Idols

Fatima bint Qays: setting the standard for wise Muslim women

Fatima bint Qays was a very capable, intelligent and scholarly woman companion of the Prophet.

Imam Muslim related that Fatima was generous and felt satisfaction in
serving her guests. When Umar ibn Ibn al-Khattab died in 23 AH, the meeting
of the consultative committee was held in Fatima's home because she was a
woman of understanding, shrewd judgment and good opinions. The members of
the committee thought that it would be appropriate to consult her.

[NOTE 1: Imagine that the committee to discuss who would be the next Muslim
ruler met at a woman's house, sought the advice and guidance of a woman, and
were hosted by her (as she was famous for being a good host to her guests).
What a beautiful window view into the real life of early Muslim women!]

It was said that in the year 10 AH, Abu Umar divorced Fatima irrevocably
when he was away from her on return from a trip to Yemen as his agent was
sent to give her some barley, but she exasperated him. Learning of this Abu
Umar replied, 'By God, you will have nothing from me!, and so the divorce.
She went to his family and asked them to provide her with lodging and
maintenance and they refused.  Later, on reccomendation of the Prophet, she
married Usama. Usama died in 54 AH and that Fatima never remarried, instead
she lived with her brother, Dahhak ibn Qays

[NOTE 2: In the hadith it is said that when a single man is in the presence
of a single woman (who he can marry) then the third amongst them is Iblis.
What's interesting is that the Prophet told Fatima to spend her waiting
period in the house of her cousin Ibn Umm Makhtum. And while he was a blind
man, the Prophet still advised her to do so].

[Ref: Kabbani & Bakhtair, Encyclopedia of Muhammad's Women Companions and
the Traditions They Related, p 319]

The early Muslim women played active roles in Muslim society, shame on the
'scholars' who constantly refer to 'following the example of early Muslim
women' and expect women today to live secluded in their homes - shame on
them for hiding the reality where Muslim women were active in every field of
endeavour.

Source: http://www.muslimtents.com/aminahsworld/Fatima_bint_qays.html

Mahinur Ozdemir, Member of Brussels Regional Parliament- Brussels

Born in 1982 in Brussels, Ms. Mahinur Ozdemir completed her studies at the ULB in Public Administration and Human Resources. Throughout her studies, she helped develop the family business. She was a founding member of the Turkish students circle “the Turquoise” in 2004. This circle has as objective to support students of the ULB during their studies, to know the Turkish culture and cultural interchange. The same year, she became a member of a political party “the HRC” and participated actively in meetings of her local branch and party Congress. Ms. Mahinur Ozdemir is currently the youngest consultant in the municipality of Schaerbeek. At the same time she works with the party and gives regular trainings in citizenship.

In April 2009, she got the 11th and last seat of her party in the Parliament of Brussels, and became the youngest member of the Region and Country. She is in charge of environmental commissions, planning and social affairs

First Belgium MP to Don the Hijab

“I will not take off my hijab for the elections or for parliament. I wore the hijab when I was working for Schaerbeek Municipal Council and I will carry on wearing it even in parliament,” commented Mahinur Ozdemir, the first Muslim veiled Belgium MP, on those opposing her headscarf under the parliamentary ceil.

Mahinur Ozdemir’s pride as a Belgian Muslim woman politician is seen as the real response to the ongoing anti-Islamic campaign headed by France against Muslim women Islamic dress. It is worth mentioning here that the Belgian law does not allow MPs to wear hijab in its parliament.

The following is a profile feature on Ozdemir, the 26-year-old Belgian veiled MP, just before taking the oath of the regional Belgium parliament.

Belgian MP With Hijab

Brussels, Asharq Al-Awsat- When I met Mahinur Ozdimer in one of the biggest shopping malls in Brussels just one day before the Belgium elections that took place on June 7, I noticed that she was the only female candidate wearing hijab as the candidates handed out leaflets and met and spoke with voters.

I asked Mahinur “Aren’t you worried about the reaction you’ll get from Belgian voters because you wear hijab?” Ozdemir, a Belgium citizen of a Turkish descent, answered, “I will not take off my hijab for the elections or for parliament. I wore the hijab when I was working for Schaerbeek Municipal Council and I will carry on wearing it even in parliament.” Despite the pressure she is subjected to because she continues to wear the hijab, Mahinur always says that “efficiency alone is what matters, not the hijab.”

