Bakace Book Compelet Sajida Nijar

Description

English Translation

Muhibbah stepped close to Mummy before asking, "Mummy, has Abba called off the trip?" She smiled, understanding that Muhibbah's expression was as sour as someone who had received news of a death. She didn't answer her immediately, asking instead, "Didn't you say goodbye to him earlier? Or did he cancel the trip?" She spoke with eager anticipation of the answer Mummy would give.

"He went," Mummy replied flatly.

"Then what about this one? Isn't he going too?" she said, pointing at him with her finger. A sharp glare from him made her quickly drop her hand and avert her gaze. Before she realized it, she felt Mummy strike her across the mouth. She quickly clutched her lips as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"When did you become like this? Is he your mate? I swear, I will discipline you if you don't stay out of my sight!"

Sobbing heavily, she ran straight to her bedroom, threw herself onto the bed, and burst into tears.

After crying to her heart's content, she got up, went into the bathroom, and let the cold water run over her. She stayed in the bathroom for a long time before coming out and dressing in a black abaya embellished with fiery, glittering stones. She spread out her prayer mat and performed the Maghrib prayer, sitting quietly in adhkar until the call to Isha. After performing the Isha prayer, she folded the prayer mat, removed her hijab, and sat on the edge of the bed, lost in thought until hunger gripped her stomach and she headed to the parlour.

Finding them sitting in the parlour, she walked over, greeted Daddy, and offered a weak, "Welcome back." He responded coldly because he was still upset with her; he felt that if he didn't treat her this way, she would never understand her mistake. She walked past to the dining area, sat down, and served herself a meal of jollof spaghetti loaded with mutton. She picked up a fork and began to eat.

Anas walked over, pulled out a chair close to her, and sat down. He looked at her for a moment without saying anything before asking, "Hey, who upset you? Your eyes are all swollen, looking like you've been crying. Crying is certainly easy for you, isn't it?"

Her eyes welled up with tears again as if she was about to cry, and she said, "Sorry, dear sister, tell me, who upset you?"

Wiping away the tears that had fallen, she replied, "Wasn't it Mummy who just slapped my mouth? Now, because of Ya Fu'ad, none of you want me anymore."

He shook his head and said, "It's not like that. Be patient, okay?" He started comforting her until he made sure she had calmed down. Then he went to the fridge, poured her a cold glass of water, and handed it to her. Mummy watched everything they were doing. She just shook her head inwardly, amazed at their dynamic: shouting at each other or fighting is easy when they are together, but the moment one is distressed, the other's peace of mind is shattered. And whatever secrets they share, they keep locked away where no one else can hear.

After finishing her dinner, she cleared the dining table, bid them goodnight, and went back to her bedroom. She entered the bathroom, performed Wudu, completed her usual nightly routines, recited her sleeping supplications, pulled the blanket up over her head, and drifted off to sleep.

As for Fu'ad, when Abba suggested he come back home, he had asked to stay just one more week to help out at the company and lighten Daddy's workload alongside Suhael. Abba had no objection and let him stay.

She did not wake up until 9:13 AM since it was Saturday and there was no school. She greeted the household members; no one had gone out, and they were enjoying their weekend at home. Not seeing Mummy in the parlour, she headed to the kitchen and found her preparing breakfast. She greeted her and then pitched in to help with the cooking.

"Mummy, when is Mama Jumae returning? This housework is getting too much for you alone. Should we get another housemaid?" she asked curiously.

"No, Muhibbah, I don't know who else to bring. It's better to wait for Jumae; I know her character since we've been together a long time. I called her, and she said In Sha Allah she will be back in two weeks."

She let out a sigh of relief and said, "Alright then, may God bring her back safely." Mummy answered with an "Ameen."

"By the way, Mummy, please I want to go visit Rufaeda's house today; her mother is not feeling well."

"Alright then, may God spare our lives till then."

Before 10:00 AM, they finished setting the dining table. Muhibbah cleared everything up, washed the breakfast dishes, and then went to her bedroom. She took a bath, stood before the mirror, applied some simple makeup, and opened her wardrobe. She dressed in an Ankara skirt and blouse, threw a black scarf over her shoulders, and grabbed a black bag and matching shoes before heading to Mummy's room.

