Pages from the Ikhwan al Muslimun: Ordeals of Zainab al Ghazali

Zainab al Ghazali al Jubaili (or Zainab Ghazali) was born in 1917 . She died in 2005 at age of 88. She led various Islamic Institutes including the famous Jamiat Al-Sayyidat-ul-Muslimeen (Muslim Women’s Leadership Association). Many were influenced by her dedicated work towards the Islamic call. She became an organizer of welfare and  wellbeing  for the helpless whose family members were being imprisoned in the dark and secret prisons of Nasser’s Egypt.

She was accused of conspiracy and incitement and contributing to attempts to assassinate President Jamal Abdul Nasser. She spent 7 painful years in a secret political prison. Men and women of the Muslim Brotherhood were rounded up, arrested and put to torture during those troubling times. It was the 50’ and 60’s and women were already in the forefront of Ikhwan’s idealism and struggle. Women such as Amina and Hamidah Qutb joined their brothers Muhammad and Sayyid Qutb in being imprisoned. Their guilt was just by association. Many members of the Ikhwan fled the country seeking exile. Others left the movement or went deeper underground. Some died being tortured and many were sentenced to death. Many thought the Ikhwan were broken and completely finished as an organization. Many wondered why there were no popular response towards such persecution and ill treatment. The population seemed sedated and mesmerized by the fantasies of Nasser and his delusional brand of Arabism.

Zainab al Ghazali’s fervour and leadership in seeking the practical  implementation of Islam in governance and society lead to the regime’s regarding her as a threat to their consolidation of authoritarian power. The regime attempted to assassinate her by engineering a road accident but she survived.

After the bungled assassination, the regime sought to bribes and blackmail so that Zainab al Ghazali  would transfer her own personal Islamic schools [Jamaa'at al-Sayyidaat al-Muslimaat] to the government, and to give up her call of Islam in replacement for payments and funding. However, she rejected all of them. Her followers became more in number and stronger in belief, and due to the oppression of the government - many were imprisoned, but shockingly the numbers continued to grow. The regime feared that people might overthrow the government. The infamous intelligence services then  falsely accused these Muslims of plotting against Jamal Abdul Nasser. They desperately needed to get rid of people like her. 

Zaynab al Ghazali’s  house was raided, her property confiscated, and she was abruptly taken to prison.

Here are some of the  ordeals that she had to go through in the “Pharaoh’s” jail.

On her way to Room 24, accompanied by two men holding whips, she was deliberately taken past different places inside the prison such that she could see for herself the hideous things taking place. She could not  believe her eyes and could not stomach such inhumanity.  In silence she was forced to  watch as members of the Ikhwan were suspended in the air and their naked bodies ferociously flogged. Some were left to the mercy of savage dogs which tore at their bodies. Others, with their face to the wall awaited their turn. Sadly she knew many of these pious  believing youth personally. They were as dear to her as her own sons. They had attended the usrah - study circles of Tafsir and Hadith in her home.

One by one, these youth of Islam, the hope of the ummah, were tortured . Some had blood running down their foreheads. Foreheads that she knew did not bow to anyone except Allah. The light of Tawhid shone from their raised faces, proud to belong to the cause of Allah.

One of them shouted to her: 'Mother! May Allah make you firm!'

She replied: 'Sons! It is a pledge of allegiance. Be patient Yasir's family, your reward is Paradise."

Then, the guard me struck her so hard on her head that she felt her eyes and ears turning as if hit by an electrical force. And light coming from inside the cells made her aware of the many, many more tortured bodies filling the place.

'Let it be for the sake of Allah!',  she bravely said.

The door to a dark room number 24 was opened, she was hurled inside, and the door crashed shut behind her.

'In the Name of Allah, peace be upon you!', she repeated recited. The next moment the door was locked and a bright light switched on. The room was full of dogs! She could not count how many! Being frightened, she closed her eyes and put her hands to her chest. Within seconds the snarling dogs were all over her, and she could feel their teeth tearing into every part of her body. Clenching her hands tight into her armpits, she began to recount the Names of Allah - Asma al Husna, beginning with '0 Allah! 0 Allah!'

The dogs were unrelenting, digging their teeth into her scalp, her shoulders, back, chest and wherever another had not already taken hold. She repeatedly invoked her Lord, calling: '0 Lord! Make me not distracted by anything except You. Let all my attention be for You Alone, You my Lord, the One, the Only, the Unique, the Eternal Absolute. Take me from the World of Forms. Distract me from all these phenomena. Let my whole attention be for You. Make me stand in Your Presence. Bestow on me Your Tranquility. Clothe me with the garments of Your Love. Provide me with death for Your sake, loving for Your sake, contentment with You. 0 Lord! Hold the steps of the faithful firm.'

She repeated this inwardly for what seemed like several hours until at last the door was opened, the dogs forced from her body and she was taken out.

She had expected that her clothes would be thoroughly stained with blood, for she was sure the dogs had bitten every part of her body. But, incredulously, there was not a single blood-stain on the clothes, as if the dogs had been in her imagination. She praised: “May God be exalted! He is with me”. She began questioning inwardly - ihtisab whether she deserved all these bounties and gifts from Allah. Her warders could not believe it either. She glimpsed the sky outside filled with evening twilight, indicating sunset. She concluded that she must have been locked in with the dogs for more than three hours. She extolled: “Praise be to God for any adversity!”

She was pushed, and staggered along for what seemed a long time. A door was opened, and she felt lost in the vast hall. She was led along another long corridor, past many closed doors. Cell No. 3, next to Cell No. 2, was opened and she was hurled inside.

The door was locked behind her, and immediately the lamp hanging from the cell's roof lit. The sheer intensity of the light was enough to terrify and intimidate. It could only mean further barbarism and torture. After a while she knocked on the door and a gloomy faced demon harshly wanted to know what for. She asked permission to go to the toilet to make ablutions.

Ignominy of ignominies, she was not allowed to knock on the door, nor was she allowed to go to the toilet, nor make ablutions, nor allowed to drink.

'Knock on the door again, you B……, and I'll flog you 50 times.' The guard hit the air with his whip, to demonstrate his eager readiness to carry out his threat.

In her bare cell, exhausted from the ordeal in Room 24, she took off her coat, spreading it out on the floor. She performed her ablution by  tayammum in substitute for water, prayed Maghrib and 'Isha and sat still. Her leg, still painful from the recent operation was beginning to trouble her, so, placing her shoes underneath her head, she lay down.

The silence was soon broken by the sounds of a wooden post being erected outside the cell window. Then, one believing youth after another was brought, strapped to the post in the crucifixion position and beaten ferociously. Each in turn would invoke Allah, asking for His help.

After half an hour or so of this intensive whipping their torturers would ask each youth, many of them engineers, doctors or councilors, when they had arrived here.

'Today or yesterday', was the response.

'When did you last go to Zainab al-Ghazali's house?'

If these brothers said they could not remember, the butchers would continue their torture, demanding that they curse Zainab with the most despicable, lowly expressions. The brothers would refuse, and the flogging continued unabated. Some who were brave enough and strong enough to say that they had not observed in her anything except sincerity and good virtues, were beaten unconscious.

All this was intended to break her resolve and will. She began invoking Allah, begging Him for His mercy. She cried out for the butchers to torture her instead of these youth, for she thought it would be less painful for her. She began asking Allah to put her in their place, to spare her as well as these brothers from such heinous torture. She begged that her brethren should say what the butchers wanted to hear such that they could be spared further pain. But they did not, staying steadfast in their refusals. The floggings multiplied, the cries of anguish increased and her shame at what was being done was immeasurable.

In her compassion and grief, she continued to invoke Allah, saying: '0 Allah! Make it such that by my attentions to You I am distracted from them, and make it such that by their attention to You they are distracted from me. Lord! Inspire them to do good deeds You are pleased with. Lord! Shield from me the cries of these tortures.

Lord! You know what is within me and I do not know what is within You and You are the most Knower of the unseen. You know people's innermost secrets and what breasts hide. Lord! Have mercy on Your people!'

She beseeched Allah: '0 Allah! I am Your slave-girl, following Your path as much as I am able. I am calling You out of my weakness, despondency and inability to drive away the sins of these evil-doers. Protect me with Your Might, and help me surmount their injustice.'

