The history books speak to us of another land that carried upon it believers in Allah, the army of Alb Arsalaan. Coming home from one of their battles, As they made their way home to Khuraasan, a messenger rode up to Alb Arsalaan and whispered to him: The emperor of Constantiniyya heard of your army and is bringing an army of 600 thousand to crush you - led by the war general Romanis!
By Allah they did not gather than many fighters for no other reason that to quell the fear they had of Islam, the cowardice they tasted in their hearts.
As Arsalaan swallowed the news he glanced into the eyes of every one of his 15 thousand Mujahids, knowing that there was little hope of victory. This faction nursing their wounds, another weeping over the brothers that fell, a third weeping for losing the chance of Jannah. His head drooped at the sentence the messenger had brought and then he picked his heart up like a lion.
Look brothers and sisters at the numbers. 600 thousand prepared to fight 15 thousand! Is this any physical strength that people speak of? No, by Allah, it is the strength of Iman, the strength of Aqeedah, the strength of hearts filled with certainty in Allah and His Messenger and the Final Day. Isn't that enough?
What was Arsalaan to do? Should he continue back to his home and let the forces of evil destroy his nation with their vice, Shahaawaat? Or should he stand like a rock in their face even if it meant his and his armies death?
A few moments, and the rays of Iman shone from his heart.
Arsalaan slipped into his tent and dressed himself in the towels he would be buried in, fragrancing himself with hanoot. He then addressed the entire army, saying: "Today Islam is in danger! Today Muslims are in danger! And I fear that Laa ilaaha illaa Allaah will be wiped away from our land!" He then shouted, "Waa Islaamaah! (O Islaam!!) Waa Islaamaah!! (O Islaam!!). Look at me, I have worn the towels of my coffin and have fragranced myself with hanoot. Whoever wants Jannah, let them dress as I have dressed! We are going to fight under the shade of Laa ilaaha illa Allah until we are destroyed or the flag of Laa ilaaha illaa Allah is raised!"
In moments the entire army stepped into the quarters and all 15 thousand Mujahids came out in the garments of their coffin. The fragrance of Hanoot was on all their bodies, the wind of Jannat Al firdows blew in their faces. The sky erupted with the armies shouts of `Allahu Akbar!! Allaahu Akbar!! Yaa Khayl Allah uthbuti!! Yaa Khayl Allah irkabee!!'
Allahu Akbar! Have you ever seen an army stepping onto a plain that they know - with little doubt - they will be resurrected from on the Day of Judgement? Have you ever seen an army wrapped in the thobes of their coffin before beginning the battle? Have you ever smelt the fragrance of death - Hanoot - hovering 15 thousand believers in Allah?
That day, the Kuffar did.
The armies clashed - one believing in Allah and desiring the appointment with Allah, the other disbelieving in Allah and hating to meet him. The fighting was severe, Allahu Akbar cut through the sky. Every Mujahid stepped forward, on their tongues were the words, "I am coming to you, O Allah, in haste so that you may be pleased with me."
Heads flew and skulls fell to the ground and blood flowed. As the dust clouds softened, the flag of Islam rose high, the crusaders fled in all directions. Someone shouted, "The Romans are defeated and their general - Romanis - has been captured."
Innumerable Muslims were martyred - in sha' Allah - that day, and many were left crying. They were not crying for war spoils that they lost. No, by the He who raised the heavens without any poles. They were crying because that had to take off their coffin wrap after they had sold themselves to Allah. Alb Arsalaan, stood crying, thanking Allah.
Dear brothers and sisters, this is what is written in the history books, but pick up the newspaper today and you will see it happening again.
The Romans have now been replaced by the Russians. Those Khuraasaan Muslim army of Alb Arsalaan has now been replaced by our brothers and sisters in Chechneya. A Kaafir correspondent writes about the plight our Muslims are facing:
[For the past four months, 5,000 lightly-armed Chechen warriors fighting on flat, open terrain that favours air, armour and artillery, have held off 160,000 Russian troops, backed by regiments of heavy guns and rockets, helicopter gunships, ground attack aircraft, and thousands of tanks and armoured vehicles. Russia's generals have repeatedly vowed to "exterminate" the Chechen. All Chechen males from 6-65 are being thrown into concentration camps.
Chechen mujahedin, most without any formal military training, have no heavy weapons and are chronically short of radios, anti-tank rockets and even small-arms ammunition. There is almost no medicine or morphine for their wounded, and no shelter from massive Russian bombardment that includes banned fuel air explosives, toxic gas, and napalm. If taken alive by the Russians, they will be tortured, then executed.