Link:

A Matter of Mind or Body

Mahinur is the first parliamentarian to wear hijab, but there is a problem; Belgian law does not allow MPs to wear headscarves in parliament. The issue has begun to raise controversy among members of Arab and Muslim communities and amongst the Belgians themselves.

MP Suad Razzouk from Belgium’s Socialist Party said, “Ozdemir will face two options: resign if she does not take off the hijab, or give up her seat in parliament.”

Ahmed Mohsen, a member of the Green Party, said “I will work towards changing the current status as the right-wing, liberals and socialist parties caused the banning of hijab in 95 per cent of Belgian schools with only five schools allowing it.”

Representation in Clothes!!

The Socialist Party’s MP Sofia Bouarfa said, “I am concerned about the future of every female candidate who wears hijab and wants to run for parliament because that person will face major challenges and difficulties. She is supposed to represent all parts of Belgian society and it is only normal that not everybody will be considerate of the fact that wearing hijab is a personal freedom.”

Having won 2851 votes, enough to secure her a seat in Belgian parliament, local and international media rushed to interview Mahinur. Everywhere she goes there are local and international press and television stations from different countries such as Britain, Turkey and Australia that want to talk to Mahinur.

In every interview, Mahinur has insisted that there should not be so much emphasis on the hijab that she wears but on the issues that are of importance to a Belgian citizen, mainly unemployment and housing.

“I Cover Hair Not Ideas"

Mahinur said, “I will work against unemployment and towards allowing the hijab to be worn in the workplace and in schools.” She added, “I would like to point out that with or without hijab, my view of the problems in this country and finding solutions to them and helping others will be the same. I cover my hair, but not my ideas, and the Islamic headscarf will in no way be an obstacle to my political activity. It should not be a controversial issue and I would advise those criticizing the hijab to do away with the injustice that obscures their vision.”

Mahinur emphasizes that she is a Belgian of Turkish and Muslim descent by saying, “I was born here in Belgium and raised and educated in this country. I’m a third-generation immigrant and I come from a family that is devoted to serious and sincere work. My family supported me and celebrated my success in the elections.”

There is a large Muslim community that consists of at least half a million people in Belgium, the majority of which are Moroccans and Turks. The first generation of immigrants arrived in Belgium in the late 1950s to help rebuild the country following the destruction caused by World War II.

Concealing Hijab Won’t Uncover Hair

Mahinur got to a point where she avoided answering questions about hijab after she found that there was too much focus on this issue, especially when it came to questions on the attitudes of her fellow party members towards her and whether people were open to the idea of a parliamentarian wearing hijab. There was an incident during her party’s election campaign; the party had put up pictures of the candidates in Schaerbeek and Mahinur’s picture was enlarged so that people could only see her face, not her hijab.

Commenting on the incident, Mahinur said, “The party officials explained that a mistake had been made either by the printing company or by an employee working on the election campaign, either of whom did not consult anyone else regarding the matter. I was angry but I am not now after the party explained the situation.”

Humanist Democratic Centre

There has been debate over the name of the party to which Mahinur belongs. The foreign media calls it the ‘Christian Democratic Party’ whilst a number of party members of Arab descent state that this is incorrect and that the correct translation of the party’s name is the ‘Humanist Democratic Centre.’

Taha Adnan, who works for the administration of the francophone government in Brussels, said that in 2002, the Christian Democratic Party changed its name to ‘Humanist Democratic Centre’ [CdH] and as a result, it lost the votes of many Christians in Belgian society. But in turn, it gained votes from a number of Arab and Muslim immigrants.

But how did Mahinur get into politics? When did she join the party? When did she decide she wanted to enter parliament and how did she choose which party to join?

“When I was a child, I always dreamt of being a lawyer, but I started wearing the hijab at 14 years old, so I had to reconsider my future. So I chose to study Political Science at the Free University of Brussels, with a major in Human Resources, and I obtained a diploma in Management…My decision not to study law was not because it was too difficult, as I’m not the kind of person who gives up. Even if became a lawyer I would have entered the world of politics, which I came to understand quite well during my free time at the university through the internet.”