She was awakened from her invocation by the voice of the surly brute who had been brought to rape her.

 'Aunty!', he called.

She looked at him in amazement. His countenance had changed, resembling more that of a human being's.

'Don't be scared Aunty! I won't hurt you even if they tear me apart.'

'May Allah guide you my son. May Allah bestow His bounties on you!”

The cell door opened violently and the chief torturer Safwat leapt on the man, beating and cursing him: 'You accursed dog! Now you've exposed yourself to the death penalty. Either get on with this job or it is a military court for you. I'll be back in an hour to see what you've done. Save yourself, obey my orders.'

'Yes Sir.'

'0 Allah!', Zainab called. 'This is Your mission and we are its soldiers and martyrs. Protect Your soldiers and their honour. Make us stronger than their injustice and torture.' She was also praying to Allah to guide this man. She had expected after the brutal reminder of his orders that he would be scared and turn into the monster they hoped for. But surprisingly he was kindly and courageous.

'Why are they torturing you like this Aunty?', he asked with the innocence of a child.

'My son, we are calling people to Allah and want Islam's rule for this country. Don't misunderstand, for we don't want power for ourselves.'

She heard the Adhan of Zuhr, and made tayammum on the wall and prayed. The man asked her to pray for him, so she did. When she stood up to pray the sunnah, he said: 'Pray to Allah to help me begin my prayers, Aunty. You are good people, may the wrath of Allah be on you Nasser!'

'Do you know how to make wudu'?'

'Of course. I used to persevere in performing prayer, but had the army found out about it, I would have been jailed.'

'Pray, even if they jail you, my son.'

'I will', he said, the light of iman - faith shining in his face.

At this juncture a soldier banged violently on the cell door. 'You son of a dog!', he shouted. 'What are you doing?'

The good young man said, 'The lady has not finished praying yet.'

'Safwat is coming, he sent me to see what you've done.'

Safwat charged in like a rabid dog. He attacked the young saviour with the utmost savagery, hitting him until he no longer even groaned. Finally they picked him up and took him out. She was left alone to reflect on the suffering this young man would endure on her behalf. Allah had illuminated his heart such that he could not obey the unjust.

Safwat came alone and threw her back into the adjacent room. Then, after, back to the cell of water where she stayed until the following day. Day in day out, this same routine ensued until she completely lost track of time and her senses became numbed. Again, she was taken from the cell of water to the adjacent room.

Safwat entered, screaming: 'Nasser has sent devils from the Nubah [Africa] who will devour you. Where are you going to run to now? Every minute that goes by brings you nearer to your end!'

Safwat began explaining to the soldiers what they had to do, in the most despicable, pornographic manner, all vestiges of decency removed. Pointing to one of them, he took unashamed pleasure in his instruction: 'Execute the instruction, you dog! And when you've finished call your friend to do the same. Understood!'

He then left the room and locked the door. The soldier began begging her to tell them all they needed to know, for he had no wish to hurt her. But if he did not obey orders then a great harm would befall him.

With all the strength she could muster, she warned him:

'Come near me, just one step, and I'll kill you. Kill you, understand?'

She could see the man was reluctant but still he moved towards her. Before she knew it, her hands were firmly around his neck.

'Bismillah, Allahu Akbar', she shouted, and sank her teeth into the side of his neck.

The man slipped out of her hands, white foam, like murky soap suds, frothed from his mouth. He fell to the ground motionless.

Hardly able to believe what had happened, she slunk backwards, what little strength she had now diluted. For now, at least, she was safe. Allah, the Exalted, had infused in her a strange force. A force sufficient to overcome this beast.

“0 my God! How generous are You! How vast is Your Gift! You are our Lord and the Lord of everything! Those who follow Allah's commandments are fought and resisted, but the final abode is always to the righteous!”

The cell door opened and arch torturer Hamzah al Basuni and Safwat, and their motley crew stood confounded by what they saw: their compatriot gurgling on the ground. They looked, on silently in disbelief. (. . . Thus was he confounded who (in arrogance) rejected faith . . .) [Quran al Baqarah 2:258]

They carried the soldier's body away between them. Then the cell of water was again her destiny.

There she was made to stand and await her deliverance. In the middle of the cell was a fire, and at each corner a soldier, each of them proudly displaying their snake-like whips. One of them hit her so that I was forced towards the fire, but when she tried to turn away from the flames another hit her to turn her back again and so on and so forth. All the while the heat of the fire scorched her exposed flesh. She was tortured in this way for about two hours, between the flames of the fire which she was scared of falling into and the searing lashes of their whips. Hamzah al-Basyuni came in, repeating his deluded nonsense: either she confirm the plot to assassinate Nasser, or else. In any case she lost consciousness and when she awoke she was once again in a hospital.

She was supposed to have been arrested for a specific crime. If this was so, why did they persist in trying to get her to say that she conspired to kill Nasser, that she planned this crime? If all the details of this crime were available, as they said, why this persistent demand to confess the crime? Why ask her to give proof of a crime which existed only in their imaginations? The reason was clear: all their torturous efforts were directed at one goal - at fighting Islam and destroying its foundations…

The chief torturer taunted: 'You want us to do like you, and fail as you've failed! You want us to leave the Soviet Union who rules half the world and yield to the words of somebody like al-Hudaibi, Sayyid Qutb or Hasan al-Banna?! You're crazy! We're not like you! Answer me!'

She reflected: '(For they, when they were told that there is no God except Allah, would puff themselves up with pride. And say: "What! Shall we give up our gods for the sake of a Poet possessed?".[Quran al Saffat:36]

She said: “These gods were idols, and the rulers are the custodians of idols. It was they who accused the Prophet (peace be upon him) of insanity. And, thus, is history repeating itself. You say to those who call you to Allah, you are insane.”

'Safwat, suspend her in the air and flog her!'

She was moved to hospital and she did not recollect what happened that night, for she  was unconscious and remained so for three days...

Once the chief torturer remarked: 'Didn't I tell you this woman would not enter my office again alive! Why have you brought her to me alive?'

Zainab replied: 'It is neither according to your will nor mine that I should live or die, it is Allah's Will, He is the Bestower of life and death!'

(adapted and edited from the book Return of the Pharaoh – Memoirs in Nasser’s Prison)

Pages from the Ikhwan al Muslimoon: A Mushaf Returned

An Account by the Wife of as Shaheed Yusuf Hawwash an Ikhwan companion executed together with as shaheed Sayyid Qutb in 1966

We lived together for two years, and he spent the rest of his life in prisons - recounted the wife of Yusuf Hawwash.

Marriage and Prison

Muhammad Yusuf Hawwaash (May Allah have mercy upon him) was born on the 12th of October 1922. He joined the Ikhwaan (Muslim Brotherhood), during his studies in the Gharbiyyah province. He married me in 1953 and I had from him two children, Ahmad and Sumayyah. They are both now doctors, and each has four children.

Our marriage initiated when one of the brothers recommended me to him as a wife, to help him carry the burden of  da`wah. Indeed we almost ended the matter due to Muhammad's problems, until my brother advised me to pray Salaat-ul-Istikhaarah.

He was imprisoned more than once during the beginning of our married life. He was imprisoned after the Aqd [wedding contract], then when he was released, we stayed together for one year, then he was imprisoned in 1954 and after the sentence was passed, he gave me the choice of staying with him or divorce. So I reprimanded him harshly, and informed him of something he was not aware of before. That once he was hospitalised, we found that one of his kidneys was severely damaged, because of an old illness he got when he was imprisoned as a student, in a cell filled with freezing cold water in winter. [At that time] the brothers offered me to cancel [the engagement] if I wanted, but I refused not to be with him on this journey just because of a situation that Allah Almighty had placed him in during one of his tribulations.

And when we married in 1953 I bore Sumayyah after ten months of marriage, and after that in just 17 days, the security services came to arrest him, and so he stayed on the run for a while.

During this time, he came to visit me once. After this, one of my sisters came, to take me and host me during my husband's absence, but when we came to leave, we found the security services surrounding us, and they wanted to arrest me.

