played in the history of the Ikhwan began to take shape after the death of Hasan al-Banna.
Sayyid Qutb was a renown poet, writer and literary critic. His name was, up to the late thirties, associated with the great writer Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad. But this association began to fade when Sayyid Qutb’s Islamic commitment grew stronger. Before that, however, Sayyid Qutb was a secular writer.
The Islamic awakening in Sayyid Qutb happened quite accidentally. He was writing some books about the linguistic merits of the Qur’an, and for this he studied closely the sacred text of the Qur’an. During the course of this study, Sayyid Qutb strongly and genuinely came to believe that he had found all the answers to the questions which tormented his agitated soul. A series of Islamic books ensued, the most famous and influential being Social Justice in Islam (al-’Adala al-Ijtima’iyyah fi’l-Islam). After this period Sayyid Qutb did not write any literary pieces; all his subsequent publications were either political or Islamic.
But if Sayyid Qutb’s relations with the Islamic cause began rather late, his political activity started quite early. His father was a member of the Nationalist Party of Mustafa Kamil. He, himself, was a member of al-Wafd Party, partly because of an uncle’s close connection with this party and partly because of al-Aqqad’s influence, that is until he resigned in the mid-forties because of his disenchantment with the party.
His incisive and uncompromising articles against the British and the monarchy brought him numerous enemies but also the admiration of the Egyptian people and the respect and veneration of the nationalist and Islamic tendencies. He was a hero in the eyes of many people. The political scene in Egypt during the first half of this century was dominated by corrupt people, apart from a few personalities and the Ikhwan. Therefore, the honesty, bravery and political struggle of this great literary figure, Sayyid Qutb, against corruption and foreign dependency was an inspiration and sign of hope for everyone. Sayyid Qutb showed in his attacks against the monarchy and the British that he did not fear death or the loss of his social privileges.
As time passed, the tone of Sayyid Qutb’s attacks on the monarchy and the British grew stronger. As a way of silencing his angry voice of discontent, he was sent for two years (1948-50) to the USA to study the educational methodologies of that country.
Up to this time, Sayyid Qutb did not have any formal or informal connections with the Ikhwan. Although he was aware of their activities and the efforts made by Hasan al-Banna, it seems that he was not convinced, until his time spent in the United States, that the Ikhwan were the effective tool by which Egyptian society could be changed.
Sayyid Qutb was in hospital in the United States when he witnessed the jubilation in many quarters, at the death of Hasan al-Banna. He was told, when he inquired about the reason for this jubilation, that the greatest enemy of the West had been killed. From that moment Sayyid Qutb decided that he would join the Ikhwan as soon as he returned to Egypt. He realized that the colonial powers would not consider a person, and his organization, to be their archenemy unless that person was a strong and efficient patriot whose activities genuinely threatened the status quo and the colonialists’ interests in the area. After all, his vision of a group of people who would emerge out of the ruins of corruption in his native Egypt, and to whom he dedicated his book Social Justice in Islam, was not merely a dream but a living reality which he had hitherto failed to notice. Sayyid Qutb saw that the vehicle of change, which he often wished would emerge in his society, was already in motion.
Once in Egypt, Sayyid Qutb rose quickly in the organizational hierarchy of the Ikhwan. He was elected, in 1952, as a member of the consultative council (Maktab al-Irshad) and head, an influential and important post, of the section for spreading da’wah (qism nashr al-Da’wah). Later, he was appointed editor of al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun journal.
Sayyid Qutb was arrested on Nasir’s orders in January 1954 but was released in July 1955, for health reasons. He was again arrested in 1955 and sentenced to 15 years in prison, but was released in 1964 after the intervention of the Iraqi President ‘Abd Al-Salam ‘Arif. But his freedom lasted only a short time; he was again arrested in 1965 and was sentenced to death for an alleged conspiracy to assassinate Nasir and overthrow his regime. He was executed on 29th August 1966.
As for Zainab al-Ghazali, she was one of the most prominent dignitaries of Egyptian society. Her pious husband was a rich and influential man, with acquaintances and friends from a wide range of political convictions and tendencies. Her own family was politically active and respected by large sections of the Egyptian establishment and opposition alike.
She founded, while still very young, an Islamic women’s organization, Jama’at al-Sayyidat al-Muslimat, which was very active on the Egyptian social scene. It was this group that Hasan al-Banna wanted to merge with his women’s section, al-Akhawat al-Muslimat. Hasan al-Banna wanted Zainab al-Ghazali to be president of al-Akhawat al-Muslimat, and make her newly founded group part of the edifice of the Ikhwan. This, however, did not come about even though Zainab al-Ghazali swore allegiance to Hasan al-Banna shortly before he was assassinated.
After the death of Hasan al-Banna, Hasan al-Hudaibi was chosen as supreme guide (al-Murshid al-’Am) of the Ikhwan. This choice was not welcomed by all the Ikhwan; some members of the secret organization, backed by others, stormed the general headquarters and occupied it for a while.
However this dissent was contained and the people behind it were expelled from the group. Though the Ikhwan, at this stage, did have some very able leaders beside the Murshid, nevertheless, the gap which Hasan al-Banna left was clearly felt. Meanwhile the gulf between the Ikhwan and Nasir and the government of Free Army Officers was widening. For although the movement of Free Army Officers which overthrew King Faruq was initiated by the Ikhwan, the Ikhwan became disillusioned at the turn of events after 1952.
When it became clear that Nasir was not going to bring about what the Ikhwan, as well as the nationalist and Islamic tendencies, wanted him to achieve, the Ikhwan began openly opposing him. Nasir suspended the publication of al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun. This was due to the Ikhwan’s opposition to the British-Egyptian treaty which Nasir signed in 1954. When Nasir did not succeed in getting his allies, among the secret organization which Hasan al-Banna founded, to take over the leadership of the Ikhwan, he saw this open opposition to his policies as a declaration of war against his regime.
He arrested all the Ikhwan’s leaders, including the Murshid Hasan al-Hudaibi and Sayyid Qutb. After a mock trial, the greatest and most able of the Ikhwan leadership were sentenced to death. By this single act, the Ikhwan were left practically without effective leadership. Even Hasan al-Hudaibi would not have escaped execution had he not had a heart-attack while awaiting trial. But the greatest of all the losses which the Ikhwan suffered at this time was the execution of ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Awdah and Shaikh Muhammad Farghali. These two had inherited almost all the qualities of their leader Hasan al-Banna. The loss of these two main figures when the group needed them most was a severe blow which threatened the very existence of the organization.
For the first time since its inception the Ikhwan faced a real organizational and leadership crisis. The severe test which the Ikhwan was subjected to shook the resolve of many members. Conviction and firm loyalty to the group was not taken for granted as was the case during the lifetime of Hasan al-Banna and prior to the fitnah of 1954. Hasan al-Hudaibi, even after his release, was not able personally to firmly assume the task of heading his group, due to his poor health and old age. The drastic turn of events needed immediate and decisive action.
At this juncture came the tripartite role played by Sayyid Qutb, Zainab al-Ghazali and ‘Abd al-Fattah Isma’il and the consequent events which led to the appalling cruelty they faced, along with other members of the Ikhwan, at the hands