Mahinur stated that she read the programs of various Belgian political parties and liked the CdH, which calls for offering social aid, and upholding democratic principles and family values. “It is enough that it is a moderate party as I hate extremism, and the party’s program has a lot of respect for religious beliefs.”


Role Model Muslim Woman

Mahinur joined the party in 2004 when she was still studying. The following year she was offered the opportunity to take part in the municipal elections as part of the party and she joined the municipal council of Schaerbeek, which has a large number of citizens of Arab and Muslim descent, mainly Moroccans and Turks.

In the recent elections Mahinur ranked 21st, which was enough to guarantee a seat in parliament. In reference to her family, Mahinur said “They helped me a lot and gave me support. They are very happy for me.”

Describing her as a very eloquent speaker, the Belgian press says that Mahinur has a lot to say on social issues and social development.

However, the elections are over and the winners have been announced. Mahinur is now waiting to take the constitutional oath as the first parliamentarian in Belgium to wear Hijab though this goes against Belgian law.


As a Muslim MP

Mahinur believes that she will be a member of parliament in Brussels alongside a number of Muslims who were chosen by the Muslim community living in the Belgian capital to represent them. The issues that they want dealing with include the banning of the Hijab in some schools, the prohibition of slaughtering animals at home for the religious festival of Eid al Adha or any other day, and the issue of financial aid required for Islamic associations to help them carry out their religious duty of serving members of Muslim communities.

Prior to Mahinur, several Muslim MPs entered Belgian parliament to serve their society’s interests.

MP Fatiha Saidi, a Belgian of Moroccan origin born in Algeria to Moroccan parents, says that she focuses on the issues of all races without discrimination and that her primary goal is to serve the oppressed, especially those with no residence permits or those who are jobless, and those who have problems with schooling and education etc.

Saidi said, “I have intervened in parliament with regards to the issue of slaughtering animals during the Eid festival or on other days. I raised questions on the matter in parliament and I questioned the Belgium Minister of Justice on racism in the Belgium labour market, the oppression that Muslim communities suffer and discrimination in the employment field.”


A Bridge to the Other

Saidi indicated that she has prepared a report to this effect to be discussed in parliament and that she has also raised the issue of hijab in schools; “Discussions on this are still underway.” Finally, Fatiha Saidi added, “The Belgian people we work with do not share the same experiences or circumstances that Muslim communities experience such as nostalgia, racism and migration. This is why it is our role to clarify the nature of such problems to others through different means such as seminars and lectures within the party to which I belong or in parliament or during sessions, as well as in magazines, party-affiliated and independent newspapers.”

Mohamad Daif, of Moroccan descent, was one of the first Muslims to enter Brussels parliament following the 1995 elections. Daif said, “The religion of Islam is acknowledged here in Belgium and there is a representative body that is recognized by the Belgian government despite the strong criticism against it from some Belgium parties that refuse to recognize this body or Islam as a religion. As a Muslim citizen, I am of the view that the executive body for Muslims must have the ability to work and achieve the goals for which it was established, and that there must be enough finance to provide for this. Towards this end, my role in the party to which I belong – the Socialist Party – and my role in parliament has been to work towards eliminating any kind of racism by providing finance to different bodies and ensuring a fair share of financial aid to different institutions so that it can achieve its goals.”

Merve Safa Kavakçı (born 30 October 1968, Ankara) was a Turkish politician, who was elected as a Virtue Party deputy for Istanbul on April 18, 1999. On May 2, she was prevented from making her parliamentary oath because of her hijab, which is banned for civil servants in secular Turkey. She was eventually stripped of her Turkish citizenship, on the grounds that she had not disclosed her United States citizenship (which she obtained on March 5, 1999).[1]

Since then, Kavakçı has been an outspoken critic of Turkey's secularization policy, traveling the globe in support of Muslim women's rights, especially to the hijab. Kavakçı promotes the hijab as a symbol of female empowerment, and she is quick to remind critics that tradition of the hijab is both religious and cultural. In addition to lecturing at universities throughout Europe and the United States, Kavakçı addressed the 2004 Parliament of the World's Religions in Barcelona. From 2004-2005, she was a visiting professor and scholar at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Most recently, in 2007 the European Court of Human Rights found that Kavakçı's expulsion from parliament was a violation of human rights.

