Our Arab heritage, from east to west, is filled with many stories and legends that our grandmothers narrated to us when we were small. The time has come to narrate some of what we heard. The story of the seven brothers is a lesson, admonition, and counsel. It is inspired by the Algerian folklore, and this is the story.
There was a lady called Khadija, living with her husband in a simple hut. The couple wanted very much to be blessed with a baby girl, but God’s will is above everything, of course. So God blessed them with seven boys, one after another. Khadija kept giving birth to boys until her sons all agreed when their mother was pregnant with her last child, that if she didn’t give birth to a girl for them, they would all leave the house and never return to it again.
Khadija had a friend called Fatima, a jealous lady of evil soul, who didn’t love good for others. That lady worked as a midwife, that is, assisting women in giving birth at this time. Khadija sought help from her, thinking that her friend would be kind-hearted. Indeed, the time of delivery came.
The seven brothers waited outside the room, waiting for the midwife to come with the news of the sister. But Fatima was jealous, of evil soul and harsh. She came out after delivery and told the seven brothers that their mother had given birth to a male again, even though she knew they would leave, abandoning their parents, even though God had actually blessed them with a girl.
The brothers left in extreme sadness. One of them grabbed the end of a thread and tied one end to a tree near the house. He told his brothers that they would walk until the thread ended, then they would settle down. Indeed, the brothers walked until the thread ended. They spread their belongings and built a hut for themselves to live in.
Days and years passed. The girl grew up without knowing she had brothers. She would walk among people not knowing anything about her story, knowing only that everyone called her “the sister of the seven brothers,” meaning she was the one who caused them to lose the way. When she asked her mother, the mother would remain silent and not answer.
The brothers remained in their state, with one of them going out to work each day, leaving the younger brother at the house to do his work, and preparing food for his brothers to return and find everything ready for use.
The girl kept insisting on her mother to know the truth. Finally, her mother narrated to her everything that had happened. But she didn’t know that Fatima was the cause that pushed the brothers to leave. The girl decided to resolve this problem and set out searching for her brothers. She grabbed the end of a thread and tied it to the tree opposite the house, not knowing that her brothers had done this before. But because the thread was extremely thin, none of them had seen it before.
The girl walked until the thread ended between her hands, and found herself beside the hut her brothers had built. She hid behind the trees so they wouldn’t see her and waited until the six brothers left for their work. She entered to find her little brother sleeping. She got up, cleaned the house, prepared food, and left, so the little brother would wake up and find everything in the house in its best condition.
This matter repeated for several days. The little brother insisted on not sleeping to see what was happening. Indeed, the brother pretended to sleep until his sister came. He got up to ask her from her state. She told him she believed she was his sister and narrated to him what had happened. She remained in the house until her brothers returned, and her little brother informed them of what had happened. They hurried to welcome their sister. After they understood what had happened from Fatima, they decided to return to their mother and take revenge on Fatima. But when they returned, they learned that Fatima had fallen from the top of her house when her foot suddenly slipped, and she died.
The brothers praised their Lord for His blessings, thanked Him that they had a sister, and realized that Fatima had received her punishment for all her hands had committed.