AND WHAT OF THE WIDOWS…..
The Heart-rending story of a Mujahida, who was prey for the FBI
9/11 occurred and as a result, candlelit vigils took place in all the lands of kufr. Conferences were arranged, where condolences were given. Tears were shed in memory of the dead. Messages of condolence continued to arrive for the families of the dead. President Bush, holding his wife’s hand, pledged to destroy those responsible for the destruction of the Twin Towers and stated he would not rest until this mission was fulfilled. However, after this incident, acts of terrorism were spread across muslim lands. Afghanistan was made a Hell on Earth and bullets rained down on Iraq. The executioners of Palestine and Kashmir…..Israel and India…..were granted permission to transgress all limits in the killing of muslims. Despite all this, the leader of the crusaders, Bush, and his allies remained unsatisfied, and their thirst for Muslim blood continues.
I read in the paper that the children of the victims of 9/11 were presented with flowers and gifts, and my heart became restless. I remembered one of the countless stories which were borne from Jewish and American terrorism. These are the stories which the sons, daughters and young children of Rasul Allah (SAAW) have written, and are continuing to write, on the pages of this century. They enter the jaws of death in the Hell that the Mongols of today have created. The passing of centuries will not allow us to forget these people. They will be the shining and guiding light for the coming generations.
I come to the point of this conversation. Recently, I attended a Halaqah on the Qur’aan and a sister greeted me. She introduced herself in Urdu, but had an Arabic accent and commented that she had come to the Halaqah to meet me.
Me: May I ask who you are?
Sister: My name is Umme Usmaan. These days I live in Karachi. Me: With whom?
Umme Usmaan: With my son and daughter, Khadija.
She pointed towards her children, who were sitting on the floor conversing with each other in Arabic, and another sister who was sitting with them. Usmaan must have been about 4 years old and Khadija about 2 ½. I desired a more detailed introduction with Umme Usmaan and so we, along with her children and the other sister, went into a separate room .As Umme Usmaan began to speak, I got goosebumps on my body. I felt very hurt and pained. I could not take my eyes off her, even for a second. She was telling me that a few months earlier, in the area of Defence, two Arab Mujhaideen had been arrested for having links with Al Qaeda. Their house was raided in the hours of the early morning and shots were fired at their home, as a result of which, one of the brothers was severely injured. Both were arrested and both were blood brothers. The police also arrested a ‘female terrorist’ who was due to give birth any day. This news was printed in all the national papers. “At this time I was in Saudi Arabia visiting my parents. This incident was regarding my husband, his older brother and his older brother’s wife. The owner of the house informed me of the event on the phone and told me not to come to Pakistan. However, I booked my own and my childrens’ tickets at once and arrived in Pakistan the following day. Our house had been turned upside down. The doors and windows had bullet holes in them and my husband’s blood was splattered all over the floor. Every single thing in the house had been searched. I have no idea as to what those people were searching for. Everyone I spoke to told me not to stay at the house, but I decided I was going to stay in my home. However, a close friend of ours took me to their home. They had a small portion in the loft where they let me stay.
I used every means possible to try and determine the whereabouts of my family. I discovered that the likely fate of the men was that they had been handed over to America and as for the case of my sister-in-law, she was still in the country and I was able to arrange a meeting with her. With the help of an army officer, I was taken to the jail, in a car with black windows. On arrival, I was made to stand in front of the window of a narrow, dark room in the female prison. There I saw my sister-in-law sitting on the floor in a state of semi-madness. I began to cry uncontrollably when I saw her. She jumped up and came towards the window. She said, ‘Fatima, Where is my veil? Fatima, bring me my veil.’ She then began to scream loudly and then fell silent again and returned to where she had been sitting. It was as if she had been stunned. For some time, I remained there, trying to pull myself together, and then returned home silently. On my return, I explained the scenario to my previous landlord. He told me that when my sister-in-law had been arrested and placed in the awaiting car, she had not been allowed to wear her large veil (chador). She had also been barefoot. Along with the police officers, there had also been American soldiers present and the neighbours were watching the scene from their doors, windows and balconies, fearfully. What time had befallen the honourable mothers and daughters of Islam and what destructive and humiliating sights were occurring on this pure and honourable land?
I ran around trying to get bail for my sister-in-law. Some, who felt my pain and others on the Path of truth, helped me in my quest. As a result, it became easier for me to visit my sister-in-law. Before my sister-in-law was granted bail, she went into labour. One of the staff from the jail informed me and I immediately made my way to the prison. When I arrived there I found my sister-in-law in excruciating pain. A harsh female constable tied a piece of cloth tightly over her eyes and then she was taken into hospital. Here my sister- in-law gave birth to a beautiful, round, baby boy. This newborn child was welcomed by prison walls and in the eyes of those around him, he was a criminal. His crime was being a muslim! The success of Bush’s terrorist offensive had placed him in this situation. The Imam of the jail recited the Adhaan in his ear and charged 20 Rupees for this ‘job’! So this is our Islam! To recite the Adhaan in the ear of a muslim child and introduce him to his Deen, in order to carry out this great task, your wage is 20 Rupees!! This is just ritual Islam which we observed in Pakistan and we can see how the Adhaan and Islam is treated in this country….who better to speak about this treatment than us?