So I decided that I would not go with them silently, until I exposed their evil system in front of the people who they had tricked, so I shouted in my highest voice that I would not go with them, whatever they do, and I criticized their actions. Being a neighbour, Anwar Sadat was there and he relented.

So I said to him: ‘I am going to the house of your master and the crown over your head, the respected Murshid (al-Hudaybi) [the head of Ikhwaan]’. I remained with the wife of the Murshid and his daughters alone in the house, because all the men in his family were in prison, until my husband appeared, and was tried and sentenced to a total of 55 years.

Muhammad and Sayyid Qutb's close friendship probably started after their sentencing in 1955, for he had been given 55 years, and the shaheed Sayyid Qutb 15; both were released in 1964. They remained together throughout this period, whether in prison or in hospital, so their relationship developed and strengthened for each other. They complemented each other - Muhammad would benefit from and learn, Fikr (thought), culture, Ilm (knowledge) and depth of the shaheed Sayyid, while Sayyid would learn about the history of Ikhwaan, their organization, Manhaj (methodology), and anything related to the Jamaa`ah (group) from the shaheed Muhammad, because he had joined before him. And so, they were very attached to each other. Muhammad would say: ‘Every chapter and every phrase in the books of Ustaadh Sayyid, I know when it was written, what the occasion was, and the discussion about it when it appeared as it did.’

Brief Release 1964 and Imprisoned Again

Of his (last) imprisonment in 1965, after his release in 1964, I went into hospital for an operation, and after coming out, he said to me: ‘You should make dhikr and seek forgiveness during your work, and you will be rewarded, and have patience and Ihtisaab (looking to your reward in the Hereafter), in being good to your relatives.’

He would pray two rak`ahs, (units of prayer) until the food was prepared, and he continuously prayed from nine in the morning to two in the afternoon. Whenever I opened the door, I would find him praying and crying. Until we heard a bang at the door of the house, and found it was the security services. So I opened the door to his room, and informed him that the security services were there and that he should finish his prayer and see them. And he did just that. They tried to take him with them, but he asked them to leave him until he could make ghusl. He then asked me extensively for a Mushaf [copy of the Qur'aan], which I did not have except the one which I had written a small message to Ahmad [our son] and I intended to give it to him as a present. So Muhammad promised me that it would be returned to me even if it had to go to Mars and back, and so I gave it to him.

Regime's Vindictiveness and Oppression

Then the oppression of the regime began to increase in harshness. For after I had been demoted and transferred from a headmistress to a teacher, then from one province to another, then from normal teaching to special needs. I recall that in Muhammad's first period of imprisonment, the security services started their campaign to try to imprison me.

Eventually, they achieved what they wanted and I was imprisoned for six months in Al-Qanaatir prison, which I spent in constant nazeef [bleeding], until I had to have a surgical operation to remove my womb after that. I did not attend court except for the sentencing.

When Muhammad finally saw me in my weak state, he told me that he did not know of my imprisonment, until the torture dogs had ripped his clothes in prison, and he had sent for clothes from the house.

Our son Ahmad cleverly gave the guard old clothes so that they would not steal the new clothes. And when he saw them (only our children visiting him), he knew that I was not in the house.

It was in this painful situation that when my sister bore a baby daughter, and Ahmad asked me to have for him a sister, and he would put up a tantrum, nag and cry, so I said: ‘Your father has to be here’, and when we went to visit his father, he kept crying and pulling him saying: ‘Come with me father to the house, and mum can have a sister for me. Who is stopping you? Him?’ and he pointed to the guard, ‘Don't be scared of him, I will hit him, and you come with me.’, until he made me cry and subsequently made the guards cry.

Our Final Farewell

The final moments of our farewell - they asked us to pay a final visit to him, before the carrying out of the sentence, so I took Ahmad and Sumayyah with me. I prepared for him good food, and we went to see him, but they refused to let me take the food in. They kept taking us into a tent to wait for some time, then taking us to another, until we had been into four tents, and in the end the guards brought him, dragging him in a derogatory manner, and 'threw' him in front of us inside the tent. And Muhammad would say: ‘I don't know what to be remorseful over? They want me to appeal for clemency and to regret what I have done, but what have I done to be regretful about?’

And when I asked the officer to bring in the food, and he refused, Muhammad said to me: "Don't tire yourself, and waste the time that we can spend together. If they bring the food in, then they will insist that I eat now, but I am fasting." Ahmad went and sat on his father’s lap and kept crying saying: "The boys keep saying to me, you, whose father wanted to kill Abdul-Nasser". So Muhammad comforted him: "The scales today are reversed, and they will not be corrected today, but indeed: ‘We Shall set up the Scales of Justice for the Day of Judgment.’ (Sûrah al-Anbiyâ’: 47)

He advised me to good with the children, and I advised him to good with himself, and the visit ended.

On the morning of 29th of August 1966, the radio broadcasted the news that the death sentence had been carried out on the three Martyrs. And I was preparing breakfast at the time, so I kept saying ‘Inna lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji`oon’, and seeking forgiveness, with my tears not stopping, while no one was aware of my situation. The murderers were not content with this, and sent for me, and made me sign a consent that there would not be a janaazah (funeral prayer) for him, and they gave me his things except that Ahmad's Mushaf (Qur’an) was not amongst them.

About My Husband

Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him), was of kind manners. One of his most important attributes was his generosity. The helper who used to work for him, once complained to me after the Aqd (marriage contract), that he did not eat from the food that she would prepare, because his house was always open to the brothers who were students, away from home or in hardship. Similarly in Ithaar [preference of others], he would not accept at all that there could be a misunderstanding between him and his brothers. He was clean in body and manners. He would make ghusl more than five times a day apart from wudoo'.

My relationship with my shaheed husband strengthened despite the short time we spent together, I continue to discover good characteristics about him through his  letters from prison concerning Tarbiyah [educative] lessons in Aaqeedah [belief], Imaan [faith], Sabr [patience], and Istiqamaah [steadfastness]. They were a provision for me on this path, and here are some examples:

On Eed-ul-fitr he sent a letter saying: ‘Eed would come to the sahaabah, and the honourable of them had been martyred, the loved of them had been lost, and they would have been tested in their spouses, parents and children. But all of this would not dampen the happiness of `eed in their souls. In fact this is the real meaning of `eed, effort, work, and sacrifice. So we, with the conditions we are in, are the most rightful of people to celebrate `eed, and the most realistic in our happiness for what Allah has given us, and for our knowing Him. And to observe thankfulness to Allah for it, on this great day. We now taste this deen, and feel it, and we find it in our khalajaat, fresh and soft just like the day it was revealed, alive and beating in our hearts and our blood mixing with it.’

Just as he was gentle in feelings, he would place his hand on the place of pain, and would nurse it with softness, and gentle medicine. He says in another letter; "It is hard on me, while I spend these moments with you, to see on you the signs of struggle and the indications of tiredness, and it is as if the journey has been long, and the hardships heavy. And I do not deny the hardships on this path, and I do not claim that I do not feel its difficulty, for indeed I am a weak human. Except that I feel, and I would like you to feel with me, that on either side of this long path, are oases with shade, that passers-by can relax in, if they tire, and in whose shade travellers can rest whenever the toils of travel take their toll. So would you like that we turn to one of these oases, perhaps we may find in it cool and calm? Then we can take from it water and food, which will help us continue our journey, and finish our travel?"

And here is what he wrote in a copy of the Book of Allah Almighty which he gave to me as a present:

In the Name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful,

To you. To you my wife.

To you O sister in creed.

To you O partner in Jihad.

To you O calmness of the soul and mother of the child.

To you O flower of the heart. To you this great book, upon whose law Allah brought us together as spouses, through which He gathered us as brothers, and in whose path He made us in the ranks of the believers two soldiers.

To you my beloved this grand book, in appreciation, love and faithfulness from your husband. Lest Allah may bring me back to you, and gather us under His aim.

And peace be upon you, and mercy from Allah, and His blessings, and all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

12th Shawwaal 1383

Aside from these cherished letters, I heard a lot from his brothers speaking about him. Asked about his favourite season and he chose: ‘Autumn, as the falling of the leaves reminds me of the end of one's allotted time.’

In his dreams, he also saw the Prophet s.a.w more that once, and Yusuf (as) and `Eesaa (as), and he would have true visions.

