For the Love of God starts with a brother’s attempt to contact his younger brother, a call which not only goes unanswered but leads to the younger brother taking the sim card out of his phone. The subsequent montage of the younger brother, Taqi, packing with a small smile and growing determination. After taking down photos, Taqi sits by the window drinking milk and smoking a cigarette. While it’s still unclear what the event provoked the move and avoidance of his brother, Ahmed, the film’s understated tone indicates there’s some level of disillusionment. The tight shot of the neighborhood from Taqi’s window pane in this scene is followed by a shot of Ahmed at the masjid, praying. A retrospective look at the film implies there’s a symbolic distance from the city and the religion in this progression of images.

The audience follows scenes of Ahmed in the masjid, at the butcher’s, and in the streets with furrowed brows. He gets looks from others, the kinds that are made to tell the other person that their shame is well known to others; as though one is already seen to have been an example of. At the butcher’s is where he has prolonged judgemental contact with another person who smokes and smiles. The film shows a halal slaughtering of a chicken on camera (its full shot shortened on this platform), where the red of the blood is the strongest color in the film. It’s as though the color gives clarity to Ahmed, or at least a clear idea of how to respond to the shame he’s receiving and feeling. In the meantime, Taqi is doing namaz, crying into his hands as he does dua. Later, Ahmed shaves around his neck, careful not to cut himself. That night, Ahmed has a silent dinner with his wife, where he is supposedly eating the chicken. He slams his hands on the table and leaves.