By Wan Nur Amrina
We have always heard that Muslims in certain parts of the world are being tormented mentally and physically, but have we actually wondered how it feels to be tortured, especially for being a Muslim? If you are interested, then, you have to read this book, Return of the Pharaoh by Zainab al-Ghazali. A warning first, please prepare your heart before reading this!
It is an autobiographical book about her experience from the year 1965. It tells the true story of her being accused of trying to kill the President of Egypt, Jamal Abd al-Nasir in 1965. The story begins when Zainab was involved in a serious car accident, plotted by Nasir as he governs an anti-Islam government. She was accused of trying to assassinate him and due to that, they arrested and imprisoned her.
As she waits for her turn to be tried, she had to endure severe, inhumane torture alongside her allies at the hands of the Egypt government. In hopes of dampening her faith in Islam, the situation in the prison somehow made her increase her dedication to sacrifice herself more for the sake of Islam. This book later ends with Zainab being released from prison in 1971 even though she was actually sentenced to serve twenty-five years of hard labour.
Zainab al-Ghazali’s writing on this matter is considered a very important part of history as she is an active witness who has gone through Egypt’s volatile moment of history. The number of physical assaults, humiliation and persecution committed by the soldiers, investigators, and the Egypt prison officials towards her are truly beyond imagination and terrible for a helpless lady like her. However, her patience and strong perseverance in facing the hardships, worldly desires and persecution of that time greatly reminds people of the time of the Prophet’s Companions and the earlier generation of virtuous Muslims.
She willingly took up the path of bringing Islam back to glory as she battles against Taghut and Jahiliyyah forces as commanded in the religion. Muslim women are not exempted from spreading truths and eliminating falsehood, defending and upholding Islamic values as well as principles in order to make Islam flourish and continue thriving. Despite being in fragile health as she reached her 70s, her writing never stopped as she planned to plant inspiration within the older and younger generations, persuading them to join the battle for the sake of prospering Islam.
There are a few scenes I would like to highlight from this book as I found them interesting or simply traumatising. I find that her allegiance to Hasan al-Banna, who is the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood is so strong that she promoted the organisation with all her efforts wholeheartedly before establishing one on her own. This somehow has made her a controversial female figure, especially for the Muslims of the 20th century.
Looking at her efforts of educating and spreading awareness to women will make her seem like a Muslim feminist along with her trying to create improvements for those women’s life and status in their social standing. She was sentenced to 25 years of hard labour in 1965 but was released in 1971 due to the change of President that year, causing the previous one, Jamal Abd al-Nasir to receive his own punishment in prison which led him to his death.
Although true Muslims are not doing anything radically but spreading the truth in real life, some still feel triggered by their mere existence. For example, the giant pillars of the ummah, the great Muslim scholars used to have a bounty on their name, amounted to E£10,000 delivered to them whether dead or alive. Not only that, the opposition became braver and braver to publicly pronounce those great and pious scholars to be sentenced to death.
Despite the scene not being told thoroughly, it is impactful enough to convey to the reader the power of Muslims, especially the knowledgeable and respected ones. They will hold such a huge influence towards the people outside regardless of race which can help them to unite.
Soldiers would trespass on her private property as her house gets rummaged through without a warrant. She is called a fool by them and they enjoy looking down on those who were powerless. They leave her house without anything intact inside as they turn everything upside down before arresting her nephew. Not only do they not have any shred of integrity and always resort to violence, but they spit profanities, an act of the jahiliyyah, as well as respecting women less.
Despite being locked in the prison and dragged to every torture room, she never fails to perform her solat portraying her strong faith towards Allah and His Messenger, Prophet Muhammad. She is always attentive and concerned with the time, especially when it is nearing the supposed time to perform solat. She performs tayammum, because of no access to clean water. This is a reminder for Muslims to not be indulged in the pleasures that the world has offered. There should be no excuse for those who are living outside this sphere happily to not do the first command in Islam.
Not to mention that she was whipped numerous times, hung only by her hands and purposefully not given any food or water, to keep her thirsty and hungry. They threw her into a prison room filled with dogs and she was bitten until she bled, and dragged into another room filled with water without any spare clothes. There were also assaults, such as rape attempts by the soldiers, and prison officers in order to get her confession of her attempting to assassinate the President of Egypt at that time.
The moment the prison officers are not satisfied with her or simply want to vent their anger, she would be ordered to receive a certain amount of floggings to the point that her injuries got so serious that she had to be taken to the hospital.
This kind of work is very significant to other Muslims aside from those who are heavily involved in the academic world. It really portrays the sacrifices Muslims have to make while they are still living yet being squeezed with worldly desires. The author is a wonderful social figure who stands up for women’s rights along with her strong faith in Islam who never stops from prospering Islam all her life. Thus, I hope those who are reading this review will learn from her resistance journey for the sake of protection of religion and her dignity as a Muslim woman.
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