Kavakçı is a Hafiz-al Qur'an. She received her master's degree from Harvard University and her PhD from Howard University. Kavakçı is currently a professor at George Washington University. She has two daughters, Fatima and Mariam Abushanab.

She is a consultant for US Congress Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, a columnist for Turkish daily Vakit newspaper. Prior to her academic career she served as the head of foreign affairs of Welfare-Virtue Party's Women's Commission. Kavakci was elected to the Turkish Parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in 1999. However she was prevented from serving her term due to her headscarf. Kavakci's political party was closed down, her Turkish citizenship was revoked, banning her from politics for a period of five years. She took her case to European Court of Human Rights and won in 2007.

Kavakci addressed the British Parliament House of Lords, United Nations Commission on Human Rights, US Congress Helsinki Commission and Interparliamentary Union. She has lectured at myriad of American, European and Canadian Universities including Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Cambridge, Berlin, Insburg and Ottowa universities.

Kavakci was recognized among "Women of Excellence" by NAACP in March 2004. She was awarded the Public Service Award in Tribute and in Recognition of efforts for the advancement of human rights and Muslim Women's empowerment by International Association for Women and Children in 2000. She was awarded Service to Humanity Award by Haus Der Kulturellen Aktivitat und Toleranz in Vienna, Austria in 1999. She was granted Mother of the Year Award by Capital Platform of Ankara and National Youth Organization in 1999.

Kavakci holds a Ph. D in political science from Howard University, an MPA from Harvard University where she was recognized as Edward Mason Fellow and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from University of Texas at Dallas. Prior to that Kavakci attended the Medical School of Ankara University for two years. However she was not permitted to continue due to the headscarf ban.

Kavakci is the author of Basortusuz Demokrasi (Turkish) which has been translated to Arabic and Persian and also forthcoming in English and French. She is mother of two, Fatima and Mariam.

Membership:

2008-Present: Editorial Advisory Board, Mediterranean Quarterly

2009: Member, Islamic Resource Bank

Zaynab Al-Ghazali (January 2, 1917 – August 8, 2005) was a prominent Egyptian Islamist and arguably the most famous woman Islamist internationally. She was the founder of the Muslim Women's Association (Jamaa'at al-Sayyidaat al-Muslimaat), and was closely associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Her father was an Al-Azhar-educated independent religious teacher and cotton merchant. He encouraged her to become an Islamic leader citing the example of Nusaybah bint Ka'ab al-Maziniyah, a woman fought alongside Muhammad in the Battle of Uhud. For a short time during her teens, she joined the Egyptian Feminist Union only to conclude that "Islam gave women rights in the family granted by no other society. Women may talk of liberation in Christian society, Jewish society, or pagan society, but in Islamic society it is a grave error to speak of the liberation of women" (Hoffman 1985: 235). At the age of eighteen, she founded the Jamaa'at al-Sayyidaat al-Muslimaat (Muslim Women's Association), which she claimed had a membership of three million throughout the country by the time it was dissolved by government order in 1964.

Hasan Al-Banna, the founder of the Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood), invited al-Ghazali to merge her organisation with his, an invitation she refused as she wished to retain automony. However, she did eventually take an oath of personal loyalty to al Banna. (Mahmood 2005: 68) The fact that her organisation was not formally affiliated with the Ikhwan was to prove useful after the Ikhwan was banned, as for a time al Ghazali was able to continue to distribute their literature and host their meetings in her home.

Her weekly lectures to women at the Ibn Tulun Mosque drew a crowd of three thousand, which grew to five thousand during holy months of the year. Besides offering lessons for women, the association published a magazine, maintained an orphanage, offered assistance to poor families, and mediated family disputes. The association also took a political stance, demanding that Egypt be ruled by the Qur'an.

