Risālat al-ta‛ālīm: A Translation and Historical Contextualization of Ḥasan al-Bannā’s «Letter of the teachings»

This article provides a first edition and an annotated translation of al-Banna’s Risālat alta‛ ālīm introduced by an analysis of the historical and ideological meaning of the text. The Risālat al-ta‛ālīm, most probably written in its final form in 1943 by the Muslim Brothers’ founder and main ideologue Ḥasan al-Bannā, strongly reflects a crucial moment in the history of Egypt, and in that of the largest and oldest Islamist movement. At the same time, the Risālat alta‛ ālīm is until today the single basic ideological and creedal text that every full member of the Jamā‛at al-Ikwān al-Muslimīn is required to know, especially as it lays down the ten pillars of the oath of allegiance (arkān al-bay῾a) due to the Society and its leader. The «Letter of the teachings» has so f ar not been the object of a full scholarly translation and commentary in any Western language.