"Mummy, I'm leaving." "Alright, greet them for me and tell her I said she should get well soon. Don't stay out late." "Okay, see you later." "May you return safely," Mummy replied with an "Ameen" as she walked out.

Right in the compound, she ran into Bala, the driver. Before she could say much, she greeted him, "Welcome back." He didn't answer; instead, he asked, "Where are you going?" "To my friend's house," she replied briefly. "Get back inside. You are not going anywhere!" he barked.

Staring at him in disbelief, she said, "Ya Fu'ad! It's my friend's mother who is sick, and I asked Mummy, and she said I could go and greet her." "You are not going anywhere. Turn around and go back inside!" He glared at the driver and said, "Go on with your day; no one is going anywhere until Monday, and even then, you don't need to come early because someone else will take her." "Alright, Meigida," the driver replied, walking away.

Her eyes welled up and she looked ready to cry. "But I asked Mummy, and I'll go even if I have to take a commercial tricycle (napep)," she pouted. Seeing him reach for his belt, she shrieked in terror and bolted into the parlour, screaming for Mummy at the top of her lungs!

They were sitting in the parlour chatting casually, half of Fu'ad's attention fixed on the TV and a newspaper.

"Abba, after my WAEC exams, can I go to Kaduna with Ummi?" she asked eagerly. Abba smiled and said, "Ah, Khadija, that's always your wish." Pouting her face, she said, "Abba, when was the last time we saw Muhibbah? It's been a year! She doesn't like visiting this town because Ya Fu'ad is too controlling." She quickly clapped her hand over her mouth.

Ummi smiled and said, "He'll be back soon, and you'll repeat everything you just said." Khadija laughed, shook her head, and said, "I know right now she must be miserable with Ya Fu'ad staying at Daddy's house. I can already picture how she's confined to her bedroom all the time," she continued, bursting into malicious laughter. Ummi laughed too, knowing that was likely the case, given Fu'ad's stern nature, especially toward Muhibbah, since the two of them never got along well. Daddy smiled as well, picturing Muhibbah's antics, then fell silent in thought.

"Please, Daddy, promise me we'll go with Ummi after I finish my exams," she interrupted the silence. "By the grace of God, all of us will go," he replied. She let out a shriek of joy and ran off toward her bedroom.

Daddy let out a breath and said, "Ummin su, turn your attention to me." "Yes, Alhaji," she replied. "Regarding my trip to Kaduna, we have reached a decision to arrange a marriage between Fu'ad and Muhibbah!"

Her heart skipped a beat. She fell silent, unable to speak. Even though she had long suspected this might happen—knowing how unlikely it was for Abba to let Fu'ad marry an outsider—she was stunned.

"Why are you silent? You haven't said anything," he noted. She forced a smile and said, "I'm just surprised, that's all." "Well, Ummin su, keeping it within the family is best. It strengthens our kinship ties. You know how Fu'ad and Muhibbah are—they don't get along, but this marriage will help them understand each other." "May God make it خير (khair)," was all she could manage to say. Honestly, she wasn't necessarily against their marriage, but she knew there would be turbulence before they could ever get along. Still, she had no choice; once Abba spoke, his word was final.

He responded with an "Ameen!" before instructing her to inform relatives and well-wishers and begin preparations—though she was strictly warned not to let Khadija find out yet. Ummi agreed, and no more was said on the matter.

Muhibbah rushed into Mummy's room, calling out her name frantically. Startled, Mummy jumped up and grabbed her, asking, "Muhibbah, are you alright? What happened? Did she refuse you?" fearing the worst from the panic in her voice.

"It's Ya Fu'ad! He chased me back and said I'm not going anywhere!" she cried out.

Mummy let out a sigh of relief and sat back down. Honestly, she was annoyed; she had thought some terrible emergency had happened given the way Muhibbah was screaming.

"Muhibbah, when will you ever grow up? You're screaming like this just because you were told you can't go out?" "Haba Mummy, didn't you say I could go? Then he says I can't, as if he's my fa—" Before she could finish, she felt Mummy strike her across the mouth. She quickly clutched her lips and burst into a fresh wave of tears, bolting out of the bedroom. In the parlour, she bumped right into him. He shot her a wicked, mocking look.

