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TO
THE WIFE, TO THE MOTHER, TO THE SISTER
An
Interview With The Wife Of SHAHEED YUSUF HAWWAASH
We
lived together for two years,
and he spent the rest of his life in prisons
We
would like to have a brief introduction to the life of your
husband Yusuf Hawwaash.
My
husband is Muhammad Yusuf Hawwaash (May Allah have mercy upon
him). He was born on the 12th of October 1922. He achieved a
diploma from Industrial Schools in 1943. He joined Ikhwaan,
during his studies in the Gharbiyyah province. He married me
in 1953 and I had from him two children, Ahmad and Sumayyah,
they are both now doctors, and each has four children, both
male and female.
How
did your marriage start?
One of the brothers recommended me to him
as a wife, to help him carry the burden of the da`wah. And he
remained for a whole year, whenever he meets my brother,
saying "We are still on our agreement", but he did
not propose because of problems his family was going through.
At the end of the year, I told my brother to inform him that
this matter was over. Indeed we ended the matter, then another
brother came to propose to me, but then he [Yusuf] returned,
to reiterate his request anew. So I refused, and my brother
advised me to pray Salaat-ul-Istikhaarah. When I prayed, I saw
myself in the reception of our house in the village, and there
was no lighting. Then a bright lamp was hanging in front of
me, in the shape of his face, so I agreed and the contract was
made. He later told me that when he made Istikhaarah, he saw
me making wudoo' with him pouring the water for me, and even
though it was no much water, I did it well.
Imprisonment
and Marriage
Your
husband was imprisoned more than once during the beginning of
your married life, so how did this situation pass?
He was imprisoned after the `Aqd
[contract], then when he was released, we married and stayed
together for one year, then he was imprisoned in 1954 and
after the sentence was passed, he gave me the choice of
staying with him or divorce. So I reprimanded him harshly, and
informed him of something he did not know. That once during
our engagement, he was giving a talk in one of the open
gatherings, and he fell unconscious, and was taken to
hospital. Then we found that one of his kidneys was severely
damaged, because of an old illness he got when he was
imprisoned as a student, in a cell filled with cold water in
winter. [At that time] the brothers offered me to cancel [the
engagement] if I wanted, but I refused not to be with him on
this journey because of this situation that Allah had placed
him in during one of his trials.
And
when we married in 1953 I bore Sumayyah after ten months of
marriage, and after that by 17 days, the Intelligence came to
arrest him, and we used to live in the same block as Anwar As-Sadat,
who was the head of the Islamic Conference at the time. And
because Muhammad's relationship was good with all those around
him, the guards of Sadat warned him as he approached the
block, that the Intelligence were inside, so he stayed on the
run for a while.
During
this time, he came to visit me once, and the guards of Sadat
saw him, but did not tell anyone, so he was able to return
from where he had come. After this, one of my sisters came, to
take me and host me during my Husband's absence, but when we
came to leave, we found the Intelligence surrounding us, and
they wanted to arrest me. So I decided that I would not go
with them silently, until I exposed their evil system in front
of the people who they had tricked, so I shouted in my highest
voice that I would not go with them, whatever they do, and I
criticized their actions. So Anwar Sadat came out and asked
what was happening, so I replied: "Demeaning of women and
invasion of privacy is happening in this black era of
yours." So he calmed me down, and told the officer to
carry my bags and take me where I wanted. So I said to him:
"I am going to the house of your master and the crown
over your head, the respected Murshid [the head of Ikwaan,
literally: guide]." Indeed, I remained with the wife of
the Murshid and his daughters alone in the house, because all
the men in his family were in prison, until my husband
appeared, and was tried and sentenced to a total of 55 years.
With
Sayyid Qutb
It
is known that the shaheed Yusuf Hawwaash met his Lord in the
same trial as the shaheed Sayyid Qutb, so how was their
relationship?