Al Ghazali's own life stands in contradiction to some of her professed beliefs. (Ahmed 1992: 199) Although she wrote that it was a "crime" for a woman to seek a divorce, she made no secret of the fact that she had divorced her first husband because of his discomfort at her public career. Her memoir describes how she told her husband that her oath of loyalty to Hassan al Banna meant that her devotion to the Islamist cause would always come before her marriage, and if ever the two should conflict, the marriage would end:

{text}, then, each of us should go our own way. I cannot ask you today to share with me this struggle, but it is my right on you not to stop me from jihad in the way of Allah. Moreover, you should not ask me about my activities with other Mujahideen, and let trust be full between us. A full trust between a man and a woman, a woman who, at he age of 18, gave her full life to Allah and Da'wah. In the event of any clash between the marriage contract's interest and that of Da'wah, our marriage will end, but Da'wah will always remain rooted in me." (al Ghazali 2006)

In justifying her own exceptionality to her stated belief in a woman's rightful role, al Ghazali described her own childlessness as a "blessing" that would not usually be seen as such, because it freed her to participate in public life.(Hoffman 1988). Her second husband died while she was in prison, having divorced her after government threats to confiscate his property. al Ghazali's family were angered at this perceived disloyalty, but al Ghazali herself remained loyal to him, writing in her memoir that she asked for his photograph to be reinstated in their home when told that it had been removed.

After the assassination of Hasan al-Banna in 1949, Al-Ghazali was instrumental in regrouping the Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1960s. Imprisoned for her activities in 1965, she was sentenced to twenty-five year of hard labor but was released under Anwar Sadat's Presidency in 1971. She describes her prison's experience, which included sufferings of many heinous forms of torture, in a book entitled Ayyam min hayyati (Days from my life), published in English under the title Return of the Pharaoh. The "Pharaoh" referred to is President Nasser. al Ghazali depicts herself as enduring torture with strength beyond that of most men, and she attests to both miracles and visions that strengthened her and enabled her to survive.

After her release from prison, al-Ghazali resumed teaching and writing for the revival of Muslim Brotherhood's magazine, Al-Dawah. She was editor of a women's and children's section in Al-Dawah, in which she encouraged women to become educated, but to be obedient to their husbands and stay at home while rearing their children.

Zaynab al-Ghazali was also a prolific writer, contributing regularly to major Islamic journals and magazines on Islamic and women's issues. Although the Islamic movement throughout the Muslim world today has attracted large number of young women, especially since 1970s, Zaynab al-Ghazali stands out thus for as the only woman to distinguish herself as one of its major leaders.

References

* Al Ghazali Return of the Pharaoh The Islamic Foundation 2006
* Hoffman, Valerie. "An Islamic Activist: Zaynab alGhazali." In Women and the Family in the Middle East, edited by Elizabeth W. Fernea. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1985.
* Mahmood, Saba Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject, Princeton University Press 2005

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Telah berlaku suatu peristiwa di dalam abad ini ke atas seorang wanita Mesir yang bergerak di dalam harakah Islamiah di Mesir yang dapat dijadikan tauladan.

Semasa perkahwinan akan dijalankan di antaranya dengan suaminya, Zainab Ghazali telah mengenakan syarat supaya suaminya membenarkannya untuk bergiat di dalam harakah Islamnya. Katanya, “Hak saya untuk membuat syarat kepada engkau supaya tidak menghalang saya untuk berjihad di jalan Allah S.W.T, di mana saya telah diletakkan tugas-tugas dan tanggungjawab sebagai mujahidin di dalam harakah ini. Janganlah engkau bertanya apa yang akan saya buat, tetapi hendaklah engkau yakin dan percaya sepenuhnya akan tindakan saya.”

Dia memperingatkan suaminya lagi, “Sekiranya berlaku pertembungan di antara perkahwinan dengan dakwah, akan berakhir perkahwinan dan kekal dakwah kepada Allah S.W.T. Saya minta kepada engkau supaya menunaikan janji engkau. Janganlah engkau tanya siapakah saya akan berjumpa. Saya berdoa kepada Allah S.W.T supaya Allah jadikan balasan jihad yang saya lakukan ini sebahagiannya untuk engkau, sekiranya amal saya ini diterima oleh Allah S.W.T.”

