Mugun Icce Book Compelet Zahra Royal

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION
Every destiny in life has a beginning and an end, and trials come in various forms. Some are sweet, while others are the exact opposite, used by Allah alone to test the faith of His servants. In this book titled TSANIN ƘADDARA (The Ladder of Destiny), there are various stories filled with difficult life-destinies that are hard to swallow. Will these characters be able to withstand these destinies? What kind of ladder of destiny is this anyway? What will happen? Who are the ones most likely to climb this ladder of destiny? And what truly is the Ladder of Destiny?
All the answers to these questions are inside my book named Tsanin Ƙaddara. Just follow along with me slowly, and I will unravel every single complication within it...
House No: 19 Mando Estate, Kaduna, Nigeria
Running wildly, she burst out of the toilet, nearly crashing into someone standing nearby. In a state of panic, she grabbed the person, staring at her in utter shock. Then, shaking all over, she looked back toward the toilet door, her lips trembling as she spoke.
"Nuratu, could what we suspect actually be true? For God's sake, tell me it isn't so!"
Nuratu's body shook as tears streamed down her face from sheer confusion and terror. Her chest heaving, she looked at Sadiya, who was holding onto her. With great difficulty, Nuratu managed to force the words out of her mouth.
"I am ruined, Sadiya! Wallahi, I am pregnant—and it happened without marriage! Sadiya, help me, I am destroyed!"
"Innalillahi wa'inna ilaihir raju'un! Nuratu, is it really the pregnancy we suspected? How on earth could a woman get pregnant without a man sleeping with her? Because I know your character—you could never commit such a heinous evil!"
Nuratu shook her head, swallowing a burning lump in her throat as she said:
"This pregnancy belongs to the master of this house, Sadiya. I swear to God, and I won't lie..."
Sadiya felt her head spinning as a violent wave of dizziness threatened to knock her down. In a frantic rush, Sadiya clapped her hand over Nuratu's mouth, shaking her head wildly with wide, terrified eyes.
"Nuratu, what on earth are you trying to say?! Do you realize the gravity of what you are uttering? Do you know what will happen to your life if the woman of this house hears you claiming to saddle her husband with an illegitimate child? A husband she jealously guards with a crazy, consuming love—a woman whose wild, manic jealousy means there is nothing she wouldn't do on his account! Have you forgotten who Haj Mansura is, Nuratu? How, how on earth could you say he got you pregnant? A man who is exceptionally cautious around all women because he knows how dangerously jealous his wife is! I will never believe this nonsense of yours, Nuratu. Find out who really gave you that pregnancy inside your body!"
With her head bowed, Nuratu looked down at the pregnancy test kit she had used, which clearly indicated a positive result. That explained why she had been suffering from various strange illnesses over the past couple of days—symptoms typical of early pregnancy. That was why she and Sadiya had panicked so badly that they rushed to the nearest chemist to buy a pregnancy test kit, and Nuratu had tested her blood at home, confirming beyond doubt that she was carrying a pregnancy.
Sniffling, Nuratu lifted her head, tears still flowing freely as she looked at Sadiya. Dropping the plastic test strip, she grabbed Sadiya's hand, which was still trembling in sheer disbelief. With a tearful voice, Nuratu said:
"Wallahi, by Allah, my younger sister Sadiya, I am not lying. Something happened one night that I will never forget. True, Alhaji Ahmed did not penetrate me, but his genital organ touched my vulva. He rubbed his genital organ against my vulva, and I once heard a sermon stating that pre-ejaculatory fluid travels like water, and a pregnancy can occur if a man plays with his organ inside a woman's vulva without entering her. That night, God ordained that it wouldn't be me [to completely escape], because I barely managed to tear myself away from his grip. Clearly, something had happened to Alhaji Ahmed to cause him to act in that abnormal state. I don't harbor any anger toward him because he was completely out of his mind, Sadiya. But he definitely knows what happened, because starting the very next morning, I noticed him watching me with a look I couldn't comprehend. Back then, when I first started feeling sick with morning sickness, I didn't realize it—you were the one who first suggested that my illness looked like early pregnancy. You know better than anyone how panicked I was! I had no idea where I caught the pregnancy until yesterday, when I listened to Malama Juwairiya's sermon and heard everything. Only then did I realize that I could indeed conceive from what he kept doing to me."