In the first Chechen war, 1994-96, Russia killed over a 100,000 Chechen civilians, razed much of the small country, and, in an act of monumental terrorism, scattered 17 million anti-personnel land mines across the tiny nation. Russia was driven from Chechnya in 1996, but its hardliners and communists vowed to "exterminate the Chechen bandits." Their man Putin's first act as president was to declare a crusade - blessed by the Russian Orthodox Church - against Chechnya. Moscow demanded revenge for 1996 and for defeat at the hands of Muslim mujahedin in Afghanistan.While Russian troops fought their way into Grozny, elite Russian forces were pushing into the southern mountains. Chechen units are battling ferociously, under intense shelling and bombing, to defend the strategic Shatoi and Vedeno gorges. Outnumbered 20-1, the Chechens' defend the mountain passes]
Allah questions us all sitting here in this Masjid: [but if they seek your aid in (the name) of the Deen (al-Islam), it is your duty to help them,] surah Anfal, 8, 72. Have you heard, dear brothers and sisters, the word of one of the Muslim defenders of Chechneya:
"At a time when the world has left us entirely, we ask Muslims around the world not to forget the ordeal of their brothers in Chechnya fighting jihad against Russian oppression."
Allah ta'ala revealed: [And never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision.] - 3, 169.
When Jaabir's (RAA) father was martyred on the day of Uhud, he sat over his slain body and uncovered the sheet from his face and weeped. He narrates, "The Companions forbade me of my excessive weeping, but Rasul Allah did not say anything. He then said, `Do not cry for him, for verily the angels shaded him with their wings until (his soul) was raised to the heavens.'" - Tafseer ibn Katheer and Zaad Al-Ma'aad, 6/p.33.
Rasul Allah - Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - later told him, "Allah raised your father and spoke to him directly! And told him, `My slave, ask whatever you want!'" - Hasan, narrated by Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.
Abdullah (RAA) was asked about that verse [And never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision.] He said: We asked the same question to Rasul Allah - Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - and he told us, "the souls (of the Shuhaadaa') are in the bodies of green birds with nests hanging from the Throne (of Allah). They travel (back and forth) in Paradise as they wish, then they return to their nests. Allah looked towards them and asked, `Do you wish for anything?' They said, `What else shall we desire when we are allowed to travel (back and forth) in Paradise as we wish.' Allah allows them to go and come three times and repeats the question every time. When they realize that they must ask for something, they say, `O Allah! Return our souls to our bodies so that we may return to the Dunya and be martyred again!' - Ibn Katheer
Dear brothers and sisters, for what reason was this reward so high, the highest honor in Islam. To understand, all one must do is look and experience the fear and pain and blood that Muslims go through in this path. In Chechneya, the Muslim soldiers are being sodomized, raped by the Russians. And often, they make them rape themselves. They do this to entire villages, arresting up to 700 seniors, young men, and young boys, beating them, torturing them, murdering them, just to filter out 7 Mujaahideen they claim.
You may have seen the pictures of our brothers being dragged on their naked bodies by Russian tanks to their death. Those are not random people, that is your mother and father, your brother and sister, your son and daughter. When their leg is blown off, it is your leg that was amputated. When their mother is raped, it is your mother that was raped. When their throats are slit, it is your throat that was slit. The Muslims are one, ONE, body!
[And what is (the matter) with you that you fight not in the cause of Allah and (for) the oppressed among men, women, and children who say, "Our Lord, take us out of this city of oppressive people and appoint for us from Yourself a protector and appoint for us from Yourself a helper.] - Surah 4:75.
A friend of mine spoke to the son of a Muslim family that had left Canada to live amongst the struggles of their brothers and sisters in one of the boiling Muslim countries. He asked that little boy, "Aren't you afraid your father will be killed when he goes for Jihad?" That little boy understood the issue when he replied, "I am not scared, because Baba promised that if he dies Shaheed he's going to take us to Jannah with him."
Part II
When I was young, I listened to a clip of a speech in which the Shaykh concluded, "Verily I was eaten the day the white bull was eaten." It stuck in my mind those words, and years later someone explained it to me.
There once lived three bulls, a white bull, a black bull, and a red bull. Looking for food, a lion watched them graze together and realized he could not contend with all three. So he went to the black and red bull and made a deal with them. He told them that he was very ferocious and powerful and that if they let him eat the white bull, he would leave them in peace. The black and red bull agreed, and the lion murdered and then ate the white bull.