Apakah kegiatan-kegiatan yang dilakukan oleh Zainab Ghazali dan rakan-rakannya untuk harakah Islamiah?

Contoh seorang Muslimah Abad 20

ZAINAB AL GHAZALI AL ZUBAILI

Zainab Al Ghazali Al-Zubaili nama sepenuhnya. la dilahirkan di sekitar tahun 1917, di awal abad dua puluh ini, 65 tahun usianya ketika ini. Mula ditahan dalam tahun 1965, ketika itu usianya sekitar 44 tahun. Akibat dari penyeksaan yang dahsyat yang ditanggungnya dalam tahanan ketika diambil statement oleh pendakwa, mereka menyangka umurnya lebih 90 tahun, pada hal umurnya ketika itu 44 tahun — menunjukkan betapa beratnya seksaan yang dilakukan oleh rejim Jamal Abdel Nasser.

Zainab Al-Ghazali mengasaskan penubuhan “Jamaah Saidatina Muslimah”. Satu gerakan wanita yang selari dengan Ikhwan Muslimin yang mempunyai method cara dan matlamat yang sama dengan Ikhwan Muslimin.

Meski pun beliau dipilih menjadi ketua pertama Jamaah itu, namum beliau telah berbai’ah dengan Mursyidul Ikhwan Muslimin, Hassan Al-Banna, pada penghujung abad 14 hijrah beliau ditugaskan memimpin Jemaah Saidatina Muslimah.

Tujuan jamaah ini ialah untuk memimpin wanita Islam dan menyedarkan mereka serta mengangkat darjat mereka untuk menyebarkan panji-panji Islam, agar memahami Islam, agar wanita-wanita Islam dapat menjalankan peranan wanita dengan mengikut contoh wanita salafus soleh.

Dengan itu mereka berkeyakinan umat Islam akan dapat dibangunkan semula dan negara Islam akan dapat ditegakkan dengan lelaki yang dididik oleh wanita yang bernaung di bawah Al-Quran dan As-Sunnah. la berjuang meletakkan wanita sebagai ibu yang dapat mendidik rijal (pejuang) untuk membangunkan Islam.

Ketika itu proses pembaratan sedang hebat berlaku di Mesir. Kemasukkan sosial budaya barat sedang berlaku dan terus melanda budaya umat Islam — pakaian, tingkah laku dan pemikiran mereka sedang hanyut dalam budaya Barat yang menunju ke arah kehancuran. Inilah dia belenggu sekularisma. Zainab Al-Ghazali berjuang membebaskan belenggu sekularisma ini.

Beliau sangat yakin bahawa masa depan umat ini bergantung kepada peranan ibu-ibu, oleh kerana itu gerakan beliau ini antaranya untuk memberi pimpinan yang wajar pimpinan Islam kepada wanita Islam. Untuk melahirkan rijal, tenaga lelaki yang bersedia menjualkan dirinya untuk Islam.

Dia adalah seorang da’ei wanita yang cukup gigih dalam dakwahnya. Dalam hidup sehariannya, yang ada didalam fikirannya hanyalah bagaimana menyebarkan kebajikan dan membimbing manusia ke jalan yang benar. Dia memiliki pengetahuan yang luas dan mendalam. Ketajaman kata-katanya dalam berdakwah membuat dia harus berhadapan dengan pemimpin negeri ini yang zalim pada saat itu.

Zainab Al-Ghazali pun telah menjalani fasa-fasa penyiksaan. Meremang bulu roma di saat mendengar kisahnya. Meski demikian, keyakinanannya akan pertolongan Allah swt., kelazatan iman yang dirasakannya, serta tekad yang membaja membuat ia terus bersabar. Pada Ogos 1965, Rumah Zainab Al-Ghazali digeledah oleh beberapa tentara, tanpa ada izin terlebih dahulu.

