Malukussaifi Complete Hausa Novel by Aliyu Abubakar Sharfadi

Description

That night, Kamriyya rubbed the tablet, and immediately **Iluru** appeared and stood before her. She commanded him to take Malukussaifi to the city of **Malam Afaladinu**. He did as he was told. This time, in sorrow, Iluru went and picked up Malukussaifi and flew upwards with him. Due to the extreme speed, Malukussaifi woke up from his sleep, felt his arm, and realized he did not have his tablet. He looked and saw it was Iluru carrying him, and he knew someone else must have gained control of the tablet. He asked, “O Iluru, where have you been commanded to take me? And who has possessed the tablet to order you to carry me away?”

Iluru replied angrily, “By Allah, my leader, you do not know my importance to you; that is why you are so negligent with my tablet, allowing me to be sent toward your destruction. By Allah, if I didn't know there was a destiny that would return me to your hands, I would have killed you myself to rest from the trouble I endure because of you. Remember, I am not a lowly jinn or a slave; I am a prince like you. Your grandfather crafted my tablet for you alone to serve you, yet you are so careless that others get the chance to enslave me. Now, your mother has possessed my tablet again and commanded me to take you to the city of Malam Afaladinu—the city where you got the hat—as she commanded me before.”

Hearing this, Malukussaifi felt regret and said, "O Iluru, now if those people raise their sharp spears and you drop me, I will surely die." Iluru replied, "It is your own negligence that brought this upon you." After a few hours, they reached the city.

Iluru did as commanded and looked down to see the people of the city lined up with their spears raised. He knew if he dropped him like that, they would impale him. So, he broke a tree, hollowed it out, placed Malukussaifi inside, flew high into the sky with the wood, and then dropped it. He then hurried to **Akisa's** house and told her, “Hurry and save your brother, for his mother has sent me to drop him for the people of Afaladinu to impale him with their spears!”

Upon hearing this, Akisa jumped up and rushed with unprecedented speed. She arrived just as the hollow tree containing Malukussaifi was about two cubits from the ground and the tips of the spears. She swooped in, snatched him out of the wood, flew up, and took him to her house, laying him on a bed. Seeing him motionless, she thought he was dead, but after listening to his chest and hearing his heartbeat, she realized he was alive. Distraught by his condition, she sang a twenty-verse song in tears, praying to Allah for his recovery. Before she finished her song, a man on a **winged camel** landed in her compound.

The man greeted her, and she asked, "Are you a human or a jinn? And who are you, where are you from, and what brings you to my house?" The man replied, "Now is not the time for talk. I have come to help my brother with medicine. Do not delay me; you will hear my story later." He took a small container from a bag on his shoulder, opened it, and brought out three red pills. He handed them to her and said, “Take these. Your brother currently cannot hear or see, and his body is paralyzed from the battering inside the wood. Soak one pill and drop it in his eyes to heal them; soak the second and drop it in his ears to heal them; and soak the third to rub all over his body, and he will be as healthy as if nothing ever happened to him.”

Akisa accepted them happily, and the man mounted his camel and flew away. Akisa quickly followed the instructions. Shortly after, Malukussaifi yawned, stretched, turned over, and sat up. Seeing her by his side, he asked, "O my sister, where am I?" She replied, "You are in my house." She told him everything that happened. He thanked her and asked for food. She brought him various delicacies, and he ate until he was full. He then asked her to take him back to his city, but she said, “O my brother, I will not return you to your country because I fear your mother will plot against you again. I prefer you stay here with me; as long as you are in this house, no jinn can take or harm you.”

He refused to stay, and they argued until she finally swore by the Almighty that he would not leave that day. He agreed to stay for a few days but asked her to go to his country to bring him news of his people. Akisa agreed and left for Yemen.

After five hours, Akisa returned and said, "I have been to your country and brought news." He said, "I am listening, tell me." She said, "When your mother commanded Iluru to take you to Afaladinu, after he returned, she had him release the two sorcerers from prison and return them to their country, the city of **King Saifu'aradu**. When morning came and the people didn't see you, they told your sorcerer, **Barnuhu**. He performed a divination and understood what happened. He told your people to stay calm, as nothing would happen except by Allah's will.

At that time, he commanded **King Abuttaj** and his warriors to mount their horses and go somewhere, but I didn't find out where. Barnuhu then used his magic to bind Kamriyya completely so she cannot move; she cannot rub the tablet, and he afflicted her with a severe illness that keeps her from going anywhere. This is the news of your people." He was happy and continued to stay with Akisa as she told him interesting stories to keep him company.

