Abu Zayd Struggles with a Jinni (Bani Hilal, Banu Hilal/Tunisia)
As a reward for his exploits in battle, Amir Rizq was allowed to marry Amira Khadrs, the daughter of the Sharif of Mecca. Amir Rizq's wife became barren after she bore a daughter. In her despair, she gave a bowl of couscous to the birds, asking the almighty to grant her a son. A black crow landed on the bowl, and Amira Khadrs requested a son with the qualities of this bird, a youth who, when he stabbed with the sword, would cause much blood to flow. God gave her a son as black as night, a boy endowed with the nature of a white or free man—this was Abu Zayd, a mythic hero. But when the birth was reported to Amir ...