national security, he is ill-tempered and almost always busy and asked for Refaat's help in metaphysics/related security problems, he has witnessed some of those phenomena but still finds them hoaxes and never believes Refaat. He lives in Alexandria and is married to Seham who introduced him to Howaida.
• Salem and Salma. Salem and Salma are the same person, only from alternate realities. They are married, a fact that Salma has commented made them "practically amoebas" and have travelled through different realities before meeting Refaat and telling him their stories before moving on to another reality.
• Howaida: She was Refaat's somewhat-ignorant fiancée who broke up with him later. She always pretended to be fragile and feminine while she was only dumb. She later married a man who appeared with her, pregnant, in "The Legend of the End of the Night".
• Dr. Ramzy Habib: An Egyptology professor who is a prominent expert on the Ancient Egyptian Civilization. He is a recurring character throughout the series.
• Dr. Samy: Refaat's psychologist friend who was the host of many creepy stories in his haunted villa, until he sold it and after that he only participated in "The Myth of the Ghoul Club". Has a lovely wife who is so sociable and always invites Refaat to the social events she hosts.
• Dr. Camilia: A philosopher Refaat first met in book 21, it was a replica of her but he finally met her after that and they became friends. She's participated in a different legend and some others.
• Harry Sheldon: Refaat's reckless American friend who is always ready to fight. He has a wife, Linda and has been with Refaat almost every time he went to the US, famous stories he took part in "The Legend of the Blue Flame" and "The Legend of the Doll".
• Sam Colby: An acquaintance of Refaat. He is a Jewish-American con-artist and fraudster. He pretends to possess legitimate knowledge of magic and esoteric arts, but is actually an impostor who has little to no knowledge of the paranormal.
• Dr. Frantz Lucifer: Refaat's main rival and one of the series' principal antagonists. He has a distinctive look, and is described as a tall, "darkly man", with prominent eyebrows, neat black clothing, and heavy gold jewellery that he is quite fond of wearing. When he is first introduced, he poses as a Hungarian expert on the supernatural. Later on, he is slowly revealed to be more than that. He has successfully deceived Refaat on several occasions and has had the chance to destroy or kill him; however, he ultimately decides against it, and even ends up saving and helping Refaat on occasion, as he found it more entertaining to let him live. He viewed his relationship with Refaat as a perpetual game of Cat and Mouse that he was reluctant to put an end to. He is revered, respected, and even feared among demons, monsters, and otherworldly creatures Dr. Lucifer possesses telepathic abilities as well as other supernatural abilities that are not fully explored. He was heavily implied to be the devil himself throughout the series; however, the penultimate story reveals that in reality, he is the eldest son of Satan.

In May 2020, Netflix released Season 1 of an original Middle Eastern series based on Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa. The series was produced by Mohamed Hefzy and Amr Salama, who is also the show-runner and the director.^[1][2] He is a big fan of the series and Towfik in general.

The main series consists of 81 published books or novellas. The last story in the series is considered to be one book by the author, though it was published in two volumes. Below is a list of the books, with the titles translated into English: ^[3]

Every 10th installment in the series is a special installment known as a Circle of Horror. These are usually anthologies featuring multiple characters who each tell a supernatural story that happened to them, the stories often being connected by a theme or a common motif. (exception #60, The Black Museum). As of June 2007, they were:

• 10. The Horror Circle. Refaat is at a social function at an affluent and sophisticated colleague, weather conditions prevent them from returning home, so they pass the night away in telling horror stories of their own life.
• 20. Tales of The Tarot. While in a New York occultists' society party, Refaat is invited to a tarot reading session where a Hungarian paranormals expert does a tarot reading for those in attendance.
• 30. After Midnight. Episodes from a short-lived paranormals-oriented late-night radio program that Reefat was the a recurring guest of.
• 40. Behind the Closed Door. Reefat spends New Year's Eve at an affluent colleague's house, though his colleague seems to be running late. It later transpires that his colleague has departed to the United States to seek treatment for a terminal illness, and he has rigged all exits but one so that opening it would spell death, the purpose of which was to express his distaste for the people he disliked the most, his very guests, whom he accuses of shortcomings such pretension and lack of integrity, with the only exception of Refaat, whom he invited because he thought he'd enjoy the experience. Knowing that help would come by morning in the form of a routine police visit, the guests spend the night telling their stories dealing with the subject of closed doors and what lies beyond them.
• 50. Besides the Stars. While travelling alone by car on a cold night far away from home, Refaat seeks refuge in an abandoned house. He later wakes up to find himself in an alternate dimension where other confused individuals await before a number of demons, having arrived there through a trans-dimensional portal. The demons proclaim that those before them are each evil in some way, and announce that all will be banished to hell, with the exception of he who could prove to be the evilest of all.
• 60. The Black Museum. An eccentric collector invites Refaat to view his collection of artifacts, each related to a paranormal incident.
• 70. The Lost Episodes. Similar to #30.

• List of titles of Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa series
• Rewayat