Inayah Book 1 Complete Hausa Novel

She was crying intensely, her heart aching from the loss of her husband—the father of her child—and the pregnancy he had been so attached to.

So it meant that he and the unborn child would leave the world on the same day. Perhaps that was why Allah had placed such deep love in his heart for the child—his companion on the journey.

She did not care about the condition she was in.

Slowly, she struggled to stand up and made her way to the bathroom in Hajiya’s room. With great difficulty, she washed herself, as her hands and legs were trembling severely.

When she came out, she took the wrapper that Inna handed to her and wrapped it around herself. A wave of severe dizziness and intense stomach pain struck her, almost crushing her, but she refused to sit down. She went straight to the courtyard, wearing her hijab, hearing the echoes of Salisu’s relatives crying throughout the house.

She walked toward the room where his body had been laid out for washing. She collapsed in front of him and burst into deep, wailing cries, calling his name.

No matter how much they tried to pull her away, they could not, because she was crying uncontrollably. Her heart was burning with grief over the loss of the husband she loved dearly. Now he had left her alone in a world where everyone seemed to care only about themselves.

What would happen to her and her son Abdul, when she knew that neither her own relatives nor Salisu’s family had anyone who would boldly stand up to support their lives?

When it was time to wash his body and prepare him for burial, they finally managed to pull her out of the room, especially since a severe fever suddenly overtook her and fresh bleeding started again. It was then that everyone realized she had miscarried.

She was not taken to the hospital. Instead, she was laid down in her room in the house because they all lived together with Salisu’s parents. Both families were poor, so they only had one room and a small sitting area with a bathroom inside the sitting room.

She remained in her room struggling with pain while they carried Salisu’s body to his burial place.

They called Iya Fatu, their neighbor who helped with childbirth. She examined Hadiza and confirmed that the pregnancy had indeed miscarried.

Another wave of grief spread through the house, and they began taking care of Hadiza.

Because of her condition and the condolence visits happening in the house, Inna stayed with her and spent the nights there since Hadiza’s mother could not come to stay.

She suffered greatly while recovering. Even two days after Salisu’s death, she could not stop crying for him.

Salisu had been a good husband, a good father, and also a good son to his parents.

Within just two days, she became completely worn out from grief and from the severe abdominal pain caused by the miscarriage.

Even after the condolence period ended and two weeks passed, nothing changed about her condition except that her grief deepened. She could not escape the sorrow of losing her husband.

Inna stayed with her the whole time and planned to remain with her until the months of her mourning period were completed, after which they would return home together.

Abdul was staying with his grandmother, since even before Salisu’s death, during the time Salisu was hospitalized, he had been with her. So every day in the room it was just Hadiza and Inna.

The food they ate was what Salisu had bought before his death. Inna cooked it for them until it finished. After that, no one brought them food except when some was occasionally shared with them from the main house.

But what they received was never enough for both of them. Many times, if Inna ate in the morning, she would give Hadiza her portion for the rest of the day.

And when they were given food at night, Hadiza would say she was full and leave it for Inna to eat.

From that time, things started becoming very difficult for them.

When Inna realized that both she and Hadiza were beginning to suffer long periods of hunger like refugees, she went to inform Hadiza’s mother. Together they decided to speak to Umar and Kabiru so they could help Hadiza with food.

They began helping occasionally, giving her one thousand naira or five hundred naira every two days.

At first, she used the money to buy food and small necessities like laundry soap. But as time passed, they stopped helping because they also had families and responsibilities of their own. Eventually, they barely visited anymore.

Three months and some weeks after Salisu’s death, her life had completely turned upside down. Salisu’s mother was also struggling with her own survival. Salisu had been the only one among her children who showed her compassion and supported her, so she could not carry the burden of caring for Hadiza as well.

As a result, everyone in the house began pushing Hadiza away.

Hadiza became extremely thin and disheveled. Her appearance changed greatly—her long neck and sharp nose became more pronounced, and her eyes protruded as if someone searching for a needle in the dark.

Inna, however, was used to poverty, so hunger did not disturb her as much as it did Hadiza. What troubled her most was the pity she felt for Hadiza’s life, knowing that once they returned home after the mourning period, Hadiza would face even greater hardship.

On another side, since the miscarriage that happened at the time of Salisu’s death, Hadiza had never truly recovered. The pain in her stomach kept tormenting her.

Sometimes the pain would strike her so severely that she felt as though she might die. Yet she never went to the hospital because they had no money.

She did not even tell Inna about it because she did not want to worry her. If she told Inna or her mother, they would only panic without having any solution.

After enduring intense hardship, poverty, and overwhelming sorrow, her mourning period finally ended, and they began preparing for her to return to her parents’ home.

Salisu’s mother cried again for her son when Hadiza was about to leave.

She wished she had the means to continue caring for Salisu’s wife and his son whom she loved dearly.

But she simply did not have the ability.

She loved Abdul deeply as well, but she could not afford to keep him, which was why she never asked to take him.

If Salisu’s father had still been alive, she knew he would never have allowed Hadiza and Abdul to leave.

Hadiza herself knew that it was poverty that prevented Salisu’s mother from asking to keep Abdul. Since Salisu died, even the old woman now struggled to find food for herself.