Nay, by the name of Allah I will never smile until I liberate it or die.

Nay, by the name of Allah I will never smile until I liberate it or die." Some of al-Azhar's Shaykhs used to come to these meetings and liked what I recited from the Qur'anic verses and the sayings of the Great (s.a.w.), besides they were impressed by my strong arguments and asked me from which university I had graduated.

I used to answer them proudly that I graduated from al-Zaituna University which was established before al-Azhar, and added, that the Fatimids - who established al-Azhar - started from the town of al-Mahdiah in Tunis. I met many learned people in al-Azhar, and some of them presented me with a few books.

One day while I was at the office of an official responsible for the al-Azhar affairs, a member of the Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council came to attend a mass meeting for the Muslim and Coptic Communities in one of the biggest Railway Companies in Cairo. The mass meeting was held in protest against Sabotage activities in the aftermath of the June war.

The member of the Command Council insisted on my accompanying him to the meeting, so I accepted the invitation, and sat on the VIP rostrum between father Shnoodah and the Azhari Shaykh. I was also asked to address the meeting, which I did with ease due to my experience in giving lectures in Mosques and Cultural Committees in Tunis. The main point which I have mentioned in this chapter is that I started feeling big and somehow over confident, and I thought I had actually become learned.

Why should I not feel so when there were a number of Ulama from al-Azhar who attested for me, some of them even told me that my place was there, i.e. at al-Azhar. What really made me proud of myself was the fact that I was allowed to see some of the Great Prophet's (s.a.w.) relics. An official from Sidi al-Husayn Mosque in Cairo took me to a room which could only be opened by himself.

After we entered he locked it behind us, then he opened a chest and got the Great Prophet's (s.a.w.) shirt and showed it to me. I kissed the shirt, then he showed me other relics which belonged to the Prophet (s.a.w.), and when I came out of the room I cried and was touched by that personal gesture, especially when the official did not request any money from me, in fact he refused to take it when I offered it to him.

In the end, and only after my insistence, he took a small amount and then he congratulated me for being one of those who have been honored by the grace of the Great Prophet (s.a.w.).