Malamin Bogi Part 1 Complete Hausa Novel

In his voice, with a slightly broken Arabic accent that was not yet fully natural, he began to speak:

“Afwan, afwan, afwan… O town leader, give me two minutes, I am in the middle of some work. You have arrived…”

He said this while repeating phrases of tahlil and slightly raising his voice so they could hear him clearly.

The Town Head and the Imam looked at each other, pleased with his way of speaking. The sound of his Arabic praises made them assume he might truly be engaged in some religious activity or scholarly Islamic devotion like the great Arab scholars do.

However, the fake scholar did not waste time. He quickly composed himself, picked up all the items he had removed from his face, and put them back properly. He adjusted his calmness, then took his long stick and held his cap in one hand. He even rearranged his bag carefully, because if not for prayer being mentioned, nothing would separate him from that money bag—he loved money as though it was his life.

As he opened the door and came out, the scent of his perfume filled the air as he greeted the Town Head and others. They stood aside, staring at him as though they had seen a strange new creature.

The Imam, meanwhile, kept looking at the small beard on the Sheikh’s face, wishing in his heart that such a beard could grow on him so he would also look dignified.

He closed the door, locked it, and placed the key in his pocket, saying:

“Assalamu alaikum, marhaban bikum.”

He raised his Arabic-written cap, decorated with golden designs. In truth, if someone were to ask him what was written on it, he himself did not know.

He placed it back on his head, where a fake wig of hair was hidden underneath, and began moving his lips as if he were reciting dhikr.

The others responded with smiles. They answered his greeting and “marhaban bikum” without even knowing its meaning. But they assumed it meant “welcome,” so they accepted it as a general greeting.

The Town Head then said:

“We actually came specifically to take you to lead the prayer.”

The Sheikh replied:

“Laisa al-mushkila (no problem).”

They all looked at each other—especially the Town Head and the Imam. Even though they did not understand what he said, they smiled and nodded enthusiastically, saying:

“That is exactly why we did not conduct the prayer until we called you.”

The Sheikh smiled in satisfaction. He understood that he had landed in a community of simple-minded people. He was pleased, because this meant he could manipulate them easily. Since they did not understand Arabic, he could say anything and gain respect effortlessly.

In his mind, he realized this was the perfect place to build influence and authority, and eventually collect money from them.

Out loud, he simply said:

“We can go.”

They paused, slightly confused, as if unsure whether they could walk ahead of him. So instead, they followed behind him, because they already admired him greatly. To them, the land of Ƙundu needed salvation—like boarding Prophet Nuh’s ark.

The Sheikh continued:

“After you left, I remained in my room. I performed ablution and was making supplications for your peace and comfort today. May everyone sleep peacefully. You know, in Arab lands, we have nightly prayers and supplications for good sleep and protection for the entire town and surrounding areas.”

The Town Head felt very pleased with this statement. He believed that such powerful prayers and charity were what had brought this great Arab scholar to their town.

Just as they were about to leave, he suddenly remembered he had no ablution. The previous claim was only part of his acting to impress them. But being experienced in deception, he quickly said he wanted to renew his ablution, claiming that Arabs frequently renew ablution because it removes sins.

So they waited while he went inside to perform ablution again, even carefully avoiding removing his cap so he wouldn’t ruin his appearance.

He walked ahead while they followed behind him. He kept rolling his prayer beads, moving his lips continuously as if reciting tahlil and sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace be upon him).

As they moved along, people kept greeting him respectfully. This increased his pride. He would respond with exaggerated dignity, feeling like a king or ruler. Truly, he believed he could influence the people and eventually extract money from them.