Post by maruf on Nov 30, 2004 0:11:17 GMT -5
A personal account of Ustadh Abu Imad, who died last week
ãöäó ÇáúãõÄúãöäöíäó ÑöÌóÇáñ ÕóÏóÞõæÇ ãóÇ ÚóÇåóÏõæÇ Çááøóåó Úóáóíúåö Ýóãöäúåõãú ãóäú ÞóÖóì äóÍúÈóåõ æóãöäúåõãú ãóäú íóäúÊóÙöÑõ æóãóÇ ÈóÏøóáõæÇ ÊóÈúÏöíáðÇ<br>
Of the believers are men who are true to that which they covenanted with Allah. Some of them have paid their vow by death (in battle), and some of them still are waiting; and they have not altered in the least. [TMQ 33: 23]
On Sunday night, 9th Shawwal 1425 hijri, 21st November 2004, the previous member of Hizb ut-Tahrir ameer’s office, the esteemed, capable and astute politician, al Ustadh Muhammad Sabri-Abu Imad passed away, after a life he spent in political domain, where he was calling to Allah and His Messenger, and working for resuming Islamic way of life through establishing the State of Khilafah Rashida.
In an interview with a close friend of Abu Imad, I had a rare opportunity to gain an insight into the life of a little known, but very great figure.
‘I first met him in secondary school in 1953, in Fadhilyya, Tul-Karm. We were in the same set and the same class, and were amongst 28 out of 33 students who have just started in the halaqaat of Hizb ut-Tahrir. After this study year, 1953-1954 I went to Ramallah for teacher training, and Abu Imad continued his secondary study and became a qualified accountant.
‘We met again by coincidence some 10 years later in Kuwait when I started my work there. But that time we were both married, and used to see each other regularly over a five year period. Wherever we were we used to try in those days to carry our Islamic call. After 5 years I left Kuwait to meet together in Damascus, Syria in summer 1971. During that period Abu Imad continued to live and work there. As a member in the executive committee there he was asked to contact diplomatic staff from various Muslim countries. While each member of that committee had to have at least 4 meetings per month. Abu Imad used to make 30 – 40 meetings per month! ‘<br>
His friend recounted with fondness of their relationship and their efforts together, but spent most of the time discussing their time in Syria from 1971 onwards.
‘That was where we met again. By this time he had 5 boys and 2 girls, and I remember how his family all stayed with us in our 3 room flat for 2-3 months while his flat was refurbished. In Syria he was the local Ameer and I was asked to supervise things in Damascus. After a full day of our daawah work and efforts, he used to suggest we go and visit all those people who had once been working with us in al Hizb, and had left for various reasons. He was a very serious man, and always had the affairs of the daawah and politics on his mind. He was a man who you could say loved politics. He was arrested in March 1972, following which the security services arrested my wife and my only 4 months child, where after one night they spent in prison they kept them under arrest in my flat.
‘They released them by leaving the flat when by May 1972 they had arrested me. We both spent until March 1973 in solitary confinement. There were 3 of us out of about 13 in all, who spent 3 months being tortured and interrogated daily. But, Alhamdullillah our spirits generally remained high. This was a very harsh time for us. We spent time memorizing Quran, and made the most of the isolation.
‘Things changed in March 1973, when we were moved into more open cells, with groups of people. After 3 months we were moved to an open prison where we decided to start halaqaat – of the regular books of study, and made approximately 2 per day. Then he and I decided we would try and get hold of books in English – on Political theory, current affairs, economics and history. We decided to make regular halaqaat on these twice a day, translating the ideas into Arabic and recording them on audio cassette for the benefit of others.
‘This was until some Baathist prisoners, confused by the fact that as Islamic prisoners we study politics, informed the security agency, who confiscated some of our books, and returned some of our brothers to solitary confinement.
‘We were released without condition, after prolonged unsuccessful attempts to make us sign compromising documents, even by bringing our parents, wives and children to put emotional pressure on us. Abu Imad had to be separate from his wife, who was emotionally very strong, but physically very sick, where she and their seven children remained to live in Syria. He was in Beirut at the time Shaykh Taqideen an-Nabhani passed away, but continued to work closely with his successor Shaykh Abdul Qadeem Zalloum, May Allah give them Rahma.