"Innalillahi wa'inna ilaihir raju'un! What kind of destiny is this?! What are we going to do with this pregnancy? You know that even if a mad dog bit us, we could never come out into the open and say this pregnancy belongs to the master of the house! You know that better than anyone—Haji Mansura would have us make-believe disappear from the face of the earth, leaving no trace, if she ever found out what is happening."
Nuratu let out a heavy, choking sob, looking back at Sadiya while tears of self-pity and sorrow for her daughter, whom she had left behind at their family home, washed over her.
"Sadiya, it's Intee I feel sorry for. She never had the fortune of a proper father, and now here I am about to drag her life into utter ruin as well. Sadiya, this domestic work is the only place we have where we get our food and shelter. Sadiya, I have no choice—I must leave this job and go back to our home in Rimaye."
With sudden urgency, Sadiya stared at Nuratu with wide eyes. "What are you going to do with a pregnancy in Rimaye, Nuratu?! Do you realize the danger of what you want to do? Why can't we just abort it right here so no one ever has to find out?"
Nuratu immediately shook her head as hot tears spilled anew. Using the back of her hand, she wiped her tears slightly before speaking:
"I cannot abort this pregnancy, Sadiya, while its father is alive. You see how desperately they have been longing for children since Hammad was born; they haven't been able to have another. I know the master of the house deeply desires children, but his wife refuses to let him take another wife—perhaps the blessing of a child was meant to come through another woman, yet she refuses to understand. Who knows, perhaps the blessing of this pregnancy is drawing close to entering the world, which is why this thing happened to me."
"Nuratu, do you even hear yourself?! Do you want to ruin your life and your daughter's life, destroying your tomorrow and Intee's? Why won't you abort it since it wasn't conceived through marriage?!"
"But it happened by pure accident and destiny! Neither of us is to blame—neither I nor Alhaji Ahmed. The truly guilty party is his wife, who refused to let him take another wife; if she had, none of this would have happened!"
Nuratu finished speaking in a slightly sharp tone, ending with a burst of tears because she felt a burning pain in her heart whenever Sadiya suggested aborting the pregnancy inside her.
Sadiya let out a hot breath, deeply frustrated with Nuratu. She felt that Nuratu was courting fame and disaster, risking getting them all locked up for a long, long time.
"Look, Nuratu, do whatever you want, but I only gave you advice because I don't want you to have regrets later that will do you no good..."
Ƙofar Sauri, Katsina State, Nigeria
...Giving a harsh, sweeping glare at her uncles while crying aloud with wounds covering her body, she dragged her suitcase, preparing to step out of the house. Weeping a heartbreaking cry, she stopped right where they stood, fixing them with a look as fierce as if they were her executioners. She said:
"Know this: I am leaving this house, but whoever knows they intentionally oppressed me will answer to God! And regarding this house—listen carefully—my mother's inheritance is in it. Just because she got married elsewhere and left us in their family home doesn't mean we lack protection!"
With those words, she marched out of the house.
Uncle Ismail jumped up furiously, pointing at the direction she took as he yelled:
"Look at that insolent girl, Humaira! She thinks she can stand here and talk to us however she pleases! Wallahi, if they had let me, I would have beaten her flat on the ground! Just because a girl got a marriage proposal, she thinks she can treat us like fools and worthless nobodies?!"
Uncle Saminu grabbed the hand of Uncle Ismail, who was raging as if Humaira were standing right in front of him. Glancing toward the path she took, he said:
"Forget about her! She has gone to her mother. From today onward, neither she nor Nanah need ever look for a place to drop her children here."
"Hey Sakina! Where are you? Get up right now and follow your older sister immediately! From today on, this house is not your father's house, is it? Well, from now on, you are done living in this house, wallahi!"
