Do you suppose that you will enter Paradise untouched by the suffering endured by the men of faith who passed away before you? They were afflicted by misery and hardship and so convulsed that the Messenger and the believers cried out: 'When Will Allah's help arrive?' They were assured that Allah's help was close by. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 214)

Alhamdulillah, Islamic Times has once again given me the opportunity to express my own heart felt experiences and feelings towards pieces of Islamic literature I've had the chance to read recently.

This is a book I'm proud to be reviewing this month, and I sincerely hope readers will search for this book and read it cover to cover after reading this review, bi-ithnillah. I bought this book sometime during the winter of 2001 after having an interesting conversation with the shop owner. He recommended it to me and so on his advice I decided to buy it. After getting home I shamefully put this book on my shelf saying to myself insha'allah I will read it as soon as I get time, unfortunately that time never came until recently.

It was during the summer holidays of last year I and some brothers were sitting in a gathering, and the news of the death of Sister Zainab Al-Ghazali Al- Jubaili (may Allah swt have mercy on her) had reached us. At that moment in time the name rang a familiar bell, however I had very little knowledge of her, frankly speaking I didn't know much due to my own ignorance. After leaving the company of the brothers I went home and rummaged through my belongings searching for this book, and Alhamdulillah I found it, be it buried under a tonne of other things. Reflecting on what I've read, I would say this book is a kind of autobiographical study of several key leading Islamic personalities.

The focal point of this book highlights the events surrounding sister Zainab al-Ghazali and aspects of the Ikhwaan Al-Muslimun during the turbulent period of 1945-1971 in post-monarchal Egypt. Return of the Pharaoh is the story of a Muslim woman and the torture she was subjected to in the dungeons of Jamal 'Abd al-Nasir, the 'Champion of Arab Nationalism'. For those who don't know much about this astonishing example of a Muslimah, Zainab Al-Ghazali was born in Egypt in 1917. At the age of 20 she formed a women's charitable organisation which rendered valuable services to the poor, orphans, widows and the underprivileged. Although having acquaintances with the likes of Shaykh Hasan Al-Banna and Shaykh Sayyid Qutb (may Allah swt have mercy on them) she officially joined the organisation in 1948.

This book refrains from delving into the political situation of Egypt; rather it embarks on a mission to give the reader an insight on what the aims and objectives of leading Islamic groups such as the Ikhwaan were. Some of these aims and objectives included reviving the prophetic traditions, bringing unification amongst Muslims preferring various Islamic methodologies (manhaj), ultimately leading to new golden era of justice, knowledge and excellence. After the barbaric assassination of Shaykh Hasan Al-Banna by government officials, Zainab Al-Ghazali played a more important role in the reorganising and restructuring of the Ikhwan. In the year of 1965 she was brutally arrested by the forces of the tyrannical ruler Jamal 'Abd al-Nasir for alleged conspiracy to eradicate him.

This book is a real historical document, documenting the atrocious events in Nasir's prisons during the period of 1965-1971. The disgusting and shameful way in which a helpless chaste lady was humiliated, persecuted and physically assaulted truly defies description and imagination. Whilst reading this book I was sickened almost to the point of nausea of how such savage brutality could be unleashed on a defenceless virtuous lady. You would think being whipped, punched, kicked and starved would be the worst physical torture one could inflict on another human, well NOT according to Nasir's soldiers! That wasn't even the beginning; these foul brute pathetic examples of men had a lot more in store for their victims, even to the extent of using ferocious blood thirsty dogs, snakes and disease carrying rats!! Allahu Akbar where do people get such EVIL imaginations from??

These examples are but a few, the reader is informed some of the heinous acts of savagery had been omitted from the original writings due to severity of some of these abhorrent acts. I dread to even think what else these perverted minds could have conjured up. Do you suppose that you will enter P a r a d i s e untouched by the suffering endured by the men of faith who passed away before you? Zainab Al-Ghazali is such a towering personality who stood like a rock, s u c c e s s f u l l y thwarting mighty waves of torture and temptation.

No amount of persecution and persuasion could weaken her faith and resolve for Islam. Against all the odds her determination to establish Islam as a complete code of life not only in Egypt but all over the Muslim world increased manifold. After reading this book, coincidently I received an email, the contents of which was a copy of a letter by a sister named Fatimah (may Allah swt have mercy on her). Fatimah was an inmate at Abu Ghraib prison, who recently passed away. In her letter she speaks of her ordeals being locked up in Abu Ghraib by coalition forces, and it truly stunned me at the resemblance of her suffering with that of Zainab Al-Ghazali, it seems like once again history is repeating itself. I can only imagine and wonder how those still in Camp X-Ray, the dungeons of Egypt, Bagram Airbase, Belmarsh and any other dark pit where Muslims have been left to perish are coping.

May Allah swt forgive us for our lack of action, and keep all those imprisoned steadfast…Ameen. I really urge brothers and sisters who haven't already read this book, to do so; it undeniably is an eye opener and a heart softener. I haven't come across many books like this that I've enjoyed reading so much but yet at the same time felt so apprehensive about what I was going to read at the turn of each page. Return of the Pharaoh….. I couldn't have chosen a better title: …the Messenger and the believers cried out: 'When Will Allah's help arrive?' They were assured that Allah's help was close by.