She locked herself inside her bedroom, threw herself onto the bed, and wept bitterly. What kind of trial was this? Her own household was suffocating her, and even Daddy and Mummy took his side. Getting up, she locked her bedroom door, lay back down, and drifted into a troubled sleep filled with racing thoughts.

By dinner time, she still hadn't come out. Anas banged on her door repeatedly, but she refused to open it, leaving him with no choice but to give up. He picked up his phone and texted her:

"Please, Auta, come out for dinner." (accompanied by worried emojis 😩)

The notification chime of her phone made her pull the device closer to check. Slowly, she dragged herself up and headed to the parlour. They were sitting around, chatting, their attention half on their phones. Without saying a word to anyone, she walked to the dining table, ate a tiny bit of food, waved bye to Anas, and muttered a quiet "Bye."

She closed her eyes, feeling a burning pain in her chest. Her phone rang softly. Reaching out with her eyes still shut, she answered it, and hearing Mukhtar's voice instantly made her sit up and break into a smile. "Good evening, Ya Mukhy." "Good evening, my princess." Her smile widened until her teeth showed. "I hope you're doing well?" "Hmmm, but I missed you. When will you give me the chance to come over and see Daddy? I'm tired of this loneliness." She covered her eyes in shyness and said, "Very soon, In Sha Allah. Don't worry, we're almost done." He laughed warmly and said, "Alright, but before then, I want to see your pretty face." Rolling her eyes playfully, she replied, "Okay, let's meet at school on Monday. We're done with most papers; we only have WAEC left." He laughed in delight. "Alright then, may God bring Monday safely." "Ameen," she answered, before telling him the exact time she would finish her paper...

She went to the bathroom, performed Wudu, came out, and prayed Nafila, begging Allah to ease the heavy burden in her heart. Then she turned off the main bulb, turned on the dim bedside light, and went to bed.

From the moment she woke up, she searched everywhere for her WAEC timetable, but she couldn't find it; she turned the room upside down to no avail. Frustrated and rushing because she was running late, she got dressed quickly. To her relief, the parlour was empty when she came out. She went to Mummy's room to greet her, but even as she turned to leave, Mummy called her back. "Yes?" she answered curtly. "Did you have breakfast?" "No Mummy, I'll buy something to eat when we finish the paper." Mummy paused before saying, "May God grant you success." "Ameen," she replied, turning to leave.

She looked out at the compound in bewilderment. Bala the driver was nowhere to be seen—she knew he was never late for work—and the car meant to take her to school was parked right there. Could he be sick, or did Mummy send him on an errand? she thought to herself.

Before she could finish thinking, a voice chimed in aloud: "I told him to go rest today. I will take my younger sister myself!" he said, raising an eyebrow with a mocking smile.

She turned her face away, crossed her arms, and bit her tongue. She was pushed to her absolute limit; if she opened her mouth right now given how angry she felt, she'd surely do something that would make even Daddy and Mummy beat her.

He walked past her, tossing his car keys into the air and catching them, before opening the driver's side and getting in. Her intuition advised her to just get in so she wouldn't be late. Reluctantly, she walked over and opened the passenger door. "Who's your driver?" he asked. Without arguing, she opened the front door and got in, fighting back tears that threatened to fall. He revved the engine and sped off. Once they hit the main road, he slowed down, tuned the radio to Sheikh Sulaiman's Qur'an recitation, and kept throwing those cryptic, knowing smiles that only he understood the meaning of. He drove right past the school gate on purpose.

She turned to look at him. He averted his gaze before she asked, "Yaya, we passed the school!" Only then did he look at her and say, "Oh, I didn't realize." She didn't utter another word because he had pushed her to her breaking point. He turned the car around, and as they reached the school gate, she quickly said, "We've arrived," fearing he would drive past it again since he was clearly looking for trouble.

He handed her 2k notes on the dashboard and said, "Buy some snacks to eat so ulcer doesn't catch you, and write your exams well," flashing her another eyebrow raise. She shoved the car door open, slammed it shut with a bang, turned around, and hurried inside the school, rushing straight to her hall to take her seat.

They didn't finish their paper until 12:00 PM. She was completely drained because of the gnawing hunger in her stomach. They headed to the cafeteria, bought snacks and drinks, and returned to their main classroom to eat. Sumayya tried to keep her talking, but Muhibbah only responded with brief "yes"es and "no"es. Noticing her mood, Sumayya clamped her mouth shut and kept quiet, realizing her friend was in no mood to talk.