Sakina, huddled inside their grandmother's room—where the old woman sat unable to move or speak—looked at her grandmother with tears in her eyes. Picking up her small bag, she too wept as she prepared to leave the room. Then she paused, sobbing, and looked at their grandmother:
"Just because you gave birth only to girls in this house doesn't mean you deserve to be endlessly degraded, Kaka. Please forgive me; everything will pass. But know for sure that Aunty Hadiza and the rest are of no use. Right in front of them, Uncle Ismail and the others subjected Humaira to a savage, brutal beating, yet not one of them offered to take us in. Kaka, you already know where our Inna is married—she never loves children who aren't her husband's. Even as it is, how hard is life for her? Going there would just add to her burdens."
Grandmother stood up with tears streaming down her face, taking Sakina's aged hand as she said:
"Sakina, please bear with it, for God's sake. But there is no peace in this house—Talatu and her children run this house however they please. Please, Sakina, don't all of you go to her there in Funtua. You, go to Kano to your father's house, and let Humaira go to your Inna Nana."
With a sinking heart, Sakina turned back to look at Kaka and said:
"Kaka, you know our father's house is like a prison to us! More than anyone, you know he hates us; he would rather die than have us around. His wife, Inna Safara'u, detests us—she is the reason our Inna left our father's house. We endured torture and hardship there until we were forced to return to you. Now you want me to head back to his house?"
Sakina finished speaking as sobs choked her voice.
Grandmother's anxiety mounted. Opening her mouth, she said:
"What do you want me to do, Sakina? Just do as I say. You know that father of yours is your only recourse. In the world we live in today, I don't think anyone is willing to take care of another person's child. I'm certain Humaira's stay over there won't last either."
Sakina said nothing more. She picked up her bag and walked out of the house. When she stepped outside, she didn't catch sight of Humaira—evidently, she had already gone far toward the town motor park. Therefore, Sakina headed straight to the park as well, deciding it was better to go to her mother's younger sister, Inna Sakina, after whom she was named.
The Year 2014
House No: 17 Aurora Wrestling Estate, Kaduna, Nigeria
Slowly, she reached out, turned the bedroom door knob, and stepped out, feeling a fierce wave of resentment toward him.
Pouting her lips slightly, she walked over to the neighboring apartment next to the one she had just exited.
Ever since she stepped outside, the estate staff in the courtyard kept staring at her, noting the casual clothes she wore and the disheveled state in which she had emerged.
"Hey Laure, did you see what I just saw?"
Some maids standing off to the side were watching the young woman who had just emerged from the master's wing.
The one called Laure replied:
"Did I see it, Lare? She's acting like Agola, strutting into this house trying to inherit everything! Look at her constantly creeping up on Young Master Hammad."
Laure sneered and said:
"Hmm, you think history is about to repeat itself?"
"Goodness gracious, wallahi, Haj Mansura will never allow her son to marry Nuratu's blood, not if heaven and earth collide! Even if they fall head-over-heels in love—didn't you notice how hyper-protective she is of Hammad, how she detests anything originating from Haj Nuratu? Let alone that girl of hers, Intee, who looks like a jinni—a girl as stunning as an ifrit family member! Of course Hammad is drawn to her, but she's also aggressively poking her nose where it doesn't belong, knowing fully well his mother hates it yet pushing herself onto them anyway. You know what? I'm going to take this gossip straight to Haj Mansura; wallahi, maybe I'll get a salary raise!"
Lare gave Laure a disdainful look and strode past her toward Haj Mansura's wing, saying:
"Look at this petty creature! Wallahi, if there's a raise, we're getting it together, since you weren't the only one who saw her coming out of Young Master Hammad's quarters. We're sharing this gossip fifty-fifty!"
Laure quickly hurried after Lare, deeply annoyed by how Lare always tried to outsmart her.
As Intee entered her mother's parlor, she pouted her lower lip, which was coated in bright red gloss. She chewed on it like someone eating candy, recalling what that monster Hammad had just done to her. She raised a hand to touch her lips, feeling the lingering sting where Hammad had grabbed and squeezed them in sheer cruelty until she was brought to tears—simply because she called him a monster, and he had told her not to call him that. But because she was so used to calling him names, she had blurted it out without thinking, prompting him to grab her mouth and twist it.
