√Shade Of Rufaida Book 1 Complete Hausa Novel

*Shade of Rufaidah*

_By_

_Surayyahms_

_Any resemblance of the story or lifestyle should be considered a coincidence!_

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

_Dedicated to HRH Malama Hau'wa Mu'az Omar._

Part 1: Chapter 1

*Guns and Roses*

*District Mogue No. 25, Ahmad Lawal Street: 6:34 a.m.*

He was crying bitterly, kneeling in front of a grave, and only the sound of his crying could convince you that this man had truly suffered a great loss, especially the way his eyes had swollen and turned a deep red, so that anyone who looked at him would surely have tears welling in their own eyes out of pity.

As he knelt there, another handsome young man who looked a lot like him came too, his eyes also red from crying so much. He came softly until he reached him; his body was so weakened that he could no longer hold himself together, and then he too began to cry. He put his hand on him and pulled him close, embracing him tightly as they held each other in a kind of weary longing and weakness mixed with pain and torment. Nothing flowed between them except tears falling and the hot steam of their breathing, heavy with grief.

The one standing could barely find his voice before he began to calm the one kneeling, whispering gentle and soothing words into his ear, hoping he might feel some comfort in his heart, but he too could not stop crying until he simply pulled him forcefully and they left the cemetery together...

*Before what happened.*

It was broad afternoon, and the town had turned cool. Children filled the streets with noise, showing that it was time for them to leave the big Islamic school in their outskirt neighborhood in Kano. Three girls could be seen walking together in step, on their way home, all of them enclosed in long dark green hijabs, which was the color of their school uniform. The color suited them beautifully, because of how it embraced the light of their long faces and their youthful, blossoming figures. They were all no older than seventeen, tall, beautiful, and friends from the beginning, since they were little children. They walked ahead calmly, because by now they were used to the way everyone’s eyes would steal glances at them; even from that you could tell they were different from the other girls moving about in the school.

Their names were Amal and Batul, and the third one was called Rufaida, who alone covered her face with a niqab and always walked slightly to the side, especially on the right.

Today too, they were walking and chatting about handsome men who would suit them and the modern kind of marriage people were doing these days, which they also wanted for themselves. Up to that time in their neighborhood, no one had ever had a grand, celebrated wedding like Rufaida’s older sister Suhan, whose wedding preparations were now underway...

As for Rufaida, she could be described as one of those modest girls who strongly liked to hide the beauty of their faces behind the hijab. She was very reserved, though not weak, except that her words did not flow except where it was appropriate and with the right person.

Rufaida had a beautiful, coquettish face that could not be completely hidden even when concealed. She was very smart and very romantic at heart. Rufaida dreamed of living a good, orderly life—one with class and the manners of modern women.

But the way she was brought up had hidden every sign that would have shown this in her, especially since she was the daughter of a learned man, and not just any learned man, but one who loved the things of this world terribly. That was why, in every conversation Amal and Batul had, she hardly ever added a word. Even now, in her heart, she did not feel any desire or greed for getting married in a hurry the way she saw every girl wishing for after secondary school. For her, hasty marriage was never an option, because she had a strong desire to seek knowledge so she could live her life with quality and excellence. Her friends were already tired of hearing this opinion of hers and had left her alone. So whenever they began talking about boys, she would not tell them to stop; in fact, she could not even pay much attention to men in her life, especially since by nature she was not free with them.

As they always did every day, right along the way through the lanes near their homes, they said goodbye to one another after parting, and each headed into her parents’ house.

The moment Rufaida entered their house, she found the courtyard crowded with outspoken, greedy women chattering noisily, making such a racket that it was impossible to listen. Right away she remembered that since yesterday the dowry for her sister Suhan had been brought, and wedding preparations were in full rush for this week. All the neighborhood women had gathered in their house, saying they had come to see the dowry of a girl with a prominent forehead, while all they did was cheer and shout, which only made Rufaida’s heart sink more...

She lowered her head quickly, knowing there was no time for greetings to be noticed. She walked on quietly, feeling the small gossip and all kinds of malicious talk rising from every corner of the women’s gathering in the courtyard. Truly, most of the women who came to wedding festivities in their house did not come for the sake of God; they came only for gossip, hypocrisy, and to openly show their envy. It was known throughout the neighborhood that their father, Yaa Malam, was stingy, which was why he only gave his daughters in marriage to wealthy people and had never married any of them to a poor man. But she just hated it when people talked about her parents like that.

The gossip of people was always about how their father, Yaa Malam, made great efforts in looking for people of wealth and status, and how he was deeply driven by ignorance, lack of proper inquiry, and an intense greed for money in his life, to the point that he had made it seem like some future ambition of his to carry on the affairs of his life through marriage...