» Shams al-Baroudi Riyadat an-Nafs

In the 1970’s and 80’s, the Egyptian film industry went into decline, with the rise of movies aimed mostly at making a quick buck. Seduction became one of the most important elements of these movies, and they thus showed a lot of women in seductive dress and situations, and might feature lots of scenes around pools and beaches, to show women in bikinis. There was a lot of dancing involved, and for some reason, attempted rape scenes were quite frequent.

One actress rose to stardom in this age, because of her great beauty and her willingness to play the most seductive and risque roles. Her name was Shams al-Baroudi, born in 1945 to a Syrian mother and an Egyptian father of Syrian origin. She starred in 41 films from 1965-1982.

Because her father was a religious man, and the Egyptian people are highly religious in general, she always felt guilt in her heart for the movies that she was playing, and the roles that she performed in them, but for 20 years she persisted. Sometimes the wish to leave the film industry and wear the hijab would come to her, but those around her would tell her: you are better now this way! However, she fortunately surrounded herself mostly with her old childhood friends, not friends from the film industry, and she would meet with them sometimes to recite the Qur’an on certain nights of the week, and especially in Ramadan. None of them wore the hijab, however, or fulfilled other requirements of the deen.

At that time, her readings focused on Bergson, Freud, Sartre, and other European philosophers, and she would enter philosophical debates about these matters, but at one point without any apparent reason, she suddenly stopped reading these books.

The urge to go to Umra also became suddenly lit within her, but she would say to herself: If I am going to go to visit the house of Allah, then I must start wearing the proper Islamic dress, otherwise how could I go visit it when I have not committed myself to dressing properly? But some of her friends said to her: No, no that’s not a condition! You can go to Umra, if you do not intend to commit yourself to wearing the hijab when you come back!

So she went in 1982 to the Umra, and she said: “It was the first time I wear white clothes, and don’t put any make up on my face, and I saw myself more beautiful than ever before.”

She arrived first in al-Madina al-Munawwara, and that is where the greatest moment of her life happened. She said:

“I went after the Fajr Salaat as usual to visit the grave of the beloved, the Mustafa, and in my hand was the book from which I would read the du’as as usual.

And I stood with my face in front of the grave of the Messenger, salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam. It was really crowded with women there. I grabbed the book with my hand to open it and read the du’a. But I suddenly saw the Messenger of Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam, at the door, on a level higher than us. Only his upper half appeared, and the rest of the body like a mirage.

I saw the Messenger with my eyes, and he was looking at me in particular. I couldn’t hold myself together… and I shook. And my body shivered. And I found myself saying: Ya habeebi! Ya habeebi! Ya habeebi ya Rasool Allah!

My tears were pouring out and I could see nothing in front of me except the Messenger, salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam. And sister Atiyyaat who was with me began to push me to move and to leave the place, though I couldn’t see. Moments passed, without me feeling when I moved and left the place.. My tears were pouring out, my body shivering, and I’m not uttering anything except: “Ya habeebi Ya Rasool Allah!”, until I lost all my power, and my legs could bear me no longer, and I found myself falling on my knees at one of the pillars in the women’s Prayer section. And sister Atiyyaat was trying to calm me down to stop crying and to stop repeating what I’m saying, and I was shivering.

Then I quietened down. We left together to meet my father and sister Atiyyaat’s husband. I left, silent, stunned. My father asked me: Why are you late?

I remained quiet. But sister Atiyyaat replied: Congratulate her, for our Lord has given her an opening! I heard that while I was in a state of silence, and no body knew what I had seen. I was in shock at what happened.. How did I see the Messenger? No body knew of what happened to me except after one year of my donning the hijab. I told my father and my husband Hasan. And every time I told it, my body would shiver and my tears would pour out.

I now stopped telling people what happened to me. Except if I were asked for a necessity. For this is a blessing that Allah has blessed me with.

The sight of the beloved Mustafa, salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam, was a blessing among the blessings of Allah that He gives His slaves. He gives them some of His signs, and brings down upon them of His mercy, that which supports them and pushes them and takes them by the hand to the path of Truth with determination, will, power, faith, and certainty.”

Then she went to Mecca, where she did the Tawaf. She says:

“During the first round of the seven rounds of Tawaf, Allah made it easy for me to reach the Black Stone and to kiss it. I made du’a with the strength of faith, my tears pouring down without ceasing, and I am silent. Only one du’a came to my tongue: I prayed for myself and my husband and children and parents and for everyone I know, for strong Iman. All seven rounds of Tawaf, I only prayed for strong Iman, and every round I would reach the Black Stone and kiss it.

And at the Station of Ibrahim, alayhi assalam, I stood to pray two rak’ats after the Tawaf, and recited the Fatiha. It was as if I had never recited the Fatiha before in my life, and I felt in it meanings that I consider to be a gift from Allah. And so I felt the true greatness of the Opening of the Book. I was crying and my innermost being was shaking. During the Tawaf I had felt as if many angels around the Ka’ba were looking at me. I felt the greatness of Allah as I had never felt it before in my life.

Then I went and prayed two rak’ats at the Hijr, and the same thing happened to me again. This was before the Fajr. Then my father came to take me to the women’s section for the Fajr Salaat, and by then I had become a completely different person. Some women said to me: Will you wear the Hijab after this, from now on? I said: With the permission of Allah. I noticed that even the tone of my voice had completely changed! I was completely transformed! This is all that happened to me.. And I went back (to Egypt), and after that, I never took off the Hijab.”

Shams al-Baroudi’s determination after coming back shocked everyone. This was not a religious excitement that would pass with the years. No, for two decades she was offered great sums of money to return to the cinema but refused. But not only that, she worked on getting up to 15 actresses to leave their profession, and this inspired many other actors and actresses to repent and turn to Allah. Until now she is working to get the rights to her old movies, so that she could keep them away from the television screens. She frequently pleads with the audiences to not see any of her old films.

What shaykhs have said about Shams after her transformation:

The imam and mufassir, shaykh Muhammad Mutwalli al-Sha’rawi said about her:

“Shams has surpassed us all! May Allah give her increase! She has become something else! And Allah has illuminated her inner vision. MashaAllah! MashaAllah!”

Shaykh Muhammad Khalid Thabit wrote:

“The great virtue of the Sahaba, may Allah be pleased with them all, was that they saw the Messenger of Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam, and his vision was like kohl to their eyes. And this lady, may Allah be pleased with her, saw him, salla Allahu alayhi wa Alihi wa sallam, in the waking, not in sleep. And he looked at her with his eyes, at her alone and not the people around her. And in that look was whatever was in it, and that is the favor of Allah, that He gives to whomever He wishes.”