She twisted her mouth in a grimace just as she heard the voice of Ammi looking at her from where she sat in the main parlor. Hassan and Hussaini were sitting on the floor doing their school homework books right in the middle of the room, while Hanan and Ameera—around five years old—played nearby alongside the older boys who were about thirteen or fourteen.
Seeing Intee, the children jumped up, exclaiming:
"Aunty Intee, look! I told Big Brother Hassan to help me with the homework we were given at school, but he refused, saying we have to do it ourselves!"
Intee stroked their heads, saying:
"Sorry, my sweet Hananuwa, I will do it for you, don't worry! Look, Big Brother Hassan and the others are doing their own homework too."
Hanan smiled, pulling along Ameera—who wasn't much of a talker—to continue playing with the books spread out before them.
"Ammi."
"Hmm, child of Ammi, what happened this time?"
"Ammi, it's that Y Hammad! As soon as I went to take him the food you sent me to deliver to his wing, he..."
"Look, I don't want to get mixed up in your constant bickering! You never seem to tire of fighting all the time like little children, please! You're starting to push your luck with me, Intee."
"But Ammi..."
The sharp look Ammi threw her caused Intee to snap her mouth shut. Noticing the critical gaze Ammi was sweeping over her outfit, Intee's heart skipped a beat. With deep annoyance, Ammi looked at her again and said:
"Is this really how you dress when going over to his wing? Why is it always you, Intee, who causes me to be dragged into gossip in this house? Do you know how many hypocrites live in this house? Someone could easily walk by and claim they saw you walking half-naked into Hammad's wing! You know better than anyone how eagerly people here are waiting to pounce on us, don't you? You know how much I hate this kind of clothing you wear around the house, Intee. You must remember that you have no male mahram living in this house!"
Intee's eyes turned red, her lovely face flushing slightly. She gave a slight pout and shook her head at Ammi, saying:
"Ammi, I'm sorry, wallahi, I forgot, but I won't do it again."
"It's better that way, because I don't like giving people something to talk about."
As if on cue right after Ammi finished speaking, the parlor door was banged open, and someone strode in without knocking.
Ammi's heart dropped the moment she heard Haj Mansura's voice ring out:
"Oh, you're the ones giving people something to talk about right on your own turf, Nuratu!"
Ammi stood up, looking at her children, and said:
"Go inside, Intee, you and your siblings."
"Where do they think they're going, you hypocrite?!"
Swiftly, Hassan stood up, rage choking his throat. They were all sick of the constant insults hurled at their mother right before their eyes without being allowed to talk back, otherwise Ammi would stop them or even beat them.
"Ummu, is Ammi a hypocrite?!"
"Hey! You child of pre-Fatiha [born before the official marriage rites]! I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to the mother who brought you into this world! I am way above arguing with the likes of you, wallahi!"
"Hassan! If I hear your mouth run off in here again, wallahi, I will severely discipline you! Get out of this parlor right now, I said!"
With heavy, downcast hearts, the children stood up and retreated inside.
Intee alone lingered, feeling a fierce, burning hatred for Ummu right down to her soul.
"And you! What are you still standing around for instead of following your siblings?"
"Ah-ah! She doesn't need to leave, Nuratu, because she's the exact reason I came here! Warn your daughter that starting from today, I never want to see her caught with my son again! My son is not in her league. Keep all your witchcraft tactics to yourselves! I want you to know that my son will never be like his father, who had to be dragged to witch doctors and Mallams just so he could marry you! At this point, Hammad is far beyond the reach of any of your schemes. I'll say it again and again: keep away from my son! I am the one who bore my child, and he is the biological blood of Alhaji Ahmed, born through a proper Sunnah marriage—unlike those other children in this house who go by the name of Alhaji Ahmed's children, yet were born long before the Fatiha was even recited! Therefore, wallahi, respect yourselves and stop trespassing into my territory! You know very well that if I hadn't agreed to it, wallahi, Alhaji Ahmed could never have done it, and you could never have walked into my house as a co-wife—along with your pre-Fatiha children, plus an extra baggage of an Agola child brought right into our home!"