If he would become very tired in the long prison queues he would say: ‘Yes my Lord, how gentle you are.’ And if they spoke about torture in front of him, he would reply: (…then leave them in their wasteful discourse and trifling) (Al-An`aam:91)

And if they discussed with him the expectations of sentences, he would say: "Indeed these do not judge, and for Allah is judgment, and Allah does not judge except by the truth and those who they call upon beside him, do not judge by anything. What are we and they while in the qabd (grasp) of Allah like an atom? If Allah sees us as worthy of Martyrdom, He will choose us for it, and if not, then Allah's qadar - destiny will pass us and them."

A Mushaf Returned

Ahmad's Mushaf (Qur’an) has a story . When they imprisoned him in 1965, and he took the mushaf [Qur’an] with him, I did not find it in the belongings after his Martyrdom. And after twenty years, while we were in the holy city of Madeenah, in the house of my daughter and her husband, I saw it on the shelves, so I asked my daughter's husband where he got this mushaf from so he said that during his vist to the haram (masjid), a woman heard his brothers calling him, so she went to him, and said: ‘Are you so and so?’, and he replied in the affirmative. She said: ‘Then wait for me and do not leave until I give you a trust.’ Then she informed him that her husband had given her a mushaf that he had taken from the shaheed (Muhammad) and told her to take it to his heirs.

And that this mushaf had been to France, London and Saudi Arabia, until it eventually reached us 20 years later. And I did not expect that Allah Almighty had fulfiled the promise of the shaheed.

If I were to to send him a letter today, I would say, I pray to Allah Almighty that I am still upon the covenant, and have not changed after you, and that you are now in the levels of the Shuhadaa [Maryrs] and Sideeqeen [Truthful], and that Allah Almighty gathers me with you: (They and their wives in groves of shade, reclining on thrones) (Surah Yaa-Seen:56).

adapted and edited from Ad-Da'wah Issue 109, Muharram 1422 (www.cageprisoners.com)

Pages of The Ikhwan al Muslimoon - Flashback to 2002

 

Indeed it is troubling times for the ummah and the Islamic movement. For the Islamic movement, the Ikhwan al Muslimoon is considered as the vanguard movement and  pioneer which has always been at the epicenter of Islamic revival and consciousness. The movement has always been consistent, steadfast; bearing the heavy burden of presenting Islam to the modern world, the bearers of the universal Islamic message offering the blessings of the Lord to mankind. As were the many leading revivalists before them, the Ikhwan presented Islam as the true, straight path for salvation and success for the ummah and all of mankind, always steering the middle path al wasatiyah, always moderate, never compromising its principles in upholding Islam and to reform society. It was always promoting a true understanding of Islam, improving faith, to attain piety, upholding truth and justice, extolling charity, purifying the hearts and souls, reaching out in da’wah, educating by training in tarbiyyah, organizing the Islamic mission and work - amal jama'iyy, taking care physically and above all connecting and networking in close brotherhood - ukhuwwah amongst Muslims. These were after all the teachings of the Qur’an and the Sunnah of Rasulullah, Muhammad the Messenger of Allah, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him.

There were severe hardships and calamities which befell the Ikhwan, the brothers and sisters of the movement. In the 50's and 60's, the Egyptian regime under Nasser betrayed and slandered the movement, harshly repressed the Ikhwan, killing, imprisoning and brutally torturing its leaders and members, men and women. The very men and women of Egypt , its own sons and daughters, who had moral esteem and high ideals, who in some other situation and place in time, would have been highly regarded as statesmen and intellectuals, and be the role models of society. But the jealous and paranoiac tyrants simply suppressed and brutally repressed the Ikhwan culminating in the tragic and controversial conviction and execution of the syuhada’ Abd Qadir Awdah and Sayyid Qutb and the others who were sentenced to death, may Allah have mercy on them. The accusations have subsequently been shown to be false but Allah has deemed them to return unto Him in His wisdom.

By jailing its youth, shackling its intellectuals and cowering its principled citizens, Egypt, a year later, went to war with its real and menacing enemy, Israel, ending up in utter and humiliating defeat.

The suppression of the Ikhwan suited the agenda of the Zionists, the Communists at that time and Western powers - former colonialists who feared a revolutionary force that would threaten the status quo and would place Egypt away from their spheres of influence. But even though the Ikhwan were viciously attacked physically and its image always been distorted and vily misrepresented, they never ever adopted a radical approach or a militant act nor a violent response. Ikhwan's negative image has always been portrayed systematically by media and propagandists to the world and to ordinary Egyptians, even to children as irhab - terrorists, as backward people and as bogeyman, a menace to society. Ikhwan has always maintained the moderate path and kept to upholding peace and unity of the ummah above all other considerations. It has always been in the mode of da’wah wa tarbiyyah – reaching out and educating. This is as envisioned and as was taught by al syahid al Imam Hasan al Banna, its respected founder and maintained with great forbearance and patience by the others after him. The few young and impatient but maybe sincere idealists do disagree, dissented and differed with the Ikhwan, some resulted in grave consequences for the movement and the ummah as a whole as experienced presently by Muslims - the phenomena of Islamophobia as a reaction to incidences and outcry. But the Ikhwan credibly remained as the mainstream movement and maintained its popularity and is still well respected by friends and seems to be always feared by its foes.

However on the matter of principles, the fundamentals of Islam and also justice for the Ummah and the liberation of Palestine in the face of Israel’s illegitimacy, there is no compromise by the Ikhwan.

Some of its leaders undertook to consolidate, plan and organize the movement internationally while in exile. A movement by any other principles would have been shattered and would have faltered under such intense pressure and meticulous scrutiny if not by its highest ideals and its committed leadership. The Ikhwan participated and maintained a very strong presence in politics, the mosques, the universities, the professional bodies by dominating the medical, engineering and legal associations ,the intellectuals and also the Arab street. The Ikhwan’s representatives participated democratically contesting elections, have won seats persistently albeit using various platforms of the present political parties, having done so under severe discrimination and against all odds in Egypt’s highly lop sided electoral system.

It is indeed sad and tragic that Ikhwan Al Muslimoon has never been officially recognized or registered or allowed to operate legally and openly in Egypt or any part of the Arab world. But Ikhwan persists to exist, its presence felt and they were there to help out the needy, they were the first to offer relief to disaster victims of quakes and calamities being more efficient, reliable and trustworthy; they were there to quell riots peacefully, and they were there fighting in the first wars to liberate Palestine before being betrayed by the Arab legion of that time (and Yasser Arafat himself could vouch for this as he was there in person and knows the Ikhwan’s commitment)

The authorities would arrest the Ikhwan’s candidates and leaders just before elections just to disrupt and ensure that they cannot win. The travesty was the authorities’ extreme and shameful use of violent and provocative tactics to defeat the Ikhwan’s first and sole women candidate for the Iskandariah seat. She was highly popular and her win would have disproved all the narrow-mindedness and prejudice of the extreme liberal-secularists towards Ikhwan and the Islamic movement’s attitude towards the role of women and leadership. Ikhwan decided to field a woman candidate when even secular parties were reluctant. Other Islamic parties in the world learnt a lot from this experience.

It is also sad that most of the ummah will never know of Ikhwan's many leaders that have departed, never knowing or recognizing their great contribution towards the ummah’s own revival and a better present understanding of Islam in the contemporary world. The history of the modern Muslim world and the social studies of the last century ought to be reviewed and relooked at seriously so that justice be done to the real men and women who contributed to the world’s social, moral and ethical progress and development. With the fall of the caliphate in 1927, it was the Islamic movement pioneered by Ikhwan al Muslimoon and led by its predecessors which revived and kept the idea of the community - Ummah, the Islamic brotherhood, the Islamic commonwealth and the Islamic Tasawwur or Islamic world view, alive by the grace of Allah. Even if it is unfortunate for the Arab and Muslim world’s independence and redevelopment in terms of spirit, thought and confidence has never been acknowledged to have come from the Islamic movement's contributions as represented by Ikhwan. The many Arab failures and the other contemptible Muslim lands which failed to take off and remained miserable as it should be due have partly been to their severe repression of the Islamists and rejection of Islamization as was experienced by trying to eradicate the Ikhwan. Allah knows best and unto Him all things will return.