Time passed and the lion became hungry again. He went to the red bull and argued that he was ferocious and powerful and that if he let him eat the black bull he would leave him in peace. The red bull agreed and the lion murdered and then ate the black bull.
As time passed and the lion became hungry, he visited the red bull again. As the red bull saw death in the lions eye, as the teeth dug deep into it's neck, it shouted, "Verily I was eaten the day the white bull was eaten!"
[And they will continue to fight you until they make you turn back on your Deen (al-Islam) if they can.]
Many people justify having a television in their house, surround sound, leather couches with a satellite dish connection so that they can watch the news. I ask you dear brothers and sisters, where are these Muslims when they see what they see on that news. Have they come forward to tell us where Chechneya is on the map? Have they told us of what is happening? Have they stood in all seriousness - Iman shining - to make a difference?
Or did they watch and then change the channel to pass time on a basketball game?
In the month of Safar, 4 years after Hijrah, Abu Baraa' Aamir ibn Maalik came to Madinah to meet Rasul Allah - Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam. Rasul Allah invited him to Islam, but he refused. He requested however that Rasul Allah send some scholars to teach them about Islam, perhaps his tribe may be guided. Rasul Allah - Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - said, "I fear for them from the people of Najd." He said, "I shall protect them." Rasul Allah - Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - sent 70 of the most knowledgeable Sahaabah, Al-Mundhir ibn `Amr was their Ameer. They traveled until they arrived at Bi'r Ma'oonah (the Well of Ma'oonah). From there they sent Haraam ibn Malhaan with the message of Rasul Allah to Aamir ibn At-Tufayl. When Aamir received the letter, he did not read it. He merely winked to someone. From the back Rasul Allah's messenger was speared through his entire back. He shouted in his last words, "By the lord of the Ka'bah I have won!" Aamir then called for the assitance of some tribes, and Usayyah, Ri'l, and Dhakwaan answered his vile request. They ambushed the companions waiting at the well of Ma'oonah and slit all their throats.
For an entire month, Rasul Allah - after Ruku' in Salat Al-Maghrib - would raise his hand in Qanoot, seeking the curse of Allah upon those people.
In the Qanoot Rasul Allah prayed: [O Allah forgive the believers, men and women. And the Muslims, men and women. Join their hearts, correct that which is between them, and grant them victory over their enemies and Your enemies. O Allah! Curse the Kuffar of the people of the book, those that disbelieve in Your Messengers, and fight your beloved ones. O Allah! Divide their word, shake the earth from under their feet, and rain upon them your wrath which the criminals can never repel. In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. O Allah! We seek your help!] - AlBaihaqi in AsSunan AlKubra.
If Rasul Allah - Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - heard of what is happening to our Ummah in Chechneya, ask yourself, what would he do? And what would he expect from you? Are you waiting for Rasul Allah - Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - to come and carry the banner? Listen:
[Muhammad in nothing but a Messenger. (Other) Messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels. And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allah at all; but Allah will reward the grateful.] - 3, 144.
What can we do?
We should follow authentic news coming from Chechneya. One of the best places to get that news is from the Muslim Website: Qoqaz.net Encourage others to read from there and link to that page on your own websites.
Learn about what is happening and teach as many people as you can of the situation, causing a stir of authentic and unbiased information.
Boycott any companions that come from Russia, and any products that come from Russia.
And at the least - something that if we do not do . Allah only knows to what low our Iman has dropped - we must make Dua for our brothers, praying to Allah to curse the Kafir Russian Army as Rasul Allah - Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - cursed the tyrants involved in the murder of the Muslims at Bi'r Ma'oonah.
O Allah! destroy the Russian army.
O Allah! Make the ground shake in an earthquake from under them.
O Allah, they do not glorify you, show them the blackest day of their lives, as you showed the People of Aad and Thamud.
O Allah, destroy them all, not leaving anyone to escape.
O Allah make their wives widows, their children orphans.
O Allah! Grant victory to our brothers and sisters in Chechneya and everywhere in the world, Yaa Allah!
O Allah! Have mercy on their widowed women and their orphaned children!
O Allah! Whoever died from them, enter them into Jannat Al-Firdows with your Mercy!
O Allah! Forgive us, forgive us, forgive us, for doing nothing but watch.
By Muhammad Alshareef. Muhammad Alshareef was born in 1975 and raised in Canada. In his youth, he memorized the Quran and later graduated with an Islamic Law degree from the Islamic University of Madinah, class of 1999. He is the founder of AlMaghrib Institute through which he teaches university-level seminars on Islam. AlMaghrib Institute seminars have been conducted across the USA and Canada, as well as in Australia.
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