Ammi closed her eyes tightly, feeling a bitter, horrible taste in her soul and a deeply agonizing heaviness. Her chest burning intensely, she opened her eyes and recalled the many unpleasant years and events that replayed in her mind scene by scene—the myriad challenges she had faced ever since entering the master's house as a wife, until she finally established her footing and normalized things. Yet, this kind of arrogant, domineering treatment from Ummu remained a constant daily reality.
Intee stood trembling, filled with a vicious hatred for Ummu and for Hammad himself, who shared that same bloodline. With great difficulty, she forced her mouth open:
"Ummu, I'm sorry, but if men became extinct in this world, I would never..."
With a sharp, cutting bark, Ammi yelled at Intee, pointing a finger toward the upstairs stairs without saying another word.
Intee bolted away upstairs, bursting into heart-wrenching tears.
"Hmm! You should have let her spill whatever she wanted to say! Even if she didn't, forever and ever, Hammad is way above your daughter's league. What on earth would he even want with a girl whose true paternity is a mystery? At least Hassan and the others came as pre-Fatiha children!"
Ummu finished her taunt with a mocking, utterly degrading sneer.
With that, she turned around, let out a long hiss of disgust, and marched out of the parlor. She was deeply irritated that Ammi hadn't uttered a single word in retaliation, remaining completely silent just as she always did whenever Ummu insulted her, never even raising her head to look at her, let alone talk back.
As soon as Ummu left, Ammi collapsed onto the sofa, weeping bitterly as the toxic words of Ummu carved away at her heart and spirit...
TSANIN ƘADDARA
©Zahra Royal Star
ROYAL STAR WRITER'S ASSOCIATION

Chapter 2

House No: 23, Gaweye Estate, Niamey, Niger
Slowly, she rose and stood up to leave the parlor when the phone resting beside the sofa began to ring loudly.
She paused, turning around completely to head toward the placed phone.
A faint smile crossed her face as she saw the caller ID.
Filled with eager excitement, she picked up the phone. However, the words she heard through the line caused her expression to instantly twist into pure anger and frustration.
"Aunty Nuratu, why won't you let Intee travel here to Niamey to live with me?"
Through the phone, Nuratu let out a long, soft breath before replying:
"Sadiya, you know that God-fearing man, Hanan's father, has already claimed that he considers Intee his own biological daughter. If I decide to take her and send her over to your place, I feel like he might take offense, thinking I'm doing it because he isn't her biological father—even though I have the right to make direct decisions regarding her. You already know the kind of contributions Hammad and Abbi made toward Intee's life when she had no protection and her world was about to shatter; they helped me and saved her life. Wallahi, Sadiya, I hate remembering all those dark days and the heartbreak and panic both Intee and I faced—and you too. That woman [Ummu] refuses to understand; she constantly hurls terribly hurtful words at me about those children, Hassan and the others. Back then they didn't understand, but now they are beginning to grasp where her insults are aimed. Thankfully, the children are well-behaved and have never cornered me to ask why Ummu keeps calling them pre-Fatiha children."
Sadiya let out an angry hiss and said:
"Wallahi, I swear by Almighty God, I hate that Haj Mansura! Since there was nothing else she could do with us—look at me here, only because she tolerated me marrying her husband's brother, that's why we live here in Niamey with peace of mind and no co-wife in Alhaji Abubakar's house. But you—that woman's endless malice has wasted you away; every single day you just keep shrinking backward."
"Hmm, well, you found peace, Sadiya, but a co-wife like Ummu is pure torment. Tell me, how are my father and Khairat?"
"Ah, Baba's namesake? He left just a short while ago. You know how he can be—his introverted quirks flare up whenever they want. As for Khairat, she went out with him so he could drop her off at school. He even lectured her sternly and angrily..."

