Beauty, Jealousy and Blood: The Forgotten Story of Sher Alam & Maimoona.

The Tragic Tale of Sher Alam and Maimoona

In Larah Nawagai — where members of the Ghilji tribe live today — a tragic incident took place about a hundred years ago. Its central figures were Sher Alam and Maimoona, and the land there still mourns this sorrowful event.

Sher Alam and Maimoona were not only cousins but also husband and wife. Allah had blessed Maimoona with exceptional beauty. Sher Alam had two other wives as well, but among them, Maimoona was his dearest.

Sher Alam ran a small grocery shop attached to his house, where he sold food items along with tobacco and snuff. In those days, serving a huqqa (water pipe) in the hujra was a common custom, especially for guests.

One night, a guest arrived at the house of Sher Alam’s uncle. After dinner, according to tradition, a huqqa was offered. The guest realized that the huqqa had no tobacco and mentioned it to the host. The host — Sher Alam’s uncle — sent his son to Sher Alam’s shop to fetch some tobacco.

Sher Alam was away for some work, and the shop was closed. So his cousin came to the house to get the tobacco. Sher Alam’s other wives told Maimoona:

“Since the boy who has come is both your and Sher Alam’s cousin, you should take the tobacco from the room and give it to him.”

When Sher Alam returned home, his other wives told him that his cousin had come late at night and that Maimoona not only gave him the tobacco but also stood at the door talking to him. They filled Sher Alam’s ears with false accusations against Maimoona.

Hearing this, Sher Alam — overwhelmed by traditional tribal emotions — killed Maimoona.

After that, he went to the village mosque intending to kill his uncle’s son. At that moment, only his uncle, Said Jan, was sitting there; his son was not present. But Sher Alam, blinded by rage, killed his uncle instead.

Thus, due to impulsive traditional emotions, two innocent people lost their lives, and one man stained his hands with their blood. The mosque in which Sher Alam killed his uncle still stands in the village.

The elders of the village affirm Maimoona’s innocence to this day. Her only “fault” was that Allah had blessed her with beauty, which made her co-wives jealous.

Maimoona had a baby daughter named Khoobani, who was only one or two years old at the time. Khoobani lived into old age and passed away around 2003. Her son is still alive today. Sher Alam himself died a natural death some time after the incident.

The graves of both Sher Alam and Maimoona still exist in the graveyard of that Nawagai village. Because this event became well-known locally and became part of Pashto literature, it is being shared here.

Ustad Fazal Rabi gained immense fame for the verses he wrote about Sher Alam and Maimoona — denying that would be like denying the brightness of the sun.

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Poem ( pashto ——- english translation. )

Pashto:

شیر عالمه خدائے دي خوار که

ده تماکو په پانڑه چا کڑی مرگونه

په ناواگئی کي… اوبه نه وي

ده میمونے ده وینو راغله سیلابونه.

English Translation:

May God disgrace you, Sher Alam,

Who kills over a mere leaf of tobacco?

There was no water in Nawagai,

But floods came from Maimoona’s blood.

This is a true story — a tragedy carved into the soul of Nawagai.

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