Their
relationship probably started after their sentencing in 1955,
for he had been given 55 years, and the shaheed Sayyid Qutb
15; both were released in 1964. They remained throughout this
period together, whether in prison or in hospital, so the
relationship developed and strengthened, for each of them
would find with the other, something he needed, so they would
complete each other. Muhammad would benefit from and learn,
the thought, culture, knowledge and depth of the shaheed
Sayyid, while Sayyid would learn about the history of Ikhwaan,
their organization, methodology, and anything related to the
jamaa`ah from the shaheed Muhammad, because he had joined
before him. And so, they were very attached to each other.
Muhammad would say: "Every chapter and every phrase in
the books of Ustaadh Sayyid, I know when it was written, what
the occasion was, and the discussion about it when it appeared
as it did."
And
Muhammad saw Yusuf (as) [in a vision], while in Leemaan Turah,
and Ustaadh Sayyid was writing on Surat-Yusuf in his book
Adh-Dhilaal [In the Shade of the Qur'aan], and he [Yusuf (as)]
said to him: "Inform Sayyid that the surah has what he is
looking for: {Indeed judgement is only for Allah}." And
thus they remained until after their martyrdom, the brothers
would say: "Indeed it from the mercy of Allah over these
two men, that He chose them both for martyrdom together,
otherowise one would not be able to be patient with splitting
from the other."
The
Last Imprisonment
And
what of his imprisonment in 1965?
After his release in 1964, I went into
hospital for an operation, and after coming out, and being
cured by Allah's bounty, he wanted us to spend some time on
his father's farm. So I informed him that staying there for a
long time was hard on me, especially without a helper to help
me with household duties, washing and other things. So he said
to me: "You should make dhikr and seek forgiveness during
your work, and you will be rewarded, and have patience and
ihtisaab [can't translate: means looking to your reward in the
hereafter], in being good to your relatives." So I
agreed, and we traveled. And on one of the days straight after
our travel, he informed me that he would pray two rak`ahs,
until the food was prepared, and he continuously prayed from
nine in the morning to two in the afternoon. Whenever I opened
the door, I would find him praying and crying. Until we heard
a bang at the door of the house, and found it was the
Intelligence. So I opened the door to his room, and informed
him that the Intelligence were there, and that he should
finish his prayer and see them. And he did just that. They
tried to take him with them, but he asked them to leave him
until he could make ghusl. He then asked me extensively for a
mushaf [copy of the Qur'aan], but I did not have except the
one which I had written a small message to Ahmad [the son] and
was going to give him as a present. So he promised me that it
would return to me even if it had to go to Mars and back, so I
gave it to him.
Then
the oppression of the regime began to increase in harshness.
For after I had been transferred from a headmistress to a
teacher, then from one province to another, then from normal
teaching to special needs, in his first period of
imprisonment, the Intelligence started their campaign to
imprison me. Until eventually, they achieved what they wanted
and I was imprisoned for six months in Al-Qanaatir prison,
which I spent in constant nazeef [medical term, don't know
exactly what it means, literally: bleeding], until I had an
operation to remove my womb after that. And so, I did not
attend except the sentencing. When he saw me in my weak state,
he informed me that he did not know of my imprisonment, until
the dogs had ripped his clothes, and he had sent for clothes
from the house, and so Ahmad gave the guard old clothes so
that they would not steal the new clothes. And when he saw
them, he knew that I was not in the house.
On
painful situation was when my sister bore a daughter, and
Ahmad asked me to have for him a sister, and he would nag and
cry, so I said: "Your father has to be here.", and
when we went to visit his father, he kept crying and pulling
him saying: "Come with me father to the house, and mum
can have a sister for me. Who is stopping you? Him?" and
he pointed to the guard, "Don't be scared of him, I will
hit him, and you come with me.", until he made me cry,
and made the guards cry.
The
Moments of Farewell
Describe
to us the final moments of your farewell. how were they?
The
asked us to pay the final visit to him, before the carrying
out of the sentence, so I took Ahmad and Sumayyah with me. I
prepared for him good food, and we went to see him, but they
refused to let me take the food it. They kept taking us into a
tent to wait for him some time, then taking us to another,
until we had been into four tents, and in the end the guards
brought him, dragging him in a derogatory manner, and 'threw'
him in front of us inside the tent. And Muhammad would say:
"I don't know what to be regretful over? They want me to
put forward an apology and regret over what I have done, but
what have I done to be regretful over?"