Those of us who has inherited the glorious legacies of the scholars, the companions of the Prophet s.a.w. and those after them, may Allah be pleased with them, having such little knowledge and only a trickle of understanding and meager will; in the course of Islam should pledge, strive and endeavour to improve ourselves and reach out to others to carry on the struggle for the cause of Islam as bearers of Rahmatan lil Alamin- the Blessings for the Universe.

(article written in 2002)

PAGES FROM THE IKHWAN AL MUSLIMUN: FRIENDSHIP

In Friendship, there are Provisions in the Path of Allah

Brotherhood for Allah, because of Allah is a great blessing and good refreshing provision throughout the path of da’wah – reaching out. Indeed Allah s.w.t. has bestowed this ni’mah – His Grace upon the mu’minin – the believers, the faithful by His command towards unity without discord as in Surah aali Imran: 103:

And hold fast, all together, by the rope which God (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude God's favour on you; for you were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, you became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does God make His Signs clear to you: That you may be guided

This is a huge bounty and blessing which can never be bought by any amount of wealth or world’s riches but all of it is realised and perfected only due to Allah’s Grace and Will. Surah al anfal: 63:

And (moreover) He has  put affection between their hearts: not if you had spent all that is in the earth, could you have produced that affection, but God has done it: for He is Exalted in might, Wise.

Indeed, the bond of aqidah Islamiyah is the strongest of all bonds. Indeed people who live in the shade of love and brotherhood in Islam, for Allah, because of Allah, will feel and enjoy true happiness, boundless satisfaction, whereas all of these can never be felt by those who only value life with temporal and limited worldly values. The community of the Muslim brotherhood has experienced such happiness. They really feel a loss, loneliness and sadness when one of them is away or get separated either due to conditions and situations or forced by the events that unfold. So they coined a parable to symbolise this closeness and camaraderie: Verily the environment of the Muslim brotherhood enjoyed by its loyal members are like fish to water.

Because of the importance of brotherhood because of Allah, ukhuwwah- brotherhood in Islam on the path of da’wah, culminated in the historic kinship where the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. made the Muhajirin and the Ansar as brothers, the greatest example, the highest in terms of love where each person prefers his brother before himself.

Indeed, the greatest duty performed by the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. to Muslims was to establish the Islamic aqidah (purity of faith), aqidah tawhid (faith in the Unity of God) and to develop the Islamic state. In its implementation requires the unity and bond of the community as a whole – the ummah. The parties to Islam have sold themselves to Allah and have helped His religion so that they became a single unified formation as if the perfect constituted blocks of a building.

A Muslim does not walk down the road ever in peace and security, for he has to tread paths full of thorns and spikes, slippery puddles and patches, full of mischief and pitfalls. There lies awaiting are robbers and syaitan – the devil, whether they be jin or man spying and eavesdropping at every move. So the Muslim needs a guide to lead him, to show him, to hold him up when he slips and to pull him away from danger, to give reminders when he forgets and to help him when he is weak. This is truly from Allah s.w.t.: Surah al asr 1-3:

By (the Token of) Time (through the ages), 

Verily Man is in loss, 

Except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy. 

Sometimes comes a time of laziness, carelessness, neglect, err or tempted by the whispers of syaitan. If left alone in such circumstances, he shall surely be washed away and carried into destruction and doom. Indeed a wolf will attack the lone sheep which is separated from its flock. A good friend shall never allow his brother to surrender to the urgings of syaitan and let him flounder to do wrong, but he will search and look out for him, call upon him, remind him, counsel him, to help him fight against the temptations of syaitan and his own selfish desires. This friendship is a great provision on the path of da’wah.

Indeed, a good friend is someone who always encourages us towards the good and the righteous. When look at him, he reminds us of our faith to Allah s.w.t. and our obedience to Him. On the other hand, a bad friend is someone far from it, goading us towards evil and enjoining us to sin and iniquity.

It is true what the Prophet s.a.w. said:

Indeed a good friend is like a seller of perfumes who sits in a gathering together with us, even if we do not get anything from him, we still get to smell to fragrance of the perfumes. And the example of a bad person sitting with us in a gathering is like an ironsmith who even if we are not touch by the sparks of fire but you will still feel the irritation of its fumes.

Man is a reflection of his friend. He shall feel empty and useless without him and he feels rejuvenated when he is around.

If the forces of evil men who devour wealth and dishonour others can and are able to muster unity and choose their leadership, surely the supporters of truth and the bearers of the message can unite. It is impossible for the community to stand tall and be effective if they do not work hard to strengthen their brotherhood and unity.

There is no piece of ivory without cracks. There is no person without shortcomings. These facts seem to be easily forgotten and not realised. One wishes that a friend guides him and saves him from wrongdoing, mistakes and shortcomings. However this cannot be done by anyone except the loving, the caring, the sincere, always kind in words and wise in counsel and giving advice. This is the best provision in the path of da’wah.

In counselling and giving advice, it is better to understand its etiquette, of how to do it wisely as guided by Allah s.w.t.:  Surah  An Nahl: 125:

Invite (all) to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for your Lord knows best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.

One of the salaf as salih, sages of the past said: Give advice in the most perfect way but accept it in whatever manner it comes. Anyone who advices his friend in secret, then he has done him good and has decorated him, but whoever advices his friend in the open in public, he has ashamed him and betrayed him.

Good friendship multiplies the energy of a person. In thinking out, he can seek opinions and views of others, resulting in mobilising the best of thoughts. In any task, he is helped out by friends of various skills and capabilities.

Happiness is shared and hardships are lightened. We see a Muslim walking on the path of da’wah not alone but it is as if he carries the hearts of his friends with him. Every brother is not miserly as to lend him a spiritual and an inner provision so that he may withstand any challenges and this is priceless.  Surah Al Ma’idah: 2:

Help you one another in righteousness and piety, but help you not one another in sin and rancour: fear God: for God is strict in punishment.

This command is not meant for an individual but a group, a jama’ah. Is it not wonderful if the spirit of cooperation and togetherness be alive in the villagers, the neighbourhoods, the districts, the nation so that it enables an environment of good and obedience to Allah s.w.t? This is especially felt when all others have been deteriorated and neglected. Many shun and neglect the solat jama’ah – prayers in congregation, especially the subuh and the isya’, dawn and the night prayers, the Qur’an studies and classes, the knowledge lectures, the dhikrullah gatherings, the da’wah effort, and helping out the poor and the needy.

How vital and valuable good friendship in times of trials and tribulations. In such dire circumstances, a Muslim is exposed to attacks and pressures to deviate from his path, to flee from the straight way. Here lies the essential qualities of a true friend to take care of his brother, to prevent him from falling out, stop him from being fooled or be influenced by false promises ad threats. The enemies of Allah s.w.t. work hard carrying out the orders and syaitan’s inspirations to thwart the Muslims so that they neglect their duties and leave the frontlines of jihad and the field of da’wah. This can be clearly seen from the experience and history of the Islamic movements always beset by calamity and tribulations. These are all overcome by the blessing of a community held by the bond of love and brotherhood wholly because of Allah s.w.t.

Seeing each other meaningfully sincerely because of Allah s.w.t. They shake hands with a loving smile in their faces. They visit each other, they counsel one another always towards good deeds.

Among the hadith:

Seven persons will be shaded by the Allah s.w.t. on the day when there shall be no shade except by Allah s.w.t. One of them  are two men who love one another because of Allah, they meet because of Allah and they depart because of Allah.

There is a man who was visiting his brother in another village and Allah s.w.t. commanded an angel to await him at the crossroads. Upon seeing the man, the angel asked: “Where are you going?”

He replied: “I want to visit my brother in that village”

The angel asked: “ Are you going in order to return his favour”

He replied: “No, but I love him because of Allah”

The angel: “Indeed I am Allah’s messenger sent to you to tell you that Allah loves you as you love him  because of Allah”

The Messenger of Allah s.a.w. met some companions in a gathering and he asked them: “Why are you sitting here?”

They replied: “We are sitting here to remember Allah and to praise Him because He guides us to Islam. He has granted us His blessings”

The Messenger of Allah s.a.w.: “By Allah, is there any other reason which cause you to sit here other than that?’

