leadership of the Ikhwan, at that time, decided that the restructuring and reorganization of the group was long overdue. The task of doing this fell, by necessity, on the shoulders of several people. Thus the combination of Sayyid Qutb, Zainab al-Ghazali and ‘Abd al-Fattah Isma’il was the best and most effective choice that could have been made by the Ikhwan leadership.
‘Abd al-Fattah Isma’il, a young, dedicated member of the Ikhwan, was considered to be one of the Ikhwan youth closest to Hasan al-Banna. But his organizational skills, as was to be proved later on, was perhaps behind his choice for this mission. Zainab al-Ghazali was a social figure who was loved and respected by all strata of society. Her influence within women’s sections of society and her family ties and acquaintances, besides her own attributes, opened the way to large and important sections of society. The value of this lady was instantly recognized by ‘Abd al-Fattah Isma’il. As for Sayyid Qutb, he was a great intellectual and theoretician. His intellectual and visionary grandeur were endearing aspects which the Ikhwan needed desperately. These three persons with their different abilities, importance and tasks, were going to restore to the Ikhwan group its past glory and carry out the goals which Hasan al-Banna had set his group to achieve: ‘Abd al-Fattah Isma’il and Zainab al-Ghazali from outside and Sayyid Qutb from inside prison, with the guidance and supervision of the supreme guide Hasan al-Hudaibi.
With the passing years, the Ikhwan’s strength and effectiveness increased. The growing influence which the thought of the Ikhwan exercised on people, especially the youth, attracted enormous attention. Huge numbers of the Egyptian people were recruited and Islamically trained. Study circles, meetings, camps and gatherings were run and directed by the Ikhwan throughout the country. Sayyid Qutb’s writings especially were read by millions of people both inside and outside Egypt.
The Ikhwan, which Nasir thought was dead was emerging, once again, as the biggest political force in Egyptian society. Some official reports indicated that Sayyid Qutb, especially after his release from prison in 1964, was preparing a core of selected Ikhwan members to form a ‘secret military organization’ within the Ikhwan. This was enough for Nasir to arrest all the Ikhwan members, including Sayyid Qutb, Zainab al-Ghazali and ‘Abd al-Fattah Isma’il, and inflict on them the most dreadful cruelty.
These are, in brief, the circumstances which surrounded and explain the political and social context which led to the events related by Zainab al-Ghazali in Return of the Pharaoh.
Zainab al-Ghazali is today a renowned Muslim da’iyah respected by all Muslim activists. She regularly gives talks and lectures in Egypt and all over the world. She also contributes to many Islamic journals and magazines on Islamic and women’s issues.
The hardship and severe tests which Zainab al-Ghazali was subjected to, her firmness and bravery in facing the enemies of Islam, her deep iman in God and the Islamic cause, serve as examples for all who strive for the establishment of a state ruled by Divine Law. The story of Zainab al-Ghazali is a story of right against wrong, justice against injustice and dignity against humiliation. The glory of the Muslim ummah has faded a little. It is, however, the likes of Zainab al-Ghazali in their firmness and dedication who will restore it, no matter how great the sacrifice.
The events related in this book took place more than a quarter of a century ago. But what is happening today in many parts of the Muslim world is exactly the same as happened to Zainab al-Ghazali and her Muslim brothers and sisters in Islam. For Islamic resurgence has been branded as the West’s first enemy by Westerners after the demise of Communism and the disintegration of the Eastern Bloc because of their fear for their interests in the Arab and Muslim regions. In Muslim countries the threat of Islamic resurgence has been used as an excuse by these countries’ regimes to hold on to their seats of power.
| 17 Safar 1415 | Mokrane Guezzou |
| 27 July 1994 |
Reference
1. Majmu’at Rasa’il I Iasan al-Banna. Beirut, second edition, 1981, pp.122-3.
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.Peace and blessings be on our master Muhammad,his household and Companions.
Although I have yearned to write Return of the Pharaoh, now for many years, I have, nevertheless, hesitated a great deal. Had it not been for the many people, whose belief in the Islamic cause I fully trust, from amongst my children and brothers, leaders of da’wah and exponents of its thought who lived with me during that period, believing that it was Islam’s right on us that we should record those days when Islamic Da’wah was fought against, then perhaps it would not have come to fruition. Those forces of darkness and falsehood, both in the East and the West, fought hard in those days, against the Islamic cause. Their objective: to kill off the word of truth and the people who held its banner. To annihilate all those activists who believed from the bottom of their hearts that the Qur’an and the Sunnah must be reestablished in society. That the Muslim Ummah, be returned to the land of Islam in order to re-establish a society of Tawhid, knowledge, learning and real relationship with Allah (may He be exalted). That ungodly societies, which blinded humanity from its straight path and God’s way, be abolished. For Allah’s way is the right way, and the earth had to be cleansed of the worship of earthly gods and despots, and the supremacy of Shari’ah had to be established. Once this was achieved, life could then return to the way Allah wanted it to be, exactly as during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the rule of his blessed Companions.
There is no salvation for this Ummah or the world except through calling to Islam. The dungeons of prisons, the instruments of torture and the pains of those so oppressed have but increased the strength, firmness and patience of Muslim activists and thinkers who stood in the face of falsehood. The way to truth is one. It is the way of Allah, His Prophets and Messengers and all their inheritors. As for falsehood, its ways are diverse and many, and on each of these ways there is a devil who embellishes, for those who are absorbed by falsehood, evil deeds and leads people ever more readily towards them. ‘Verily, this is My Way, leading straight: follow it, follow not (other) paths, they will scatter you about from His (great) Path …’1
The crucial matter for Muslims is that we are firm in following Allah’s way, with full trust in the correctness of our steps and in the clarity of our vision. ‘You are the best of people, evolved for mankind …’2 as well as the signs of establishing complete submission to ‘there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger’. All that matters to us is adding new bricks to our building. That we do not neglect or retreat from our belief: the belief of Tawhid, of work and exposition. An exposition of truth, for all mankind.
We believe that the period of our incarceration and torture is history’s right to know of, such that those who are on the way can study and understand it, can remain firm in their conviction and not transform their cause into some kind of sophism, sophistry into opulent talk and mere historical storying. It is for all this that I consented, with the support of the sincere from amongst my children and brothers, to seek Allah’s help in collecting together that which my memory still holds.
I hope that Allah will help me to recollect what happened, or at least some of it, and that these writings will be a torch of truth, light and guidance for all those who are sincere. Let us plough along a straight path for ‘Ours is the message of Prophets and Messengers. Muhammad’s message (peace be upon him) is complete and has supremacy. It is through Shari’ah that Allah has completed His injunctions
