These Are the Ones from Whom I Fear for the Jihad and the Mujahidin!
Praise be to Allah, alone, and may peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no Prophet.
As for what follows:
Indeed, those who are quick to demoralize and abandon their cause are known from their ambiguous words, as well as from their clear words. They are known, and are not hidden from anyone, and their evil is avoided. At the same time, there is another group that harms the Jihad and the Mujahidin, and severely damages the Jihadi manhaj – in the name of Jihad, claiming to love Jihad and the Mujahidin, defending them, etc. – and few are those who have come to know of them. So, it becomes a must to come to know them and some of their characteristics and traits, in order that we avoid them and warn from them!
And from the most common traits of this group of people:
1 – They are known for their commotion, noise, ranting, lack of manners, bad character – all so that people would think that they are upon some knowledge and action, and that they are from the people of Jihad and ijtihad, and that they are upon something – and in reality, they are not upon anything!
2 – They are known for raising their voices above the voice of the Prophet, and above the Qur’anic text, and above the people of knowledge. They do not respect anything or anyone. They are driven by excessive zeal for Jihad, killing, and fighting, and their zeal in reality is nothing more than ranting, and more ranting – like a mirage that someone imagines to be a waterfall!
3 – They go for every opinion – even if it is wrong – that leads to extremism, harshness, and the spilling of blood – even if that blood was forbidden!
4 – They accuse everyone who opposes them – even if he is right – of abandoning the cause, enmity to the Jihad and the Mujahidin – all in order to turn the people away from them.
You find them involved in every debate and argument, with their chests puffed up, and their voices raised. However, when the time comes for something to be done, they turn back, look away, and run away, and it is as if the issue doesn’t concern them in the least!
5 – They utilize the methods of excitement, ranting, raising of voices, excessive zeal, and raising of the slogans of fighting and killing, in order to strike fear into the hearts of those who oppose them – all without any knowledge or insight, or consideration of the guidelines and goals of the Shari’ah. So, you see that they are unable to clearly see beyond their own noses, and this is because they do not wish to see past this!
6 – In addition to their utter ignorance, you see them – and with all boldness, lack of religious character, and humility – discussing very important and major matters of the Religion, making this permissible and that forbidden, placing this in the East and that in the West, declaring this person mistaken and that person correct, etc. And woe to you if you were to point out their mistakes, oppose them, or advise them – they would immediately make you out to be a sellout who is against Jihad and the Mujahidin, as they claim!
7 – If they look to the statements of the people of knowledge, they do not do so in order to benefit or learn from them. Rather, they wish to dig out the rare, strange, and doubtful opinions from here and there in order to strengthen and back up their rants, ignorance, falsehood, and excitability!
8 – They belittle the rights and honor of others, and they never uphold any agreement, promise, or pact. This is because they do not know what it means to have agreement or safety, nor do they know what it means to be treacherous, and what that entails of punishment.
If they dispute with you, they are vile, and if they make an agreement, they prove treacherous, and if you trust them with something, they betray you – such as in the hadith describing the traits of the hypocrites. Their manners and character are disgraceful, and are reflective of a feminine way of thinking and disputing!
9 – They belittle the slaves of Allah, especially those of them who oppose them in an issue. They look down on them with arrogance because they – as Satan beautifies for them, with their excessive ranting and raving – are the Mujahidin, and everyone else is from those who sit back, and have abandoned the cause!
10 – They do not know of something called balance and justice. They do not look for the truth from themselves or other than them…as they are always right, and everyone else is upon falsehood!
And with this, they combine the traits of rejecting the truth and belittling the Creation – and this is arrogance in its purest form!
11 - They have terrible manners, viscous tongues, assume the worst about others, and they are the farthest people from the manners of the Mujahidin and what the Jihad requires of lofty manners, knowledge, and religious character!
12 – Their share of Jihad is nothing but rant, chatter, exciting others, and belittling the Creation. They have no known past in Jihad, or presence on the battlefield!
However, the one who hears them and sees their excessive, unfounded zeal would think that they are Abu Jihad, and Abu Mujahidin! They would think that they did not leave a single arena of the arenas of Jihad except that they visited them! So, they appear to fill themselves with what they do not give and do not have within them – just like the one who wears a gown of falsehood!
13 – They know nothing of organization or structure, or hearing and obeying. So, they do not respect or refer to any elder, as the authority that they refer to is their desires, and everything that is in accordance with their desires!
14 – They only respect the scholar so long as his opinion is in accordance with their desires. If he opposes them, they do not leave a single mistake or shortcoming except that they smear him with it, and smear it with him!
If he agrees with their saying, his statement is a proof that cannot be rejected or opposed, and they fly with him to the heavens out of happiness and joy. However, if he opposes them in an issue or opinion – even if he is right – they belittle him and his knowledge, and speak about the dangers of blindly following the scholars!
And all of this takes place in the name of zeal for Jihad and aiding the Jihad, and under the claim of defending Jihad and the Mujahidin, and the Jihad and the Mujahidin are free from them and their mannerisms, just like wolf was free from the blood of Yusuf!
And the danger of this group of people – despite their lack of numbers – is manifested in that:
- They distort the manhaj of Jihad, as well as the image that the Jihad must remain upon. So, they give others a very bad and inaccurate picture of Jihad and the Mujahidin!
- With their previously described manners, they turn the people away from helping the Mujahidin, and from traversing the path of effort and Jihad! With this, they elongate the lives of these oppressive tyrants, and keep their regimes in place longer – whether they know it or not!
- This group of people is considered a major staging ground for implanting spies and agents who work for the benefit of the enemy, as the process of breaking up the Jihadi groups by way of this type of people is very easy and simple. So, as much as you insult and belittle those who oppose you, rely on the method of ranting, excitability, excessive zeal, and utilize an overwhelming manner of speech, you will be trusted and looked to…and this is extremely easy for a spy or agent to do. Many of the modern-day Jihadi groups were attacked and broken up by way of this group of people, and the examples of this are many if we were to wish to bring them all!
Therefore, my advice to my brothers – especially the Mujahidin [may Allah protect them from all evil] – is to beware of this group of people, and to not increase their numbers, and to not turn to them, and to not lend them an ear, and to not be deceived by their excessive and baseless zeal, as excess is the brother of scarcity, and extremism is the brother of laxity.
So, the times are tough, and they do not allow for us to pay too much attention to such people or their likes from the ranters and ravers.
By Sheikh Abu Basir at-Tartosi