They said: “ By Allah, we swear, there is no other reason for us to sit here except for that”

The Messenger of Allah s.a.w.: I did not mean to ask you to swear or to accuse you, but Gabriel came to me and told me that Allah praises you in front of His angels.”

Because friendship is central and imperative to Islam and its communities, we see Islam and the shariah nurtures and safeguards the values of companionship from whatever that may wreck unity and accord. Islam forbids envy, jealousy, hatred, deceit, treachery, cheating, fraudulent transactions, riba – usury, drugs and alcohol, gambling, vilifying and ridiculing one another, prejudice and conjecture, spying and finding faults of each other, severing relations and betrayal.

Do not severe relations, do not betray one another, do not hate one another, do not envy one another. And be servants of Allah in brotherhood. And it is not permitted for a Muslim to be not in speaking terms with his brother for more than three days.

Al Hujurat: 9

If two parties among the Believers fall into a quarrel, make you peace between them

Al Hujurat 10

The Believers are but a single Brotherhood: So make peace and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers; and fear God, that you may receive Mercy.

Al Anfal: 46

And obey God and His Apostle; and fall into no disputes, lest you lose heart and your power depart; and be patient and persevering: For God is with those who patiently persevere:

Al Isra’: 53

Say to My servants that they should (only) say those things that are best: for Satan does sow dissensions among them: For Satan is to man an avowed enemy.

So my dear friend! Seek good friends and be noble companions because it is a reliable assistant and provision throughout the path of da’wah..

---

excerpt adapted and  translated from a Malay translation, ‘Bekalan di dalam Perjalanan Da’wah’, Zadun ala al Tariq by al marhum Ustadh Mustafa Masyhur, General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood  - Islamic Outreach ABIM Usrah Notes 2003

MUHASABAH GERAKAN ISLAM

TEKS UCAPAN PENGERUSI WADAH PENCERDASAN UMAT CAWANGAN PULAU PINANG, USTAZ DR WAN SALIM MOHD NOOR SEMPENA MUKTAMAR KE 6 PADA 13 JULAI 2013 DI BANGUNAN ABIM NEGERI, SUNGAI GELUGOR.

Segala kepujian dan kesyukuran dipanjatkan ke hadrat Allah swt yang telah menurunkan sebaik-baik syari’at untuk kesejahteraan dan kebahagian hidup hamba-hambaNya. Selawat dan salam ke atas junjungan agong Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. yang telah berjaya menterjemahkan Risalah Khatimah di dalam kehidupan baginda dan di dalam realiti bermasyrakat dan bernegara. Maka dengan itu membuktikan bahawa syari’at ini adalah satu syari’at realistik dan praktikal.

Ijtima’ Harakiy Wadah Pencerdasan Umat WADAH dan Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia ABIM Negeri Pulau Pinang tahun ini berlangsung pada bulan Ramadan al Mubarak. Kita ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan selamat berpuasa kepada seluruh kaum Muslimin, khasnya warga ABIM dan WADAH Pulau Pinang.

Ketibaan bulan yang mulia ini sewajarnya dapat meningkatkan lagi kualiti diri setiap individu Muslim di samping menambahkan lagi iltizam kepada jihad suci untuk mendaulatkan agama Allah swt dan mengangkat martabat khayra ummah dan kemuliaan di dunia. Umat Islam yang mendapat tarbiyyah daripada madrasah Ramadan diharap mampu menimba semaksima mungkin inspirasi yang lumayan hasil perjuangan rohani yang diharungi sepanjang bulan ini. Mereka juga mesti mempunyai kekuatan azam untuk menjelmakan atau mentransform roh jihad yang dibekalkan menerusi puasa Ramadan bersama amal ibadat dan kebajikan lain untuk diterapkan ke dalam pelbagai lapangan hidup sebagai menyahut seruan Allah swt di dalam Al Qur’an yang bermaksud:

Dan berjihadlah kamu pada jalan Allah dengan jihad yang sebenar-benarnya. Dia telah memilih kamu dan Dia sekali-kali tidak menjadikan untuk kamu dalam agama suatu kesempitan. (Ikutilah) agama orang tuamu Ibrahim. Dia (Allah) telah menamai kamu sekalian orang-orang Muslim dari dahulu dan (begitu pula) dalam (Al Qur’an) ini, supaya Rasul itu menjadi saksi atas segenap manusia, maka dirikanlah solat, tunaikanlah zakay dan berpeganglah kamu kepada tali Allah. Dia adalah Pelindungmu, maka Dia adalah sebaik-baik Pelindung dan sebaik-baik Penolong. (Al Hajj: 78)

SELAMAT BERMUKTAMAR

Selamat bermuktamar kepada saudara saudari yang masih istiqamah dengan idealisme perjuangan. Idealisme yang murni bagi menegakkan cita-cita Islamiah. Usaha suci bagi mencerahkan dan mencerdaskan umat , serta menjalankan misi besar liberatif dan edukatif – membebaskan dan mentarbiyyah agar mendekati keimanan serta menegakkan kebenaran dan menjauhi kebatilan serta kemungkaran.  Perjuangan yang menggabungkan kita semua supaya intima dengan gerakan Islam dan mendokong fikrahnya tanpa mengira usia, keadaan dan masa. Inilah peluang untuk bersama menilai dan menghisab setahun perjalanan, satu perjumpaan singkat tetapi penuh bermakna kerana di sinilah kita mengikrarkan semula komitmen dan tekad untuk meneruskan perjuangan di bawah naungan dan rahmat Allah swt.

SIASAH SYAR’IYYAH

Tahun yang lalu memperlihatkan suasana politik yang panas dan getir yang melibatkan pertarungan bagi menentukan gagasan menerajui negara. Kita tidak terkecuali daripada merasai bahangnya dan tidak kurang juga kerana ada terlibat dengan mengharungi kederasan  arusnya dan pancaroba pertarungannya. Walauapapun, kita telah membuat keputusan bersama supaya bagi sesiapa yang datang dari pengkalan akan tetap kembali ke pengkalan dalam keadaan mana sekalipun. Kembali bagi meneruskan kerja da’wah dan aktivisme serta menguruskan institusi membangunkan ummah.

Apa pengajarannya? Kita menyokong gagasan baru berasaskan siasah syar’iyyah supaya ragam lama berpandukan politik mentah berubah kepada politik luhur. Kita cuba menganjurkan politik berprinsip supaya kebenaran dan keadilan disanjung, kebatilan didedahkan dan budaya fitnah serta melanggar hukum kemanusiaan dan menyalahi syara’ ditolak oleh rakyat.

Kita hadapi masalah kerana berlaku kedangkalan kefahaman dan kekeliruan di kalangan umat. Umat umumnya belum bersedia untuk perubahan. Sebahagian terpedaya dengan serangan media dan lambakan propaganda sehingga merelakan qazaf dan pelbagai taburan fitnah ke atas kepimpinan, tokoh gerakan Islam dan idealisme perjuangan. Adalah malang juga apabila berlaku pengkhianatan dan persekongkolan individu-individu tertentu dan pertubuhan-pertubuhan yang lebih gemar dan tanpa segan silu tampil menyumbang kepada kecederungan kebatilan. Tanpa panduan dan pencerahan, umat tidak mengenali permata mana yang tulen dan yang lebih berharga bagi mereka berbandingkan dengan kepalsuan dan fasad.

Pengajarannya adalah lebih banyak perlu dilakukan supaya matlamat pencerdasan umat itu tercapai supaya umat bulat bersama perjuangan dan menolak kebatilan. Supaya para pimpinan serta tokoh-tokoh umat dan rakyat jelata tidak berkompromi, tidak mudah diperdaya  akibat sogokan, bujuk rayu dan ancaman.

