From: "isa hamzah" Our Great Leader Hasan al-Banna: A Lasting Legacy On the 57th anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hasan Al-Banna (1906-1949), Sheikh Rachid Ghannouchi highlights some of the achievements of the man considered the greatest Islamic reformer of our era. It is out of the mercy of Allah (S) to humans that He has sent to them messengers bringing glad tidings and warnings, guiding them to the path of happiness in both this world and the Hereafter, through giving them knowledge of their One Lord and of the principal guidelines for worshipping Him and living their lives accordingly. Messengers succeeded one another; every time humans deviated from- or distorted - the message of a messenger, another was sent. When humanity was on the brink of civilisation change, on the eve of a new era of intellectual maturity, advancement of knowledge and development of means of communication, yet still in a state of religious chaos, God sent the final message to crown the efforts of all previous prophecies, giving credence to all prophets and messengers, and maintaining the common essence of the one religion they all brought- a religion which emphasises the oneness of the Creator, the unity of human origin and human values, and resurrection and account after death. This was the message of the Seal of the Prophets, the Arab Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. God's mercy to His creation also necessitated that, with the end of the chain of Prophethood, humans should not be left victim to misguidance and deviation, nor should deviations be allowed to accumulate, stabilise and dominate, such that they become the norm and the foundation to be inherited by generations to come. Thus, there had to be an alternative to replace prophethood, ensuring the steadfastness of Islamic concepts in its absence. This alternative was to be embodied in reformers and scholars. The Prophet (s) said, "The scholars are the inheritors of the prophets" (Narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi), and "Allah sends for the ummah, at the beginning of every century, those who would revive for it its religion" (Narrated Abu Dawud). Throughout the history of Islam, and its extended lands, Allah (S) has provided reformers who devoted their lives to correcting whatever had deviated in the Ummah's beliefs or concepts, whether in the lives of individuals or the community, taking it back to the origins of its religion- the Quran and the Sunnah, reactivating the effective interaction between the sources of religion and new sciences and discoveries, and providing solutions to new problems and challenges in the lives of the Muslims through reviving the mechanisms of Jihad and Ijtihad. In this context, historians of Islamic thought include names of symbols of reform in various fieldstheological, political, social, such as Caliph `Umar Ibn `Abdel `Aziz, Imam Al- Ghazali, Ibn Taymiyya, etc. No era or place has been devoid of reformers, and these are moreover merely symbols of schools of thought and trends and phenomena that emerged in our history, and every time one fades, a new one emerges. Among the fathers of the contemporary Islamic movement are great reformers of the likes of Imam Al-Shawkani in the Arabian Peninsula, Shah Waliyyullah Ad-Dehlawi in the Indian Subcontinent, Jamaleddine Al-Afghani, Muhammad Abdu, Muhammad Rasheed Rida, and others in various regions of the Muslim world such as Imam Al- Mahdi in Sudan, Muhammad Ali Al-Sanussi in Libya, `Uthman Dan Fodio in Nigeria, Imam Shamil in the Caucasus, Abdel Hamid Ibn Badis in Algeria, Abdel Aziz Al- Tha`alibi in Tunisia, and `Allal Al-Fasi in Morocco. All these and others made efforts towards reviving the spirit of Tajdeed (Revival) in the Ummah, through a renewal of ijtihad and jihad for the liberation of the Muslim mind and Muslim lands. The efforts of those reformers succeeded in returning Islam to its sources, free- to a great extent- of the myths of the ages of decline and intellectual invasion, and in resurrecting the spirit of resistance and jihad in the Ummah such that the armies of western occupation were forced to leave the majority of Muslim lands. However, the efforts of Imam Hasan Al-Banna, though they are an extension of those previous reform attempts, remain unique. Their uniqueness lies in the following factors: · At the intellectual level, he succeeded in elucidating a comprehensive vision of Islam and articulating it in simple articles and clear slogans accessible to alldefining Islam as a religion and a state, economics and morals, sports and spirituality, etc. He was successful in presenting a precise and deep vision of Islam and the duties of the Muslim and his methodology for life in twenty paragraphs which he called Al-Usul Al-Ishreen (the Twenty Principles). These represent the closest articulation to the methodology of the middle, balanced Islamic path which continues to instruct the vision of the mainstream contemporary Islamic Movement, particularly through the profound expanded elaborations by Al- Banna's students and successors such as Sheikh Mohamad Al-Ghazali, Sheikh Sayyid Sabiq, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, Ustadh Abdelqadir Oudah, Ustadh Sayyid Qutb, Sheikh Mustafa Al-Sibai, Sheikh Hasan Al-Turabi, and others. · On the level of Islamic political thought, he strongly presented the concept of the contemporary Islamic state, defining its characteristics so that it becomes Islamic, being established on the basis of Shariah and as an expression of the will