COSS.j,:l v. r Co I." < I ,ci ..,..• S° fa Return of ft: ? l ii._iS.,.ii. • e-d .tv• I j, dr ,, ter 4.04.4 lS6 i j.. I j... the Pharaoh v.,: .,A •. t •tt AI Memoir in Nasir's Prison t,04. el 4.0.7140 AIA AGAAI Do you suppose that you will enter Paradise untouched by the suffering endured by the men of asae y faith who passed away before Mokae Gueou you? They were afflicted by misery and hardship and so convulsed that the Messenger and the believers with him cried out: 'When will Allah's help arrive?' They were assured that Allah's help was close by. (Sua aaqaa, 24 e Isamic ouaio et. I Iiis bvr ,4] © e Isamic ouaio 200642 A IS 0 860 240 ttic-1 twn C % A igs esee. o a o is uicaio may e eouce, soe i a eiea sysem, o asmie i ay om o y ay meas, eecoic, mecaica, oocoyig, Contents ecoig o oewise, wiou e io emissio o e coyig owe. oewo asaos Ioucio Ioucio Published by e Isamic ouaio, Cae : ama A aasi: ae a Makie awa Cee, ay ae, Makie, egeace 5 eicese E6 , Dealings with the Socialist Union, 8; 'NO' to Uie Kigom the Despot!, 11; What Next?, 13; Bargaining and Deception, 14; The Night Predators, 15; The Many Faces of Ahmad Rasikh, 17 Qua ouse, O o 06, Cae 2: e ege o Aegiace 2 aioi, The Veil Drops, 29; Screams Calling Me to Keya Duty!, 31; 'Abd al-Fattah Ismatil, 33; Permission to Work, 35; A Righteous Husband, 37; Contact with Shahid Sayyid Qutb, 39 M , Kao, Cae : Cosiacy 4 igeia My Turn!, 45; The Way to Room 24, 48; Inside Room 24, 50; Cell No. 3, 51; The Vision, 53; But Allah Has United Them, 59; Back to the Vortex, 60; The President's Envoy, 64; Dear Faces Enter My Cell, 66; The Death of Mustafa al-Nahhas, 68; Taking Food - A Form of Worship, 71; Nights of Torture and Bargaining, 72; Now Hamzah al- Basyuni's Turn, 77; Back to the Cell, 78; Another Night Falls, 79; A Short Break, 80; The Deadly Night!, 80; A Letter from Nasir, 83 v Chapter 4: In the Company of Shams Badran 87 e Ce o Wae, e Cime, ack o e Ce o Wae, ea o e eas, om Mice o Wae a ice esa, 00 om Wae o e osecuig Aoey, 0 e ice o Meage Suseace, 06 o osia, rrd 0 I e Comay o Sams, 0 Games o e Meia, 0 oom 2, eaya om ime immemoia, Egy as ee a cae o ciii eace y oiess, Coiuous aio. Is aue a esige was eace we Isam Osaug, 6 Eacs, came o is a i e is ceuy o ia. I e couse o e as 4 ceuies Egy as wiesse e ise Chapter 5: Facing Up to Nasir 133 a a o seea Isamic yasies, a e emegece o It A Sae as a oke, Muamma Qu, cooiaism a oeig omiaio, esuig i e e 8 e Case o e osecuio, 42 Moe sucio o may Isamic moumes a maiesaios oue, 44 Mice Mea, 48 Saas o Isamic isoy a cuue. e esaisme o e eeace, 4 e ay o e ia aws Ikhwan al-Muslimun o e Musim oeoo i 28 ea, 0 Ga iigs, 2 ugeme ay, usee i a ew ea o Isamic eia a oe o iea 4 io o e eoe o Egy. owee, eoe wi ese 159 ieess i a ousie Egy cou o oeae e ise o Chapter 6: In Court Isam oce agai wic i a way eae e ea o e Geae Jahiliyyah, 6 ugeme is cooia egacy a a e o e couio a eoism oouce, 62 Momes i Aas easue, a ague e o as we as owe aks o e Egyia 6 e as agai, 64 e Eecuios, goeme. eeoe, i 4, e Sueme Guie o e 6 as ays i e Miiay iso, 66 My moeme a sa aaa was assassiae, a e woe usas ea, 6 ew eigous, 0 eaesi o e Ikhwan oue u a eimiae y asi Mus Sa ia, 0 imisome, oue, assassiaio a eie. Is o ea Chapter 7: In al-Qanatir Prison, 5th June 173 es, ike A aQai Awa, Muamma agai, a e igmae, 4 A ew Ki o ia, 6 ae o Sayyi Qu a Yusu awas, wee age a Eemies wi umaiy, 80 ea a e may ioce oowes wee icaceae i asis is eso, 8 Scum, 84 A ew es, 8 e os. e umiiaio, oue a esecuio iice uo ousas o ioce a eeceess eoe y as agai, 86 ei coeigioiss is a ak cae i e moe isoy o Egy. e ew Musim ues suasse ei cooia mases i ei saagey a uaiy. A is was e cause e Ikhwan a is oowes wae o esoe e suemacy a goy o Isam o o emsees a o e eoe o Egy. vi vii RETURN OF THE PHARAOH FOREWORD One of the outstanding leaders of the Islamic movement savagery and brutality that was unashamedly unleashed of Egypt and the pace-setter of courage, piety and on this defenceless and virtuous lady is beyond dedication to Islam, Zainab al-Ghazali, was a victim of this