Fu'ad: Ever since dropping her off at school, Fu'ad had driven straight to the office. He met up with Suhail, and they worked together to clear the workload, sharing laughs along the way. Glancing at the watch strapped to his wrist, he stood up quickly and said, "Let me go; I'll be right back." "Hey, stay so we can leave together. Her closing time is soon," Suhail protested. "Look at this guy. You came with me; just wait until 4:00 PM or have Daddy come." "No way I'm waiting for him. Later Bala will come drive him." "Well, you're not leaving me behind; I have somewhere to stop by," Suhail said as he walked out, leaving Fu'ad staring after him in disbelief.

Muhibbah: Her phone rang softly. Slowly, she reached out, picked it up, and pressed it to her ear. "Good afternoon, my Abba." "Good afternoon, my Maamana. I hope you're doing well." As if she had been waiting for him to speak, the tears she had been holding back all morning burst forth. "Maamana, did something happen?" he asked with concern. Through a choked voice, she swallowed her tears and said, "It's Ya Fu'ad. He chased away the driver and insisted on bringing me to school himself just to upset me." "Ah, Maamana, what a household of drama! Well, bear with him; your older brother cares about you, that's why. But what do you want to happen now?" "Abba, please tell him to come back home and leave his hospital. There are other doctors!" "Well, once you finish your exams, I'll return to this town and enroll you in admissions to continue your schooling alongside Khadija." "Alright, I agree. But you have to leave Ya Fu'ad at Daddy's place," she said. He chuckled and replied, "Maamana, you're quite crafty! Alright, that's how we'll do it." He humored her chatters for a bit before she said, "Bye-bye," ended the call, and smiled—for the first time today, her heart felt at peace.

Sumayya: Sumayya let out a sigh, stepped closer, and tapped Muhibbah's shoulder. "My friend, I always knew the legend of the monitor lizard never strays far from the stream! All this stress is over Ya Fu'ad, as if you aren't a woman. You'll sit there letting him upset you—everything he does is on purpose because he knows it annoys you. But if you just ignored him and didn't let him see it affect you, he'd stop. My advice is, if you keep letting this get to you, even when he wants to go back to their town, he'll deliberately keep doing things he knows you hate."

She took a breath and said, "I know, Summy, but you don't understand the kind of frustration Ya Fu'ad puts me th—" Her phone's ringing cut her off. She quickly brought the phone to her ear, a radiant smile breaking across her face as she said, "I'm coming right out now, my husband-to-be!"

Ending the call immediately, she jumped up. "Summy, Ya Mukhtar is waiting outside for us, let's go." Without waiting for a reply, she walked ahead, and Sumayya followed behind her.

Summary

In these chapters, Muhibbah faces escalating domestic friction, primarily orchestrated by Ya Fu'ad, who asserts control over her movements—such as blocking her from visiting a sick friend and acting as her reluctant, teasing driver to school. This fuels her frustration and lands her in trouble with Mummy when she rebels, leading to a harsh physical reprimand.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, a major development unfolds: Abba and Ummi discuss arranging a marriage between Fu'ad and Muhibbah to bridge the gap between their constant bickering and strengthen family ties, though they keep it a secret from Khadija. Despite the heavy tension at home, Muhibbah finds solace in secret phone calls with her father (who promises to take her away after her exams) and sweet, affectionate moments with her true love interest, Mukhtar, with whom she shares deep emotional reassurances outside school.

Description

• Core Conflict: The tightening net around Muhibbah. Fu'ad's overbearing dominance clashes with Muhibbah's desire for freedom, while her parents inadvertently enable him under the guise of "caring older brotherly behavior," unaware that a marital union between them is secretly being planned.
• Key Character Development:
  • Muhibbah shifts between deep vulnerability (crying over strict discipline and feeling alienated) and romantic escapism (finding emotional refuge in Mukhtar).
  • Fu'ad exhibits controlling, provoking behaviors that mask a deeper, calculated intent (setup for the arranged marriage plot).
  • Mukhtar solidifies his role as Muhibbah's emotional sanctuary, contrasting sharply with Fu'ad's hostility through his gentle, reassuring devotion.

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