Al Ustadh Abu Imad spent the last years of his life in Jordan, as part of the Ameer’s office of Hizb ut-Tahrir. He was imprisoned there frequently, where he suffered heart attacks. Despite this he worked relentlessly. He was unquestionably one of the most profound political thinkers, reading many English political journals including the journal ‘Foreign Affairs’ every month, as well as two French political journals and all the main newspapers. He also authored the book Afkar Siyassiyah [Political Thoughts] and a two volume book about the last 200 years of political development in Europe. He continued to make political analysis right until the end, when Allah took him unto Himself. His friend smiled and recounted one last tale.
‘I remember one nice thing. We were in the harsh days of prison in Syria. We were tipped off by a prisoner who used to serve the food that they planned to poison myself and Abu Imad, with a slow poison that would kill us after release from the prison. It was a known technique then. We became so careful about the food we ate, only eating dry solid things, as these would be harder to hide poison in. That was a time when we hit a low point. In isolated cells, separated from each other [he was in number one and I was in number 12]. We had no news of the outside, or even where we were at the time. We had no idea, who else had been arrested, or if anyone knew of our situation. The security services even tried to say they were about to catch Shaykh Taqiudeen an-Nabhani and that he would join us soon.
‘In this dark time, where death in isolation seemed so real to me I was honored with two dreams. The first was that of the Prophet, Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, giving me hope and inspiration.
‘In the second dream I was in a beautiful dense green forest, of a type which we do not get in the Middle East. There were clear and open areas inside the forest, where I was walking. Then I saw large numbers of beautiful young women, of different looks and complexions. One had very beautiful eyes, to which I was very attracted, so I approached her. I extended my hand to her for her to stand and hold it, but she surprisingly said “No! I am not for you, I am for Muhammad Sabri! ” He was very pleased when I shouted this news to him the next morning from cell number twelve to number one.’<br>
We pray that Allah SWT really honors him with this, and much more than this, and accepts him into al Firdaws, and raises him with the prophets, honest, martyrs and righteous
ãöäó ÇáúãõÄúãöäöíäó ÑöÌóÇáñ ÕóÏóÞõæÇ ãóÇ ÚóÇåóÏõæÇ Çááøóåó Úóáóíúåö Ýóãöäúåõãú ãóäú ÞóÖóì äóÍúÈóåõ æóãöäúåõãú ãóäú íóäúÊóÙöÑõ æóãóÇ ÈóÏøóáõæÇ ÊóÈúÏöíáðÇ<br>
Of the believers are men who are true to that which they covenanted with Allah. Some of them have paid their vow by death (in battle), and some of them still are waiting; and they have not altered in the least. [TMQ 33: 23]
On Sunday night, 9th Shawwal 1425 hijri, 21st November 2004, the previous member of Hizb ut-Tahrir ameer’s office, the esteemed, capable and astute politician, al Ustadh Muhammad Sabri-Abu Imad passed away, after a life he spent in political domain, where he was calling to Allah and His Messenger, and working for resuming Islamic way of life through establishing the State of Khilafah Rashida.
In an interview with a close friend of Abu Imad, I had a rare opportunity to gain an insight into the life of a little known, but very great figure.
‘I first met him in secondary school in 1953, in Fadhilyya, Tul-Karm. We were in the same set and the same class, and were amongst 28 out of 33 students who have just started in the halaqaat of Hizb ut-Tahrir. After this study year, 1953-1954 I went to Ramallah for teacher training, and Abu Imad continued his secondary study and became a qualified accountant.
‘We met again by coincidence some 10 years later in Kuwait when I started my work there. But that time we were both married, and used to see each other regularly over a five year period. Wherever we were we used to try in those days to carry our Islamic call. After 5 years I left Kuwait to meet together in Damascus, Syria in summer 1971. During that period Abu Imad continued to live and work there. As a member in the executive committee there he was asked to contact diplomatic staff from various Muslim countries. While each member of that committee had to have at least 4 meetings per month. Abu Imad used to make 30 – 40 meetings per month! ‘<br>
His friend recounted with fondness of their relationship and their efforts together, but spent most of the time discussing their time in Syria from 1971 onwards.