imagination. Not only human beings but ferocious dogs, savagery and inhuman persecution. Her perseverance for serpents and mice were used to inflict ingenious forms of the cause of Islam, her patience in the face of all kinds of torture, not on a criminal, but on a lady who is, by all affliction and persecution, her steadfastness in resisting accounts, an embodiment of virtue, piety and modesty. all temptations and worldly persuasions, her courage in Can any member of the civilized world imagine such the face of unimaginable odds and her many qualities of despicable behaviour from government officials being head and heart remind us of the life and time of many of perpetrated on their own civilians? the Companions of the Prophet and virtuous people in Zainab al-Ghazali is such a towering personality who earlier generations of Muslim history. Islam has produced stood like a rock, successfully thwarting mighty waves such outstanding figures in all periods of history who not of torture and temptation. No amount of persecution only fought the forces of evil with great courage and and persuasion could weaken her faith and resolve in fortitude but also left a shining example for posterity of Islam. On the contrary, her determination to establish and Taghut and how to combat the forces of Jahiliyyah Islam as a complete code of life (din) not only in Egypt restore the glory of Islam. but all over the Muslim world increased manifold. The In Islamic history ladies have not lagged behind in the conversation which she had with her husband prior to struggle to establish truth and eradicate falsehood, to her arrest by Nasir's secret police, reminding her beloved uphold Islamic values and principles, and for that matter husband of the pledge he had made to her before their establish Islam as a living, thriving and forward-looking religion. Zainab al-Ghazali is no exception. Although now marriage, is a fine example of devotion to Islam and the 77 years of age and in fragile health, she is young in heart height of commitment for the supremacy of Islam. and continues to inspire young and old alike by her powerful speeches and persuasive and lucid writings. let trust', she said, 'be full between us. A The present book, a kind of autobiographical study full trust between a man and a woman, a woman highlighting the painful events of her imprisonment, is a who, at the age of 18, gave her whole life to landmark in the annals of prison memoirs and a source of Allah and da'wah. In the event of any clash between inspiration and guidance for millions of people who want the marriage contract's interest and that of da'wah, to see Islam thrive and flourish as a world religion, as a our marriage will end, but da'wah will always remain viable new world order and as a source of peace and rooted in me . I know that it is your right to happiness for all mankind. The shameful way in which command me and that it is my duty to obey you, Zainab al-Ghazali, a helpless lady was humiliated, but God in our souls is greater than our souls, persecuted and physically assaulted by the soldiers, and His da'wah is dearer to us than ourselves . investigators and prison officials of President Nasir defies [emphasis ours] description and imagination. Torture of criminals and hard labour for convicts are known to many people in the Third The horrors of the torture cells where Zainab al-Ghazali and World and perhaps in the civilized world, but the type of many male and female members of the Muslim Brotherhood iii ix RETURN OF THE PHARAOH were brutally persecuted are so painful to read about, which not only bring tears to the eyes but generate anger and revulsion for Nasir and his administration. Zainab al-Ghazali's life, sacrifices and achievements have been discussed by both Muslim and non-Muslim writers and continue to be a topic of research in the academic institutions of Translator's the world.' The present prison memoir has been translated into several languages including Urdu, Bengali and English.