of the Ummah. In this context, he regarded the modern constitutional system of representation to be the nearest system to the spirit and embodiment of the concept of Shura in Islam. · Al-Banna did not limit his efforts to presenting the Islamic vision and calling to it, in opposition to the rising secular theories that were supported by foreign occupation. He went further to build a mechanism to carry out the task of putting this vision into practice, through the mobilisation of all sectors of the Ummah. This was through establishing a Jamaa'ah (Group) to shoulder the responsibilities of the Da'wah to this comprehensive vision and to develop theories and detailed programmes in line with the vision to reform all aspects of people's lives through Islam. This Jamaa'ah was also responsible for deepening, developing and following up the tarbiyah (development and training) of vast numbers of the youth in order to enable them to carry out the mission of da'wah and reform. This is because the Jamaa'ah is not just a political party concerned with maintaining its members' allegiance and effectiveness in serving its projects, but is rather a school raising its members first and foremost on allegiance to Allah and His messenger and to the Ummah, and preparing them to meet their Lord while He is pleased with them, and to fulfil this responsibility in their society, alongside the rest of the tasks of social and political reform. Thus Al-Banna succeeded in transforming the project of reform from the theoretical to the practical level, from the elite circles to the masses, and from the national level to that of the Ummah and the world. Since the reform project presented by Al-Banna was not just an intellectual project, but rather a comprehensive methodology of change, it soon clashed with the colonialist project. The headquarters of Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimoon (The Muslim Brotherhood) in Egypt, founded by Al-Banna in 1928, were a refuge for liberation movements from Asia and North Africa, providing sympathy and support. Moreover, it soon entered into direct conflict with the British occupation in Egypt, and was the only mass movement to resist the Zionist project from its birth. The Jama'ah continued, despite repression and punishment, to be a force of support for all liberation movements struggling against occupation wherever they may be, particularly in Palestine. Naturally, with its rising and growing role in raising people's awareness and resisting colonialist plots, the Jamaa'ah faced successive campaigns of repression as wide as the extension of its adherents. The assassination of its founder on the 12th of February 1949 at the young age of 42, at the hands of the corrupt subservient rule, inaugurated an era characterised by intermittent repression and temporary reprieve, leading to convoys of martyrs in the region. The Jamaa'ah, however, remained committed to its moderate balanced methodology, refusing to be drawn into internal in-fightingdespite a few limited cases of deviation from this path- for it is its profound conviction that there is no place for anything other than peaceful struggle, beautiful preaching, and patience in the methodology of reform. As for force, it is only used against foreign aggression. The Jamaa'ah must also be praised for refusing to use the weapon of takfir (ex-communication) in its dealings with those who disagree with it and with the oppressive regimes of the Muslim world, remaining content with peaceful action and committed to widening the scope of freedom and deepening its foundations, supporting the institutions of ahli society (Muslim civil society) such as syndicates and associations of public service, and cooperating with everyone on the basis of strengthening our nations and protecting public and individual liberties. The Jamaa'ah came to adopt pluralism and cooperation in what is common with those who are different. In the field of international relations, it sought to call for relations that are based on dialogue, justice, peace, equivalence, cooperation in the common good and combating injustice and aggression, as ordered by the Quran: "O Mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you may know each other. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is he who is most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted with all things" (49:13). Today, the influence of the Al-Banna's school has extended greatly, such that there is hardly a country in the world where there is not a group that does not consider itself in one way or another to be an extension of the first fertile group established by that young teacher in 1928, rightly considered the greatest Islamic Jamaa'ah. Moreover, the intellectual influence of this Jamaa'ah has extended much further than its memberships and institutions. "With God is the decision, in the past and in the future: on that Day shall the believers rejoice, with the help of God; He helps whom He wills, and He is exalted in might, most merciful" (30:4-5). Sheikh Rachid Ghannouchi is the exiled leader of the An-Nahda (The Rennaisance) Party of Tunisia. He currently lives in the UK and is regarded as one of contemporary Islam's leading thinkers. This article was written exclusively for Reflection ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease? Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts! http://us.click.yahoo.com/UwRTUD/UOnJAA/i1hLAA/TXWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." 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