‘That was where we met again. By this time he had 5 boys and 2 girls, and I remember how his family all stayed with us in our 3 room flat for 2-3 months while his flat was refurbished. In Syria he was the local Ameer and I was asked to supervise things in Damascus. After a full day of our daawah work and efforts, he used to suggest we go and visit all those people who had once been working with us in al Hizb, and had left for various reasons. He was a very serious man, and always had the affairs of the daawah and politics on his mind. He was a man who you could say loved politics. He was arrested in March 1972, following which the security services arrested my wife and my only 4 months child, where after one night they spent in prison they kept them under arrest in my flat.
‘They released them by leaving the flat when by May 1972 they had arrested me. We both spent until March 1973 in solitary confinement. There were 3 of us out of about 13 in all, who spent 3 months being tortured and interrogated daily. But, Alhamdullillah our spirits generally remained high. This was a very harsh time for us. We spent time memorizing Quran, and made the most of the isolation.
‘Things changed in March 1973, when we were moved into more open cells, with groups of people. After 3 months we were moved to an open prison where we decided to start halaqaat – of the regular books of study, and made approximately 2 per day. Then he and I decided we would try and get hold of books in English – on Political theory, current affairs, economics and history. We decided to make regular halaqaat on these twice a day, translating the ideas into Arabic and recording them on audio cassette for the benefit of others.
‘This was until some Baathist prisoners, confused by the fact that as Islamic prisoners we study politics, informed the security agency, who confiscated some of our books, and returned some of our brothers to solitary confinement.
‘We were released without condition, after prolonged unsuccessful attempts to make us sign compromising documents, even by bringing our parents, wives and children to put emotional pressure on us. Abu Imad had to be separate from his wife, who was emotionally very strong, but physically very sick, where she and their seven children remained to live in Syria. He was in Beirut at the time Shaykh Taqideen an-Nabhani passed away, but continued to work closely with his successor Shaykh Abdul Qadeem Zalloum, May Allah give them Rahma.
Al Ustadh Abu Imad spent the last years of his life in Jordan, as part of the Ameer’s office of Hizb ut-Tahrir. He was imprisoned there frequently, where he suffered heart attacks. Despite this he worked relentlessly. He was unquestionably one of the most profound political thinkers, reading many English political journals including the journal ‘Foreign Affairs’ every month, as well as two French political journals and all the main newspapers. He also authored the book Afkar Siyassiyah [Political Thoughts] and a two volume book about the last 200 years of political development in Europe. He continued to make political analysis right until the end, when Allah took him unto Himself. His friend smiled and recounted one last tale.
‘I remember one nice thing. We were in the harsh days of prison in Syria. We were tipped off by a prisoner who used to serve the food that they planned to poison myself and Abu Imad, with a slow poison that would kill us after release from the prison. It was a known technique then. We became so careful about the food we ate, only eating dry solid things, as these would be harder to hide poison in. That was a time when we hit a low point. In isolated cells, separated from each other [he was in number one and I was in number 12]. We had no news of the outside, or even where we were at the time. We had no idea, who else had been arrested, or if anyone knew of our situation. The security services even tried to say they were about to catch Shaykh Taqiudeen an-Nabhani and that he would join us soon.
‘In this dark time, where death in isolation seemed so real to me I was honored with two dreams. The first was that of the Prophet, Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, giving me hope and inspiration.
‘In the second dream I was in a beautiful dense green forest, of a type which we do not get in the Middle East. There were clear and open areas inside the forest, where I was walking. Then I saw large numbers of beautiful young women, of different looks and complexions. One had very beautiful eyes, to which I was very attracted, so I approached her. I extended my hand to her for her to stand and hold it, but she surprisingly said “No! I am not for you, I am for Muhammad Sabri! ” He was very pleased when I shouted this news to him the next morning from cell number twelve to number one.’<br>
We pray that Allah SWT really honors him with this, and much more than this, and accepts him into al Firdaws, and raises him with the prophets, honest, martyrs and righteous