A Poem on Adultery (Waƙar Zina)
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| Title | A Poem on Adultery (Waƙar Zina) |
| Author or Owner | Unknown author, Umar Falke (owner) |
| Subject | Ethics, Guidance, Adultery, Divine Punishment, Repentance |
| Content | Waƙar Zina is a very well-known poem that, as the title implies, examines the negative implications of adultery. The poet identifies the dangers of adultery on psychological, physiological, social and spiritual levels. The poet sees adultery as disobedience to Allah, disobedience that puts the adulterer in the company of the devil and hence deserves severe punishment. According to the author, adultery brings shame and humiliation on the perpetrators, causes uncomfortable feelings and a permanent sense of guilt that haunts the adulterer for a lifetime. Adultery also has a negative impact on the sinners’ faith as well as weakening their acts of worship. The poet suggests that no assistance should be given to adulterers, because it would be better to discourage them from engaging in their acts. The whole idea of the poem is to alert the public to the negative effects of adultery with a view to calling the sinners to seek true forgiveness from Allah and refrain from these acts. It also aims to discourage potential adulterers from engaging in these sins. Like most Hausa Ajami poems, Waƙar Zina opens with a prayer that all praises are due to God, Lord of the Heavens and Earth, then offers prayers and praises upon Prophet Muhammad. It concludes likewise with gratitude and prayers for the Prophet. |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Language | Hausa |
| Script | Hausa Ajami |
| Manuscript condition | 1 leaf. 16. 5 x 23 cm. // 2 pp. of text. Condition: Damp-stained, worn at edges. Vocalised. Mss. is incomplete Watermark, ANDREA GALVANI PORDENONE. MS inc. No end. |
| Type | Handwritten |
| Publisher | Unpublished |
| Provenance | Kano, Nigeria |
| Source Reference | Unknown, “Waƙar Zina” (nd). Courtesy of Northwestern University Libraries. Click here for the source link. |
| Access condition and copyright | These materials are subject to copyright and are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. For use, distribution or reproduction beyond these terms, contact Professor Fallou Ngom (fngom@bu.edu). |
| Contributors | Jennifer J Yanco, Mustapha Hashim Kurfi, Garba Zakari, Babacar Dieng, Rebecca Shereikis, Daivi Rodima-Taylor, Alison Parker, Mark Lewis, Shawn Provencal, Eric Schmidt. |
| Required citation information | Fallou Ngom (PI), Jennifer Yanco, Mustapha Hashim Kurfi, Garba Zakari, Babacar Dieng, Daivi Rodima-Taylor, and Rebecca Shereikis. 2022. “A Poem on Adultery.” https://sites.bu.edu/nehajami/the-four-languages/hausa/hausa-manuscripts/falke-1573-wakar-zina/ |
Manuscript
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Transcription and Translations
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