And
when I asked the officer to bring in the food, and he refused,
Muhammad said to me: "Don't tire yourself, and waste the
time that we can spend together. If they bring the food in,
then they will insist that I eat now, and I am fasting."
Ahmad went and sat on his fathers lap and kept crying saying:
"The boys keep saying to me, you whose father wanted to
kill Abdul-Nasser". So the shaheed replied to him:
"The scales today are reversed, and they will not be
corrected today, indeed: {We Shall set up the Scales of
Justice for the Day of Judgment}."
He
advised me to good with the children, and I advised him to
good with himself, and the visit ended. On the morning of 29th
of August 1966, at [number missing] in the morning, the radio
broadcast the news that the sentence had been carried out on
the three martyrs. And I was preparing breakfast at the time,
so I kept saying [Inna lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji`oon],
and seeking forgiveness, with my tears not stopping, while
no-one was aware of my situation. The murderers were not
content with this, and sent for me, and made me sign
acceptance that there would not be a janaazah for him, and
they gave me his things but Ahmad's mushaf was not amongst
them.
The
Manners of the Shaheed
This
great faithfulness to the shaheed and his da`wah. How did it
grow in you and what were its reasons?
He (may Allah have mercy on him), was of
kind manners. One of his most important attributes was his
generosity. The helper who used to work for him, once
complained to me after the `aqd, that he did not eat from the
food that she would prepare, because his house was always open
to the brothers who were students, away from home or in
hardship. Whether he was there or not, they would come in and
eat, wear whatever of his clothes they wished and sometimes
take his money, then he would come back and eat cheese and
halaawah from the grocers.
Similarly
ithaar [preference of others]. He would not accept at all that
there could be a misunderstanding between him an his brothers.
Just as he was clean in body and manners. He would make ghusl
more than five times a day apart from wudoo'.
The
Spring of Imaan
Your
relationship with the shaheed husband strengthened despite the
short time you spent together, so how did you discover these
good characteristics in him?
His letters from prison were tarbiyah
lessons in `aqeedah, imaan, patience, and steadfastness. They
were a provision for me on this path, and here are some
examples:
In
`eed-ul-fitr he sent to me saying: "`Eed would come to
the sahaabah, and the honourable of them had been martyred,
the loved of them had been lost, and they would have been
tested in their spouses, parents and children. But all of this
would not dampen the happiness of `eed in their souls. In fact
this was the real meaning of `eed, effort, work, and
sacrifice. So we, with what we are in, are the most rightful
of people to celebrate `eed, and the most real in our
happiness for what Allah has given us, and for our knowing
Him. And to have thankfulness to Allah for it, on this great
day. We now taste this deen, and feel it, and we find it in
our khalajaat [someone help - don't know his one], fresh and
soft just like the day it was revealed, alive and beating in
our hearts and our blood mixing with it."
Just
as he was gentle in feelings, he would place his hand on the
place of pain, and would nurse it with softness, and gentle
medicine. He says in another letter;
"It
is hard on me, while I spend these moments with you, to see on
you the signs of struggle and the indications of tiredness,
and it is as if the journey has been long, and the hardships
heavy. And I do not deny the hardships on this path, and I do
not claim that I do not feel its difficulty, for indeed I am a
weak human. Except that I feel, and I would like you to feel
with me, that on either side of this long path, are oases with
shade, that passers-by can relax in, if they tire, and in
whose shade travelers can rest whenever the toils of travel
take their toll. So would you like that we turn to one of
these oases, perhaps we may find in it cool and calm? Then we
can take from it water and food, which will help us continue
our journey, and finish our travel?"
And
here is what he wrote in a copy of the book of Allah which he
gave to me as a present:
"In
the Name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful,
To
you.
To you my wife.
To you oh sister in creed.
To you oh partner in jihad.
To
you oh calmness of the soul and mother of the child.
To you oh flower of the heart. To you this great book, upon
whose law Allah brought us together as spouses, through
which He gathered us as brothers, and in whose path He made
us in the ranks of the believers two soldiers.