KEMELUT UMMAH

Walaupun kita harus lebih tumpu kepada isu-isu lokal, namun perkembangan terkini umat se antero dunia tetap menyentuh cara fikir, jiwa  dan gerak kerja serta nadi gerakan. Pengkaji sejarah revolusi akan memberikan contoh-contoh penyentapan dan bagaimana revolusi diragut oleh regim korup lama melalui kontra revolusi. Kenangkan Mossadegh di Iran pada 1954 dan Patrice Lumumba di Congo pada 60’an setelah memenangi pilihanraya, mereka digulingkan melalui komplot penjajah Barat dengan sekutu suruhan mereka terdiri daripada tentera dan oportunis semata-mata kerana mereka benar-benar pemimpin kemerdekaan. Begitu juga berlaku kepada FIS di Algeria dan Hamas di Palestin. Mereka dinafikan kemenangan demokratik dengan pelbagai cara samada brutal seperti pembunuhan dan pembasmian - eradication di Algeria atau tidak kurang zalimnya pemulauan, sekatan kejam dan pengepungan seperti di Palestin. Kini giliran umat Islam di Mesir pula dianiayai dengan revolusi rakyat 25 Januari menjadi sebuah stolen revolution akibat dirampas semula oleh regim pada 30 Jun 2013. Pesanan Sayidina Ali r.a. tentang kekalahan hak kepada kebatilan kerana kekuatan sistem adalah tepat sekali.

Kebatilan sistematik boleh dilihat apabila regim ganas Alawi Syria dengan kerjasama penuh dan pakatan erat Rusia, Iran, Iraq dan Hizbullah membunuh dan menyembelih umat Islam Syria secara terang-terangan. Sebaliknya, negara-negara lain masih terkial-kial tanpa komitmen atau rancangan jitu untuk membela nasib umat yang menurut pemerhatian biasa akan pasti ditewaskan sekali lagi justeru mengulangi tragedi kejam bandar Hama apabila dimusnahkan dan diranapkan bersama penduduknya oleh Hafez bapa kepada Bashar Assad pada 1982.

Begitulah juga nasib umat Islam di Rohingya akibat hasutan rahib-rahib ekstrim dibunuh begitu saja. Negara-negara Islam termasuk kita hanya berminat dengan mencari peluang keemasan berdagang semata-mata setelah pasaran Myanmar terbuka. Penderitaan hanya tinggal sekadar muatan di laman media.

SITUASI SEMASA

Kini dunia dilanda fasad secara terang-terangan dan mengalami kebejatan moral yang begitu parah apabila negara-negara utama Barat mengusulkan dan meluluskan di medan-medan legislatif mereka hak LGBT. Ini sekaligus merosakan institusi keluarga dan peradaban manusia. Tidak puas hati dengan pencemaran ini, usul ini dibawa secara rempuhan ke peringkat penguatkuasaan antarabangsa melalui PBB dengan percubaan memaksa penerimaan LGBT sebagai sebahagian hak asasi yang terkandung pada Pengisytiharan Universal Hak Asasi Manusia. Jika mereka berjaya, ia merupakan malapetaka besar ke atas umat manusia dan dunia Islam seluruhnya. Sekali lagi pergerakan kefasadan ini bergerak secara terancang dan sistematik.

Begitulah gelagat pihak ekstrimis liberal-sekular yang sering menguasai arus perdana.

Di sini pula kelemahan kepimpinan politik Islam ternyata sekali apabila mereka gagal membentang dan meluluskan Rang Undang-Undang Pentadbiran Islam Wilayah Persekutuan 2013 di Parlimen. Padahal rang undang-undang yang sama telah lama diluluskan oleh negeri-negeri lain dalam persekutuan.

Kita amat berharap ada keberanian, kematangan dan kejelasan politik secara prinsip supaya kepentingan umat Islam terus terpelihara oleh mereka yang telah diberikan amanah oleh rakyat di peringkat legislatif negara.

TARBIYYAH

Ramai pimpinan dan tokoh-tokoh telah melalui madrasah gerakan Islam, samada melalui penyertaan, penggabungan, pengajian, program, persahabatan dan interaksi. Ramai pasti tersentuh dengan sentuhan gerakan Islam dan gagasan yang dibawanya. Adalah dianggapkan dan diharapkan semuanya berperanan untuk menegakkan agama, kefahaman meluas dan pemerataan keIslaman di segenap bidang  dan masyarakat amnya. Peri penting adalah penerusan dan kesinambungan model harakiy – pergerakan terencana dan aktivisme padu.

Dengan kedudukan gerakan Islam semasa, adakah model ini memadai untuk mengekalkan cita-cita dan idealisme?

Perkembangan positif dari suatu sudut adalah kemunculan populariti agamawan sehingga ada yang digelar selebriti agama. Sekiranya pengkalan dirujuk, sifat tawadu’ dipertahankan dan pengkomersialan terurus dengan terhormat, ia boleh menyumbang kepada pembaharuan.

Bagi masyarakat am dan pemuda khususnya, penerangan dan penjelasan berhikmah perlu supaya mereka mampu dan bijak menelusuri, mengolah dan menilai kepelbagaian aliran kefahaman dan pemikiran serta lambakan maklumat. Walauapapun, adalah suatu kemestian bahawa aliran sesat dan batil ditolak samasekali.

Gerakan Islam perlu bermuhasabah dan juga membuat pembaharuan dan inovasi bagi menangani fenomena dan perkembangan terkini.

PRIHATIN DAN KEPEDULIAN UMMAH

Menyingkap ucapan dasar yang lalu, gerakan Islam masih belum berperanan dan belum menjadi jurubicara umat bagi menghadapi pelbagai masalah kos sara hidup, penempatan dan perumahan dan kedudukan ekonomi umat yang tidak memberangsangkan walaupun sebagai sebuah negeri Pulau Pinang telah jauh maju sebagai kuasa ekonomi. Situasi sosial umat Islam  masih bermasalah.

Gerakan Islam perlu melihat semula Projek BANGKIT yang strategik dan telah dibangunkan bersama kerajaan negeri beberapa tahun dahulu bagi tujuan merancang, merumus dan memberi fokus yang realistik dan berkesan dalam usaha menegakkan cita-cita Islamiyyah dan pembelaan umat Islam Pulau Pinang.

PENGISIAN DAN TUMPUAN GERAKAN

Saranan ucapan dasar yang lalu perlu disingkap semula, supaya pengisian ilmu dan amal dilakukan bersungguh-sungguh oleh jamaah. Gerak kerja perlu cekap dengan pengalaman dan tenaga yang ada. Penguasaan ilmu dan keupayaan artikulatif suatu kewajipan jamaah dalam memahami dan mengolah syari‘ah dan membahaskannya dalam konteks semasa.

Penegasan semula saranan lalu tentang tumpuan gerakan diulangi:-

• Mengumpul dan menggembleng ahli dan bergerak aktif.

·         Menggerakkan institut kajian dasar.
·    Membangunkan dan mempertingkatkan prestasi madrasah-madrasah SEMI, SERI, Al-‘Uthmaniah, Outreach, Rohingya Educational Centre REC, TASKI, Tabung Ekonomi.
·         Melaksanakan kerja di lapangan , memberi sumbangan membantu golongan du‘afa jauh dan dekat.
·         Melebarkan serta mengeratkan perhubungan serta wilayah pengaruh.

KHATIMAH

Muktamar sanawi atau Ijtima’ harakiy yang diadakan setiap tahun adalah masa paling sesuai bagi para pendokong Harakah Islamiyyah bermuhasabah. Kita harus bertanya kepada diri masing-masing :  Sejauh manakah perkara-perkara yang disarankan di dalam muktamar-muktamar yang lalu telah direalisasikan? Atau ia tinggal sebagai slogan-slogan kosong semata-mata? Kita tidak sepatutnya mendedahkan diri kepada kemurkaan allah swt akibat tidak mengotai apa yang kita pernah ucapkan.

Maksud firman Allah swt:

Wahai orang-orang yang beriman! Kenapa kamu ucapkan apa yang tidak kamu lakukan? Besarlah kemurkaan di sisi Allah bahawa kamu katakan apa yang kamu tidak lakukan. (As Saff : 1-2)

THE STOLEN REVOLUTION

In a scene reminiscent of Assad’s Syrian brutal repression of his people, Egypt’s security forces open fire, gunned down, killed and wounded many Muslim Brotherhood supporters as they were praying Subh – dawn prayers. Once again, the military is betraying the revolution.

