Zainab Al-Ghazali – The Muslim Feminist
“The armed Ikhwan organization (Muslim Brotherhood) is a story fabricated by Nasser regime. It’s incumbent on Muslims to establish the Islamic State (when in majority) and make call to it as the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his Companion did. This should be ideal of every Muslim, be he an Ikhwan or a non-Ikhwan,” – Zainab Al-Ghazali, August 10, 1971 – on his release from Gamal Nasser,s prison.
Zainab Al-Ghazali was born on January 2, 1917 at Maitin (Egypt) and died on August 3, 2005. She was born in the family of descendents of Hazrat Umar and Imam Hassan. In 1938, i.e. st the age of 18, she laid down foundation of Jamiat Al-Sayyidat-ul-Muslimeen, an organization for the welfare of women.
Highly inspired by Ikhwan’s Jihad against European Jew invaders in Palestine, she joined Imam Hasan al-Banna’s Ikhwan al-Muslimun (Muslim Brotherhood). For her association with Ikhwan, she was arrested by Nasser’s anti-Islam secularist regime in 1965 and imprisoned for a term of six years. She shared the same jail as Sayyid Qutb and heard his martydom on August 29 in her cell – which she recalled in her biography Ayyam-Min Hayati (Days From My Life):
“The next day of Sayyid Qutb’s hanging as I was invoking Allah, I fell asleep and heard in dream someone telling that Sayyid is in the seventh Heaven.”
During her imprisonment, Zainab was tortured and humiliated in every imagine way. The authorities used to bring group of young Ikhwan in front of her cell and ordered them to to curse Zainab, which either they refused or while weeping used to say: “How could we? She is just like our mothers.” Nasser’s regime even tried to bribe her by offering a cabinet post (Minister), if she become a witness against Sayyid Qutb and Ikhwan movement – which she refused, again and again.
After one of such routine torture and humiliation, Zainab fell asleep and found herself in a big desert crowded by camels on each of which were riding four pious men. A long row of camels was passing through one end of the desert to another. At the end there stood a man with a glowing face that commanded respect too. He was holding the reins of numerous camels. I asked gently, “Is the Holy Prophet (pbuh) present?” Turning to me he replied: “O Zianab! You’re following the right path of Allah and His Prophet.” I asked him again whether I was on the right path?”
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