To
you my beloved this grand book, in appreciation, love and
faithfulness from your husband. Lest Allah may bring me back
to you, and gather us under His aim.
And
peace be upon you, and mercy from Allah, and His blessings,
and all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
12th
Shawwaal 1383
Autumn
and the End of the Allotted Time
Aside
from these soft letters, did you hear anything about his life
in prison?
Yes, I heard a lot from his brothers
speaking about him. One of the brothers had asked him which
season as his favorite, and he replied: "Autumn, as the
falling of the leaves reminds me of the end of one's allotted
time."
He
also saw the Prophet (s) more that once, and Yusuf (as) and `Eesaa
(as), and he would have true visions. He informed one of his
brothers that once in a moment of unonciousness during his
sujood during the night, that the cells were opened for them
to leave and men from the Intelligence was put in them, and
this happened after 1967.
And
he saw himself with a group of the sahaabah, giving bay`ah to
the Prophet (s), and when his turn came, to give bay`ah, he
said: "Oh Messenger of Allah, have we changed things
after you? Have we replaced things after you?" So he
replied: "No, but you are trustworthy, trustworthy,
trustworthy."
His
brothers say that if he would become very tired in the queues
he would say: "Yes my Lord, how gentle you are." And
if they spoke about torture in front of him, he would reply:
{Say: Allah, then leave them in their wasteful discourse and
trifling} (Al-An`aam:91)
And
if they discussed with him the expectations of sentences, he
would say: "Indeed these do not judge, and for Allah is
judgment, and Allah does not judge except by the truth and
those who they call upon beside him, do not judge by anything.
What are we and they while in the qabd [literal: grasp] of
Allah like an atom? If Allah sees us as worthy of martyrdom,
He will choose us for it, and if not, then Allah's qadar will
pass us and them."
Visions
of Him After His death
We
spoke about his visions, so what of your visions of him?
After his martyrdom, I saw myself in the
village in which his sister lives, standing behind her house
and in front of me, the field extending with no end, as if I
was lost. Then a great bird came over the fields, and it was
huge in size, then I saw it again, standing on a pole that
reached into the sky, and between its feet, my son Ahmad,
standing, and pointing me to a path, the end of which I could
not see. On it were marching lines of the Ikhwaan, so I went
to look at the situation, and I saw the moon, extremely huge,
and very bright, at the end of this path.
And
after his martyrdom also, his father went to hajj, and when he
returned, I called him to come and lighten the sadness of the
children because of the leaving of their father, and I called
his other children and grandchildren. But I found him
completely ignoring my children and taking interest in the
others, and I saw the sadness on the face of my daughter
Sumayyah, and I was depressed and unhappy all day. So I slept
while I was sad for her, then I saw the shaheed Muhammad bend
over next to the bed and say: "Don't be sad, I accept
your right."
The
Will of a Shaheed
You
said that Ahmad's mushaf has a story so what is it?
When they imprisoned him in 1965, and he
took the mushaf with him, I did not find it in the belongings
after his martyrdom. And after twenty years, while we were in
Madeenah, in the house of my daughter and her husband, I saw
it on the shelves, so I asked my daughter's husband where he
got this mushaf from so he said that during his being in the
haram, a woman heard his brothers calling him, so she went to
him, and said: "Are you so and so?", do he replied
in the affirmative. She said: "Then wait for me and do
not leave until I give you a trust." Then she informed
him that her husband had given her this mushaf that he had
taken from the shaheed and told her to take it to his
relatives. And that this mushaf had been to France, London and
Saudi Arabia, until it eventually reached us 20 years later.
And I do not think except that Allah has fulfilled the promise
of the shaheed.
If
I asked you to send him a letter today, what would you say?
I
pray to Allah that I am still upon the covenant, and have not
changed after you, and that you are now in the levels of the
shuhadaa' and sideeqeen, and that Allah gathers me with you:
{They and their wives in groves of shade, reclining on
thrones} (Yaa-Seen:56)
Ad-Da'wah
Issue 109, Muharram 1422
Last modified:
July 19, 2007
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