As for Kamriyya, every time she tried to rub the tablet, she failed, and her illness worsened. One day, she called one of her servants and wrote a letter: “To the Great King Saifu'aradu, know that I, your servant Kamriyya, intended to kill my son Malukussaifi in obedience to your command. But now there is a sorcerer named Barnuhu—as you might have heard from your own sorcerers—who is my obstacle. I sent my son to be killed, and now I want you to send those two sorcerers to help me capture this man. You are the king of this entire region; if you leave this world and he triumphs over me, other great kings will mock you, saying that despite your great power, a single sorcerer defeated you.”

She gave the letter to the servant and told him to hurry to King Saifu'aradu. The servant left at night and eventually reached the King’s palace. The letter was read aloud, and the King said, “Kamriyya is right; other kings would indeed mock me.”

The King commanded the two sorcerers, **Sakaradisa** and **Sakaradiyyuna**, to return to Yemen to help Kamriyya finish Barnuhu. Sakaradisa bowed and said, "May Zahlu grant you victory. We will return, but we cannot go alone. Not because we fear that sorcerer, but because we fear **Sa'aduninzamji**, whom we encountered there before." The King asked what they needed, and Sakaradisa requested ten thousand warriors and two great commanders, **Sabikussalasa** and **Hurulwashi**, to fight Sa'aduninzamji while they handled Barnuhu. The King agreed.

The King turned to his **Vizier Baharu** and asked why he hadn't been offering advice lately. The Vizier replied that the King had only been seeking the sorcerers' advice, so he remained silent. The King apologized and asked for his opinion. The Vizier said, "Sa'aduninzamji is a peerless warrior. Even with these numbers, they might not capture him." The King agreed and asked for a solution. The Vizier suggested a bandit named **Maimunulhinjab** who lived in the **Asadu Forest**—a man so powerful he alone could capture Sa'aduninzamji.

The King liked the idea and asked how to contact him. The Vizier suggested sending messengers with great wealth as a gift, promising him the King’s daughter in marriage and more riches if he helped. The King ordered the wealth to be loaded onto horses and told the sorcerers, "Only you can handle this task. Go to Maimunu and tell him what the Vizier said." The sorcerers were terrified, knowing that few see Maimunu and survive, but they obeyed. After several days, they reached the Asadu Forest.

In the forest, there was a tall rock where Maimunulhinjab and his ten followers lived. Maimunu was a giant—about forty cubits tall, with a broad chest, a terrifying face, a forehead like a bowl, large red eyes, thick arms like water pots, a huge belly, and legs as flat as boards.

From the rock, Maimunu saw the sorcerers approaching with wealth and laughed, thinking it was easy loot. He stood up like a massive pillar. Because of his size, he didn't ride horses but a **giant elephant**. He rode down and roared at them, "Where are you going, and who gave you permission to enter my territory?" Terrified, Sakaradisa mustered courage and said, “Peace be upon you, O Maimunu. We are messengers, and this wealth is a gift for you.”

Maimunu roared again, "Who sent you and why?" The sorcerer explained the King’s request. Maimunu thought that if he refused, the world would say he feared Sa'aduninzamji. To protect his reputation, he agreed. He told his men to guard the wealth while he went to the land of Habasha. He prepared for war with black iron armor and a stone helmet and shield.

When they reached the city, Maimunu was amazed by the buildings, having lived in the wild all his life. The townspeople fled in terror at his sight. At the palace, he sat on a massive ivory chair next to the King. During a feast, they heard a thunderous sound from above, and a man with large eyes, long teeth, long claws, and old clothes fell from the sky.

The man identified himself as the leader of the sorcerers from the land of **Ashas**, under **King Shahis**. He said they were looking for a fair-skinned man named Malukussaifi, who had led their leader, Barnuhu, to change his religion. He explained how they had been hunting them. The King told him to bring the rest of his eighty sorcerers, saying he was also looking for them and would send a joint army to Yemen the next day.

At dawn, ten thousand warriors gathered along with the sorcerers, Maimunu, and the commanders. They set out for Yemen.

Meanwhile, after two months at Akisa's house, Malukussaifi wanted to return home. As they traveled, he smelled a wonderful fragrance and felt a soothing breeze. He asked Akisa where they were. She explained it was a magical garden created by **King Kasimul'abusi** for his daughter to rest in. Malukussaifi insisted on seeing it. Despite her warnings that jinns could not enter due to a magical barrier, she dropped him off nearby. He entered and saw beautiful fruits, golden chairs, and a magnificent house built of white iron and red gold.

Hearing a noise, he hid in the grass and saw several girls fly down like birds, wearing feather cloaks. One girl, more beautiful than the rest, sat on the largest chair. She had stunning eyes, long hair, and a perfect figure. Malukussaifi was instantly infatuated. He ran back to Akisa and declared he wanted to stay there forever to be near her. Akisa tried to remind him of his kingdom and his son **Damaru**, but he begged her to help him win the girl, then began to cry at the thought of losing her.