THE COUP

Egypt’s  military has once again further empowered the forces of the "deep state" -  the makhzen, the remnants, Mubarak’s holdovers  the filul - those groups of politicians, generals and business owners that were allied to the regime of Hosni Mubarak, and who have continued to command influence among the poor and ignorant.  These well-financed groups played an important part in persistently inciting against President Morsi over the past year, and the mass anti-Morsi demonstrations. These forces are coming back with vengeance, after the revolution and after Islamist-led administration tried to strip them of their power, interests and influence.

The military has in achieving the coup defined  itself as  the protector of Egypt’s “deepest state”, the political and economic elite that surrounds, is managed by and serves it.

Egypt’s general as always claims that the military does not want to play a political role or to rule Egypt but the military said that last time too, and yet continued to rule quite brutally for more than another year until President Morsi managed to send them to their barracks. 

The military in control means that US influence is great  because the Egyptian military is wholly dependent on the US for economic funding and support. The Egyptian military receives $1.3bn in US tax dollars every year in full and on time.

THE TAMARRUD

The opposition now believe if they mobilize a discontented majority mass , and if the military elites supports them,  they can overthrow any elected leadership, throw the elected leaders in prison, and reset an entire political process.

The January 25 revolution repudiated the Mubarak regime, while the June 30 revolution has handed back the reins of power to an  anti-Muslim Brotherhood  coalition of Mubarak remnants and secular elites supported by most Copts.

To overthrow an elected president and government by assessment based on Morsi’s competence is so questionable  because the secular opposition, including the Mubarak residue and the Coptic minority, were ever unwilling to live in an Egypt that was governed by Islamists. The old Mubarak sectors of the government that remained in place, including the judiciary, the police, and the interior ministry, threw every possible roadblock in the path of Morsi’s governing policies.

Motivations of those  who demonstrated against continued Muslim Brotherhood rule had to be diverse. Anxieties at the economic state of the country, or that the Muslim Brotherhood was simply incompetent in government. Others were fearful of  ikhwanat al-daula (Ikhwanisation of the state) would lead to  Islamist domination. Many Christians felt citizenship was at stake. Others for freedom of expression in the face of the  Muslim Brotherhood. Meanwhile the security state’s semi-clandestine campaign bolstered the Tamarrud movement. The military or previously called SCAF  strategy  comes at a terrible price in lives lost during the inevitable strife that follows.  

Coup leaders conveniently ignore the fact that Egypt has suffered from a general lawlessness that began once the uprising against Hosni Mubarak ended, and well before Morsi's term began. Morsi government did not have complete control over corrupt, Mubarak-era security forces - many of whom have been openly and secretly protesting against Morsi.

Egypt's opposition are responsible for much of the organized violence witnessed recently. The presidential palace was repeatedly firebombed last December, and other government buildings, 30 Muslim Brotherhood offices, and four Muslim Brotherhood buses have been attacked and burnt. The victims have always been Brotherhood supporters.

Coup leaders lament the state of the Egyptian economy, placing the blame squarely on Morsi.  But the Morsi administration has had to endure constant instability, which has discouraged investment and tourism. The first calls for a "revolution" to topple Morsi began last August, just weeks after he was elected, and the opposition have proclaimed their very intention outrightly then to bring Morsi down by whatever means.

The coup leaders are  determined to again eradicate or drive the Muslim Brotherhood underground. They would dispose the Freedom and Justice party stalwarts with the starkest of alternatives, insurgency or surrender. The new temporary leadership is moving toward extreme polarization and the political suppression of the Islamically oriented.  None of them wants to acknowledge Morsi’s posture in rejecting the military takeover, urging nonviolent resistance and Morsi’s action within the law.

The Tamarrud rebels are championing Mubarak and his regime’s core legacy – “anything but the Brotherhood”,  yasqut yasqut hukm al-murshid - a call to overthrow the Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme Guide.  Mubarak  must now be a cheerier for “his children” has come  out in the open. For all of their apparent and vociferous  hatred of Mubarak and his regime, the Tamarrud rebels have shown to be the faithful followers of his core legacy – anything but the Brotherhood.

The Tamarrud protesters abandoned two key democratic principles- respect for the ballot box and the non-intervention of the military in politics. If the Tamarrud movement  really had 22 million supporters, then that should have been translated into votes in parliamentary elections scheduled by President Morsi for later this year, to bring Morsi down.

This is not a victory for freedom but for the old regime, the filul, or the makhzen, the Egyptian “deep-state”- a bureaucratic, military, and business elite, that never really went away. Liberal secularists in Egypt have decided that the offer from the “deep state” is preferable to a full democracy, which denies a  level playing field for the Muslim Brotherhood.

It envisages a “democracy” for everyone except Islamists although Egypt has a large community of Muslim believers. It is a ridiculous denial of the Brotherhood  in Egyptian society and narrative, which is a hugely popular and socially-embedded movement. President Morsi and the Brotherhood, after undergoing long and harsh persecution and its own internal debates endorsed the democratic electoral process. Surely, to be a Muslim democrat is not to be hopelessly naive.

The world may like to but can never forget Algeria 1991-92 and the Palestinian elections of 2006. The stinging perception is that Islamists winning the ballot box keep being toppled undemocratically.

This time, the sitting president was not a US-backed military dictator kept in power by US funding and political support. This time, the deposed president Morsi was Egypt’s first democratically and popularly elected president in several generations. 

THE COUP PLAYERS

The transitional leadership is symbolically shown by  figures like the Coptic Pope and the Sheikh al-Azhar who were stalwarts of the old regime. The interim President, Adly Mansour was  the first Mubarak appointee to the Supreme Constitutional Court. Every judge in that court was appointed by the Mubarak regime. Adly Mansour remains a hold-over from the Mubarak dictatorship and can never be a representative of the revolution.

As for El Baradei, and senior Tamarrud leaders, they rode “democracy” on the back of army tanks. El Baradei himself is one of the failed candidates for the presidency.  It is glaringly ironic to see Mohamed El Baradei reject popular elections claiming it was conducted under military rule, only to accept a direct appointment by none other than the military themselves. The appointment of El Baradei is said to appease the US and everyone knows that he served them well, allowing for the invasion of Iraq when he was in the IAEA. El Baradei has so little support that he needed the army to put him in office

El-Baradei should have been the first to call for Morsi’s release. But neither El-Baradei nor Sabbahi will be or can be iconic leaders. So they support the anti-Ikhwan purge  because detained Islamist leaders seem to have no inviolable rights and Islamist politicians are destined to be imprisoned.

The opposition compact was simply to bring down the Morsi government with no clear leader, no agreed and no clear platform. Its diverse and ideologically contradictory makeup is disturbing. Participants include Mubarak holdovers from the military and judiciary to police, security, bureaucracy, former losing presidential candidates like Amr Musa; Egypt's illiberal secularists; disaffected April Spring youth; religious leaders, Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar and himself a former member of the Mubarak-led National Democratic Party as well the heads of the Salafist Nour Party and the Coptic church.  

It is indeed a strange bed to have  the Copts, the extreme secularists and the salafists sleeping together.

THE IKHWAN

The Brotherhood, for decades living in siege and faced with repression, learned to survive and prove the only significant opposition during the Mubarak years. The Brotherhood had deliberated, debated heatedly, dithered and hesitated on whether to take the leading role  in the post revolutionary order. It was late in the stage that it took on a highly political risk and went ahead to contest all the elections. The Brotherhood through the Freedom and Justice Party and its candidate Dr Morsi won all 14 rounds of voting  at legislative, presidential elections and constitutional referendums proving itself worthy of winning the ballot box.

The Morsi government attempted at governance, in building a representative coalition in the very complex political and economic climate post January 25. The risk and gamble of transitioning in a post revolutionary Egypt were tremendous where so many “deep state” institutions and agencies remained part of the Mubarak legacy.  Despite various accomplishments, the Morsi government and the Brotherhood were unable to move quickly and effectively to garner sufficient popular support which enabled extreme anti-Brotherhood factions, bent on bringing it down, to mobilize diverse sectors of society littered with suspicion and grievances.

The Ikhwan has to stay the course, remain steadfast and persevere despite all the severe repressions and provocations for they have to respect the fact that they were the choice of the people of Egypt to lead them and to  retrieve a stolen revolution.

(gathered from various news reports)