My sister-in-law was oblivious to all forms of happiness and sadness and would sometimes repeat this sentence, ‘Bring me my veil. Fatima, where is my veil?’ After a few hours we were discharged from the hospital and my sister-in-law was once again blindfolded and taken back to the narrow and dark cell she was in before. However, I was given permission to stay with her. We stayed in the prison for a few days and then my sister-in-law was granted bail. We returned home. Slowly, slowly, she began to recover. Her condition improved somewhat, due to her son, and she became normal again.” I asked, Umme Usmaan, ‘When did you come to Pakistan, and how?’ She replied, “Sister, I came here during the Iraq-Kuwait war, with my parents. At that time, I was very young. I studied here, first at school, then at the Madrassa. Then, with the help of my brother, I got married to a Mujahid, Abu Usmaan. At that time he was in Afghanistan, participating in the Jihad against the Russians. My brother also took me to Afghanistan. My family was extremely happy that we had allied ourselves with a Mujhaid.’ Me: Were you also happy?
Umme Usmaan: Yes. Why not? I was also very happy. Me: Did you ever ask Abu Usmaan to leave the jihad? Umme Usmaan: No. He would stay away from home for months on end. We would not even know of his whereabouts. On a few occasions we also heard false reports of his martyrdom. He, himself would sometimes lose confidence. He would say that he would ask permission from the Ameer to grant him leave for a while, until the children were older. I would cover his mouth and say, ‘Abu Usmaan, if you leave the Jihad I will leave you. I have married you because you are a Mujahid. I am proud of you and myself. Don’t think this way. We have set out on the path towards Jannah. Can any Mu’min think of turning back from such a journey?’ Abu Usmaan would then become happy and he would feel stronger and more confident. He would seat both his children in his lap and say, ‘Umme Usmaan, the journey of a Mujahid can be very brief or very lengthy. I have left you in the care of Allah. Allah will look after you all.’ It was during this time that the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan. Russian communism disintegrated and we made our way to Pakistan. Abu Usmaan joined the Jihad in Kashmir. After spending a few years in the Kashmiri Jihad, he returned to Afghanistan to join the resistance against the Americans. During the struggle, he returned to Pakistan……..the place which we called our second home…..and was captured by the Americans. Not only was Abu Usmaan captured but so was his brother who did not even participate in the Jihad. He ran his own business, yet he was punished - for uncommitted crimes.
Umme Usmaan’s eyes filled with tears. I averted my gaze and called Usmaan, who was sitting on a chair eating a biscuit. I asked him, ‘Usmaan, where is your father?’ He replied, spontaneously, ‘Fil Jannah!’ (In Jannah!). ‘Insha’Allah’, added little Khadija. Umme Usmaan smiled and said, “When they ask about their father, I tell them he is Jannah because I cannot say for sure where he is. I don’t even know if he is alive. It is possible that he is Shaheed because he was injured severely during the raid.
Me: Umme Usmaan, how do you manage financially?
Umme Usmaan: I teach in a school. My parents also send me some money from Saudia. Alhamdulillah, we manage quite well.
Me: Now, what plan do you have for Usmaan? What is he going to do?
Umme Usmaan: He will do that which all muslims have been sent here to do. In this world, he will do Jihad. Insha’Allah.
Me: The only son, a single mother and one sister. If he participates in the Jihad, then what will you do?
Umme Usmaan sighed and said, “We, mother and daughter will carry out Fidayee missions. We will sacrifice ourselves for Islam. We will take revenge from the Kuffar.” Umme Usmaan’s eyes filled with a spiritual and mysterious sparkle. Her shining face filled with pleasure. Some days earlier, in a newspaper report, I had read that women in Palestine and Iraq were often sacrificing their lives in Fidayee missions. The Jews and others had labelled them ‘Black Widows’. These widows, who are erasing the dark nights from their lives, by lighting lamps with their blood, are creating rows of mourning in the palaces of the Kuffar. In front of my very eyes was seated a ‘black widow’. A Fidayee widow, a Fidayee orphan daughter and a Fidayee son. Usmaan, Khadija, Fatima; my blood started to boil. Fatima took out a small Qur’an and lovingly presented me with it, saying, “Please accept this gift and visit me often. Don’t forget me.”
I remained silent. A voice from inside me said, “Fatima, can one forget such people? Never! Such people remain on the pages of history for centuries, as if they are shining stars. Jewish, Christian and other Satanic nations gather to destroy them; They use daisy cutters and the mothers of all bombs to swallow them up, they burn them to ashes, create so many graves that they become as high as mountains……..yet these droplets of light will remain radiant. The face of Islam does not need decorative tears, candlelit vigils and condolences. The followers of Islam just want the Pleasure of their Lord, to be obedient to their Messenger (SAAW) and the glad tidings of Paradise. They know and believe that their blood provides the light for Truth and clears the Path for this Deen. They are the epitome of the Words of Allah;
‘That you believe in Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad SAAW) and that you strive hard and fight in the Cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives: that will be better for you, if you but know!’ (Surah 61: V11)
and:
‘And also (He will give you) another (blessing) which you love, ---- help from Allah (against your enemies) and a near victory. And give glad tidings (O Muhammad SAAW) to the believers.’ (Surah 61: V13)
AZZAM PUBLICATIONS