Once Upon a Time – Iman, Taqwa, courage

• Besides lake Mahmuddiya• Shaykh Saeed, local madrassa al-Arshad and masjid• Writes a letter:•   �� ء ى� ش� من ه�م ى� ش� ش� ش� ه� ش�ا ه� ىن ه شا ش� �� ء ى� ش� من ه�م ه� ش�ا ه� ىن ه ش� ى� ش� ش� شا ۥ‌� ه� ش� �ى ش� �ش ��ه ه ي هي م� ه! ش" ى# ش�ٱ ه% و� �ش ش' ى# ه�ٱ ه�م �) ش ش* �ش ه�و �ى شي شن ه,ي #) ش ٱ ه- ه ى. ش/ ش1ا ش�

شن ه�2 ه� و3 ش(4 ٱ# شن ه �ش ه5و ش6 ش7 ىم ه8 ش- ه ى. ش6 ش7 • And drive not away those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His

countenance. Not on thee is aught of their reckoning, nor on them aught of thine reckoning, so that thou mayest drive them away and thus become of the wrong-

doers. (52) • Salat ul Fajr in his village – very few prayed, he decides with his brother to

call people to Salah ( ا#نوم ن خ� (ا#صلا%

• This courage led to the formation of Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimoon a dawah organisation calling people to Islam.

Sheikh Hassan Ahmed Abdel Rahman Muhammed al-Banna

• School teacher and Imam• Founder of Muslim Brotherhood - one of the

largest and most influential 20th century Islamic revivalist organisations.

الرحمن عبد أحمد حسنالبنا (October 1906 – 12 February 1949 14)محمد

"The mentor and leader departed, but his message remains the same. The Brotherhood is still devoted to the same mission of truth and

freedom, having expanded in all continents of the globe”.

• At the age of 9, Hassan Al-Banna memorized two thirds of the Qur'an. Shortly after that, he finished memorizing the whole Qur'an.

• He was an excellent speaker. He had the ability to improvise speeches for almost any occasion for whatever audience he happened to be addressing.

• He was superb in his ability to get his ideas across to his audience, supported by verses from the holy Qur'an and by Hadiths, both of which he mastered very well.

• The unique quality the martyred Imam enjoyed was his ability to gather people's hearts around him and bind them together with the link of brotherhood in Islam.

• An unforgettable quality of Imam Al-Banna was his persistence and diligent work for propagating his message. He always travelled, gave lectures and Khutbahs, had discussion with people, worked day and night and never knew what it was like to relax or go on vacation.

Advice to duaat

• The difference between our Iman and others is: Their Iman is lame and asleep, they don’t want to act on it or listen to the demands of Iman. Yet in our brothers this same Iman is alive, strong and action orientated.

Truth loving

• 1919 - He enters teacher training college at the time when the call for freedom from colonisation had he started taking part in rallies and demonstrations for freedom. Regular tussles with the police; at one meeting of the students the police raided it;

• Response “we love our country and its freedom, join us don’t put obstacles in our path, do not prevent us from our struggles” – the prize of truth.

Education

• Like many of the Islamic leaders who followed in his footsteps, Imam Shaheed enjoyed the benefits of a modern education, but had been raised in a traditional Islamic environment.

• Imam was born in 1906 in Mahmudiyya, (north-west of Cairo). • His father, Shaykh Ahmad al-Banna, was a respected local Imam

teacher, educated at Al-Azhar University, who wrote and collaborated on books on Muslim traditions, and also had a shop where he repaired watches.

• His father was a pious man, who had written commentary to Musnad of Imam Ahmad (Fath ul Rabbani).

• He was brought up in a good, religious home – he was taught truthfulness from the beginning.

• Learnt basic science at home.

• He was disappointed with the state of Muslims on his visit to Cairo, people are materialistic, far from their deen.

• Masajid are empty, cinemas and coffee houses are full. Secularism was on the rise, high class people were engrossed in fahisha and ordinary Muslims were being impressed by the evil they were seeing.

• Arab nationalism was on the rise• He then decided to spread the message of Islam, gather

people under the banner of Islam and he moved to Cairo.