Summary

• Kaduna, Nigeria (Tsanin Ƙaddara): Nuratu discovers she is pregnant. In a state of absolute terror and disbelief, she confesses to her sister/friend Sadiya that the father is Alhaji Ahmed, the master of the house where they work. Although he did not penetrate her, an encounter where his pre-ejaculatory fluid touched her while he was mentally unstable led to the conception. Terrified of the wrath of Alhaji Ahmed's fiercely jealous first wife, Haj Mansura (Ummu), Nuratu refuses Sadiya's advice to abort the pregnancy, choosing instead to protect the unborn child and plan a return to her home in Rimaye, fearing for her daughter Intee's future.
• Katsina State (Ƙofar Sauri): Humaira flees her abusive family home after facing brutal violence from her uncles, leaving behind her sister Sakina and their grandmother. Sakina is subsequently forced to leave as well, caught between a hostile paternal family in Kano and an indifferent maternal relative, ultimately heading toward her aunt Inna Sakina.
• Kaduna, Nigeria (Aurora Wrestling Estate, 2014): Years later in the same household, Intee (Nuratu's daughter) clashes with Hammad (Haj Mansura's son) after he twists her lips in anger. Haj Mansura storms into Ammi's (Nuratu's) parlor, hurling vicious verbal abuses at Ammi and her children, labeling them "pre-Fatiha children" and warning Intee to stay away from Hammad. Ammi silently endures the humiliation while maintaining her dignity, though Intee burns with hatred.

• Niamey, Niger: Sadiya calls Nuratu, urging her to send Intee to live with her in Niamey to escape Ummu's toxic environment, but Nuratu hesitates due to familial obligations and past debts of gratitude.

  Description

  The text represents contemporary Hausa domestic drama (Littattafan Soyayya style) characterized by high emotional stakes, intense interpersonal conflict, social stratification, and patriarchal oppression. It deals with taboo themes such as accidental conception via psychological impairment, domestic tyranny in polygamous/blended households, systemic abuse, and the lingering trauma of family rejection. The prose relies heavily on dramatic dialogue, emotional exposition, and sharp contrasts between the suffering of the underdog characters and the arrogant cruelty of the antagonists.

  Analytics

  Narrative Thread & Setting	Summary (Plot Focus)	Description (Literary Style & Tone)	Analytics (Thematic & Societal Context)
  The Accidental Pregnancy (Mando Estate, Kaduna)	Nuratu discovers she is pregnant with her employer Alhaji Ahmed's child due to a bizarre, non-penetrative encounter while he was mentally unstable. She refuses Sadiya's demands for an abortion.	Psychological Thriller & Domestic Drama: High-tension dialogue focusing on panic, fear of social ruin, and moral dilemmas.	Taboo & Power Imbalances: Explores complex themes of consent, mental vulnerability, employer-employee power dynamics, and the terror of matriarchal retribution in polygamous domestic spheres.
  The Broken Family (Ƙofar Sauri, Katsina)	Humaira and Sakina are cast out and abused by their male relatives, forcing them to flee into uncertain futures across different states.	Gritty Social Realism: Depicts familial cruelty, abandonment, and the helplessness of young women in traditional settings.	Gender & Kinship Vulnerability: Highlights the plight of female orphans/children in extended family systems where patriarchal authority is weaponized without protection.
  The House of Strife (Aurora Estate, Kaduna)	Years later, the household remains a battlefield where Haj Mansura tormentuously asserts her status over Ammi (Nuratu) and her children, reinforcing class and legitimacy divides.	Melodramatic Confrontation: Characterized by verbal assault, public humiliation, enduring silent endurance, and festering youthful rebellion.	Polygamous Hierarchies & Legitimacy: Critiques the social stigma attached to children born under disputed or irregular marital timelines ("pre-Fatiha" status) and institutionalized favoritism.
  The Refuge in Exile (Niamey, Niger)	Sadiya attempts to rescue Intee from the toxic Kaduna environment by inviting her to Niamey, though Nuratu remains bound by past history.	Transnational Connection: Bridges domestic isolation with external sanctuary.	Escape and Migration: Reflects the socio-geographic coping mechanisms of extended family support networks across international borders (Nigeria-Niger).