Tale of the Prophet Unproved

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"Tale of the Prophet Unproved

Centuries ago in the Zakharan desert, four hakima—Rabi'ah, Aminah, Bilqis, and Sukayna—predicted the birth of a great prophet who would lead Halwa into a golden age of prosperity and enlightenment. The mother of this auspicious child was to be a woman named Badiat—who did not even know she was pregnant until her husband, Muharr, was slain fighting bandits at the caliph's behest.

The hakima invited Badiat to live under the caliph's protection. She quickly impressed the caliph with her weaving, creating beautiful abas and catans. He added her to his harem and commanded his merchants to bring her the finest silks from every corner of the peninsula.

The caliph's first wife, Raffiyah, previously in charge of all weaving for the caliph's household, grew jealous of Badiat. Finding an ally in the fourth hakim, a wicked woman, she conspired to poison Badiat. The conspirators slew both mother and child, leaving the unborn baby "a prophet unproved."

Too late, the three virtuous hakima discovered the crime and revealed it to the caliph. Enraged, he ordered all four hakima buried along with Badiat and her unborn child, as punishment for their failure to not just him, but all of Halwa."