Tatkala ia meminta diperlihatkan surat penggeledahan, mereka menjawab, “Surat tugas yang mana, hai orang gila! Kami sekarang dalam masa, dimana kami bebas melakukan apa saja yang kami kehendaki terhadap kamu.” Tanpa penjelasan lain yang menjadi bukti, mereka terus mengheret Zainab Al-Ghazali keluar rumah dan dibawa dengan kereta. Tanpa pembelaan, muslimah yang tekun beribadah ini terus dimasukkan ke penjara. Namun dia tetap sabar dan mengharap pahala dari Allah swt. atas ujian yang diterimanya itu. Ia dimasukkan ke dalam ruangan penjara bernombor 24. Berikut adalah cerita pengalaman beliau sepanjang berada didalam penjara:

Sebuah pintu ruangan yang sangat gelap dibuka, lalu aku dimasukkan kedalamnya. Dan ketika ruangan itu telah menelan diriku, aku mengucapkan, “Bismillah As-salamu’alaikum.” Kemudian, pintu itu ditutup kembali. Setelah itu, lampu yang sangat terang dinyalakan dengan tiba-tiba. Ini dimaksudkan untuk menyiksa diriku. Ruangan itu dipenuhi oleh beberapa anjing. Aku tidak mengetahui berapa jumlahnya. Aku pejamkan kedua mataku dan aku letakkan kedua tanganku didadaku, kerana ketakutan yang mencekam. Lalu aku dengar suara pintu dikunci dengan rantai dan gembok besar. Anjing-anjing itu terus menyerangku dan mengigit sekujur tubuhku, kepalaku, kedua tanganku, dadaku, punggungku dan di seluruh bagian tubuhku kurasakan tusukkan taring-taring anjing.

Sakit sekali. Tatkala aku mencuba membuka mata untuk melihat, maka dengan segera kupejamkan kembali kerana ketakutan yang sangat. Lalu kuletakkan kedua tanganku di bawah kedua ketiakku, sambil menyebut asma-asma Allah swt. (Asmaul Husna), mulai dari kata, “Ya Allah, Ya Allah…” Satu per satu nama agung Allah kubaca. Sementara anjing-anjing tiada berhenti mengigit tubuhku. Tusukkan taringnya kurasakan di kepalaku, pundakku, punggungku, dadaku, dan disekujur tubuhku.

Saat itu saya berdo’a kepada Allah swt. dengan mengatakan,

“Ya Allah sibukkanlah aku dengan (mengingat)-Mu, hingga melupakan selain-Mu. Sibukkanlah aku dengan (mengingat)-Mu, wahai Tuhanku. Wahai zat Yang Maha Esa, wahai zat Yang menjadi tempat bergantung. Bawalah aku dari alam kasar (dunia) ini. Sibukkanlah aku agar tidak mengingat seluruh hal selain-Mu. Sibukkanlah aku dengan (mengingat)-Mu, bawalah aku di hadirat-Mu. Berilah aku ketenangan yang sempurna dari-Mu. Liputilah aku dengan pakaian kecintaan-Mu. Berikanlah kepadaku rezeki mati syahid dijalan-Mu. Karunikanlah kepadaku kecintaan yang tulus kepada-Mu, keridhaan pada (ketentuan)-Mu dan Ya Allah, teguhkanlah diriku, sebagaimana keteguhan yang dimiliki oleh para ahli tauhid ya Allah!”

Doa tersebut kuucapkan, sementara binatang-binatang buas itu tidak berhenti menusukkan taringnya disekujur tubuhku. Detik demi detik, minit demi minit dan jam demi jam pun berlalu. Tiba-tiba pintu ruanganku terbuka, lalu aku dikeluarkan dari kamar. Aku membayangkan, bahawa pakaian putih yang kukenakan telah berlumuran darah. Itulah yang saya rasakan dan bayangkan bahwa anjing-anjing itu benar-benar telah mengigitku. Akan tetapi, betapa terkejutnya aku. Seolah-olah pakaianku tidak terkena sesuatu apapun, dan seolah-olah tiada satu pun taring yang menembus tubuhku. Mahasuci Engkau ya, Allah. Sesungguhnya Dia selalu bersamaku dan selalu mengawasiku. Ya Allah, apakah aku ini layak mendapatkan kurnia dan kemuliaan dari-Mu. Ya, Tuhanku bagimu segala puji. Semua itu kuucapkan di dalam hatiku. Para penjaga penjara hairan ketika mengetahui bahawa anjing-anjing tidak merobek-robek tubuhku