Sayedaty
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Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu and welcome back to another episode of Sayyidati. Today I want to fast forward a bit and discuss the life of a resilient figure closer to home, that of Zaynab al-Ghazali, who was born in 1917 in modern-day Egypt. As a child, her father, who was a graduate of Al-Hasr University, privately tutored his daughter Zaynab, and she eventually received certificates in the fields of hadith, da'wah, and tafsir. He also encouraged her at a young age to pursue a leadership role within the community, and he reminded her of the strength of the companion Nusayb ibn al-Skab as a role model, who we'll discuss in another episode, inshallah. Since she was granted the opportunity to study at a young age with a scholar, it's no surprise that by the time she was 18 years old, she had already founded an organization for educating women and encouraging them in being active in their communities. The organization, known as the Muslim Women's Association, supposedly boasted over 3 million followers before it was later dissolved by the government. Every week, she hosted lectures at the Ibn Tulun Mosque that attracted thousands of listeners. And in addition to this educational aspect, al-Ghazali used her influence to give back to the community at a societal level by maintaining an orphanage as well as providing for poor families among many of her other contributions. In 1965, as she neared the age of 50 years old, al-Ghazali was sentenced to prison based on fabricated conspiracies. In her autobiography, she described the degree of gruesome torture she experienced, and in all honesty, it was to the extent that I wouldn't even want to speak of those abuses myself, let alone imagine withstanding them. And yet, she held firm in her beliefs and the truth she prescribed to, despite the slander and political accusations she faced. Six years later, she was finally released from imprisonment after a governmental transition of power. And for the rest of her life, she remained steadfast as an activist in her community and called upon other women to stand up for what was right through her writings and contributions. And only a little over 10 years ago, Zaynab al-Ghazali passed
away, rahimahallah. So here we have the example of a woman who displayed extraordinary resilience. She committed her life to not only educating her community, but also by ensuring that they were taken care of at a public and societal level. And of course, she did this all in spite of the pressure and physical threats she was both threatened by and sustained. Although we might not face the same circumstances as Zaynab al-Ghazali, we too should take the necessary steps in not only educating ourselves and our religion, but ensuring that those around us have those same opportunities. It's not enough to be content that we know a thing or two about the world around us if our communities are suffering at a basic human level. We need to educate ourselves in order to transform that knowledge into serving the people and serving our communities. Take, for example, her simple dedication to orphanages. That's enormous in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and there's so much reward for it mentioned in the Qur'an. She knew that. She learned that, and we have too. Yet she took that hard but necessary step in the direction of doing something about it, and she committed her life to taking care of orphans. I hope this story of Zaynab al-Ghazali inspires you to not only take care of yourself and make sure you actively find outlets for learning about your religion and the world around you, but also using that knowledge to serve the community for the better. Pick a social disparity that really gets you motivated, whether it's consistently volunteering at a soup kitchen or being active in your local city halls. Do something that you know will help contribute to those around you. Make sure to have a friend tag along. Jazakumullah khairan and we'll see you next time inshallah. Salamualikoum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu
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