Dawah

• He started to visit the masajid, started to give talks but he noticed that the Imams, Shyookh were beginning to object to dawah and they were not interested in the work of dawah.

• They started to ask about matters of differences, what is your madhab, your view on tasawwuf.

• He left the masajid and moved to coffee houses – which were visited by all sorts of people and soon people, especially the young started to gather around him.

• 1928 – lays the foundations for Ikh, within short time the organisation had spread to major cities of Egypt.

• People from all forms of society join or are favourable to Ikh.• Dawah and welfare are the key components of this

organisation.• Hospitals and schools built.• Volunteers from Ikh went to Palestine to fight the newly

created zionist state.

Dynamic

• Imam was a powerful speaker he spoke proper Arabic, he speech was full of Iman, his words were very meaningful, he impressed his listeners.

• He was active, he slept 3 hours a day.• He would spend nights praying and writing words of advice for

the members.• To one imam he said life is not about spending the nights in

nawafil/sunnah prayers its about teaching individuals, its about changing the affairs of the Muslims.

Motto

• The motto of joining Ikh was simple, work for Allah day and night, be soldiers of Islam, raise the Kalima of Allah.

• When the dawah started people were running after the duniya.

• He said “do not run after wealth and don’t be with those who are chasing wealth”.

• He said “Iman is sweetness, find this sweetness in the middle of the night in 2 rakah, and when you taste this sweetness then Allah will help you in making this part of you.”

sweetness

• This is the sweetness when on tastes it then everything else is meaningless.

• Many members were killed in the prisons of Nasir, but none of them turned back – see example in Seerah.

• They happily accepted the gallows as did Khabab Ibn Arat.• � ‌Aش (ن ش Bش ى# ٱ هم ه� ش# �ش( شCا ه� ه�م ش# شوٲ ى شCا ش� ىم ه� ش� Eه شCان شن هن� ه Gى ه2 ى# ٱ شن ه Hو ش ش6 ى� ٱ ش� �) ش ٱ# �ش( هIا• هم ه�4 ش" ى# ٱ Jه ىو Eش ى# ٱ شو ه8 ش� ه# شKٲ ش� � ۦ‌ ه� ه� ه6م ى" شي ش�ا H,ه #) ش ٱ هم ه5 ه" ى� Mش ه� اا ه � ه! Mى ش6 Oى ش7ٱ

Government

• He was not interested in government posts or positions or entertaining ministers.

• Ismail Sidki Pasha come to Ismailia – he refused to entertain him or sing his praises.

• “My job to prepare my students well not sing praises of dignataries.”

• He had brilliant qualities, great memory, excelled in his job and studies

• He knew each of his members and their strengths and weaknesses. He knew each area in Egypt

• He was a tough and strong man, spent a lot of his time travelling, never got tired.

A friend describes a journey

• We travelled together in one car to Makkah and Medina, we became we tired but there were no signs of tiredness on Musrshid Al-Am. We ate some food on the way and our stomachs started to ache but he ate the same food and had no effects. We came from the heat of Makkah to the coolness of Medina and we caught a cold and coughing but the Murshid had no effect. In Makkah we climbed the mount Hira and we got tired but there were no signs of tiredness on the Murshid.

• The government banned Ikhwan, accused them of plotting to overthrow King Farooq, arrested its members but he did not back down from his mission. They said leave politics, just concentrate on religion and we will lift the ban.

Leave politics…..His response

• “Islamic teachings and guidance takes precedence over our worldly affairs, those who think these teaching are just traditional and spiritual rituals are wrong. Islam is an aqeeda, worship, country, nation, religion, spiritual, Quran and sword”.

• He lived a simple life, he disliked extravagance.• He was invited for a dinner at the house of the Qadi of Ismailia,

silver cups – he refused to drink tea from it, difference of opinion – quoted hadith from Bukhari.. (those who eat from gold and silver dishes are putting the fire of hell in their stomachs..

• Judge and gold ring•

• He viewed the issues of Muslims in light of Q & S.• In the words of Mufti of Palestine Al-haj Amin Al-Hasisi that

Imam H reminded us of our honour, he gave us confidence in our deen. To him the whole of Islamic world was his country not just Egypt…Muslims are one body – he dream a united Muslim world based on Iman and Taqwa.

• The members actively participated in the jihad in Palestine against the creation of Zionist state, on return on orders of the British and US they arrested and thrown into prisons.

Meets his Lord

• Imam H was not arrested he was called for a meeting and on the way he was shot (12/2/1949) on a busy road in Cairo.

• The victim was seen the no. plate of the escape vehicle was noted nothing was done.

• Hospitals were notified not to operate or treat Imam.• As soon as he was shot, the army imposed curfew in Cairo.• He died in hospital, people were not allowed to attend his

funeral prayer, his father led his prayer and buried him – armoured guard.

• Imam was from those individuals whom Allah sends to redirect the Ummah towards His worship to change status quo.

• He was muttaqi, strong Iman, sincere and Man of Azeema (excelled in Goodness and piety).

• Of those who see an evil change with hand.• He raised the banner of truth when Egypt was stooped in materialism and

secularism – Deen is for Allah and the country for us. Deen was restricted to the four walls od masajid and madaris.

• Muslims were losing hope, youth were turning toward western ideologies• He said I don’t know any nationhood apart from Islam• غايتنا زعيمنا and (our aim is Allah) الله The Prophet is our leader and) االرسول"

guide) – he reignited the spirit of Islam amongst the youth.• He is martyred but martyrs don’t die, they leave a legacy a genration behind.• Imam was and is an asset for the Ummah.

Imam Al-Banna, established his Da'wah on several pillars which he considered to be of utmost importance, among those pillars are:• 1. Singleness of purpose,

2. Gathering people around the basic principles of Islam and not worrying about minor differences,

3. Following the proper Islamic manners in case of disagreement,

4. Thinking positively of those who disagree with one's idea,

5. Avoiding despotism,

6. The possibility of more than one right opinion for a single issue,

7. Cooperation in what is agreed upon and forgiveness in what is disagreed upon,

8. Calling all Muslims to face the common enemy,

9. Encouraging work and productivity, and

10. Feeling of pity, not malice, for those who have gone astray.

• Among His Sayings....

•O sincere brothers! Our pledge has ten pillars, remember them: understanding, sincerity, work, strife, sacrifice, obedience, steadfastness, singleness of purpose, brotherhood and confidence.

•Revive your conscience by believing in Allah and remaining mindful of Him; protect your communities by enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong; these are the two pillars of reformation.

•Islam performs two tasks: First, it moulds the individuals into a new shape based on Aqidah and noble human qualities; it then uses these individuals as building units to establish the righteous Allah-mindful communities.

•Islam is an Aqidah (creed) as well as a nationality. Unlike nationalities which are based on land, the nationality of Islam is based on brotherhood in faith and, therefore, is far stronger and more meaningful than the former.

In Cairo• Access to prominent Islamic scholars, • He witnessed the effects of Westernisation the rise of secularism and

the breakdown of traditional morals. • He saw the failure of the Islamic scholars of al-Azhar University to

voice their opposition to the rise of atheism and to the influence of Christian missionaries.

• In his last year at Dar al-"Ulum, he had dedicated himself to becoming "a counsellor and a teacher" of adults and children, in order to teach them "the objectives of religion and the sources of their well-being and happiness in life". He graduated in 1927 and was given a position as an Arabic language teacher in a state primary school in Isma"iliyya, a provincial town located in the Suez Canal Zone.

Copts

• The Christians- all over Egypt- felt this mutual spirit of intimacy and tolerance between them and the Muslim Brotherhood, especially in religious occasions. The Muslim Brotherhood was keen to publish the news of these visits in their newspapers. To cite an example, here is a piece of news published in the Muslim Brotherhood newspaper dated 10/11/1946." the Reverend Sharqiya and governorates" Motran visited the Muslim Brotherhood house in Zagazig on the occasion of the Greater Bairam (1365 Hijri) to congratulate them on the feast; the Reverend made public a long statement entitled "The Feast Present" around (unity is the symbol of victory), which he concluded with: I thank the Brotherhood society because they are brothers in feelings, brothers in solidarity and brothers in action".

“a living role model of religious tolerance, and excluding blind fanaticism; he was looking at the Copts- in particular- as brothers in homeland”.