LIES IN DISGUISE A REFUTATION OF THE‘ON THE GROUND NEWS INTERVIEW’ ‘WHY MY WIFE AND I LEFT SHABAB IN SOMALIA’.
What follows is a refutation by al-Shabab/as-Shabab of the two interviews on the links below (part 1 and 2), given by a former jihadist and his wife, who was a member of al-Shabab. Al-Shabab found the interview damaging enough, to their reputation to refute the statements in this lengthy refutation. Interestingly enough the terrorist’s running al Shabab, claim that the Westgate mall massacre, perpetrated by their killers, was an active combat, situation. The world knows that the shoppers in the mall were, of course, unarmed civilians, out browsing and shopping, characterizing such an atrocity as a combat situation shows the depths of their depravity. This post becomes all the more telling for the Caribbean since Caribbean nationals are increasingly being represented in terrorist groups, in the ME, and in Africa. Here then is the look into al Shabab from persons who were members of the terrorist group, and you can read for yourselves the so called refutation, that the terrorist group hastily resorted to in an attempt to do damage control to their already tattered image.
BY ABU MUHAMMAD AL-MUHAJIR
As WE ALL KNOW, the Islamic Ummah today is confronted by a vicious military and ideological campaign in which the global coalition of disbelievers seek to strip the Muslims of their lands, their lives, their dignity and ultimately their religion.
From East Turkistan to Mali and from Chechnya to Palestine, Muslim lands are subject to continual occupation, destruction and bombardment from air, land and sea in an attempt to prevent Muslims from implementing the pure teachings of Islamic Sharia and actualizing their goals of self-determination, unity and economic prosperity.
Despite the severity of this war against Islam, however, the Ummah has refused to succumb to its injuries and yield to oppression. By the grace of Allah, the Merciful, there has emerged from every land a band of sincere men who have sacrificed their lives and the most precious of their possessions to raise high the Word of Allah and stand in defense of Islam, its sanctities, and adherents.
Undeterred by the pains and perils of their path and unshaken by the threats of the disbelieving West, they ploughed through the difficulties of Jihad, overcoming the odds–both economically and militarily–until they established small oases of faith and pockets of resistance which later developed into fully fledged Islamic Emirates, each governed by the
pure, unadulterated teachings of Islam. من قال في مؤمن ما ليس فيه «
» أسكنه الله ردغة الخبال حتى يخرج مما قال رسول الله
راوه أبو داود“If a person says something that is not true about a believer, Allah will cause him to dwell in the pus and drippings of the people of hell until he retracts what he has said” [Abu Dawud, 3597]
These valiant soldiers were indeed worthy of our praise and admiration; worthy of our encouragement and assistance; worthy of our supplication and support. For after all, they are the vanguards of Islam and the only ones today acting as a shield for the Islamic Ummah and taking practical steps to liberate Masjid Al- Aqsa and the rest of the occupied Muslim lands from the grips of the disbelievers.
Sadly, however, instead of acknowledging the noble status of the Mujahideen, safeguarding their honour and commending their heroic feats, there has recently appeared a new trend – greatly aided by the social media – to disparage their endeavours and belittle their efforts.
As a result, different Jihadi organizations and their leaders have become the subject of hostile criticism, ridicule and ad hominem attacks from individuals who often tend to be bold, brash and ignorant youth hiding behind the cloak of anonymity.
It is truly shattering and distressing to know that while the Mujahideen are busy sacrificing their lives on the battlefield and burdened with the daily difficulties of combat and warfare, others are preoccupied in spreading their faults and sowing the seeds of dissent and discord amongst them.
Of course, not all criticism is negative, nor do all those who criticize the Mujahideen do so with malevolent intentions, however, noble intent in itself is not a justification for one to say and do as they please without taking into consideration the effects and influences their criticisms may cause. For as the illustrious companion Abdullah ibn Mas`uud once said: “how many intend good but never achieve it!”
Having said that, I recently came across a video interview entitled ‘Why My Wife and I Left Shabab’ in which an anonymous couple strongly condemn and warn against Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen. Conducted by ‘On the Ground News’ reporter brother Bilal Abdul- Kariim, I was dismayed to find most of the two-part interview to be nothing more than unsubstantiated allegations and sweeping statements that sought to delegitimize the Mujahideen of East Africa by portraying them as an oppressive band of crooks and criminals.
Although I commend brother Bilal for his efforts in bringing to light the reality of the Syrian Jihad and exposing the crimes of the Nusayri regime, disappointingly, however, not only did he completely deviate from the expected journalistic integrity and Islamic etiquettes required from a Muslim reporter, he goes even further to condone these allegations, portraying them as concrete facts. This, in itself, is a testament to the fallibility of human nature and that each one of us is prone to err. I would, therefore, like to give a few words of advice to my brother Bilal before delving into the accusations of the couple in the hope that he repents to Allah, recants these false allegations and realizes the gravity of such mistakes and the detrimental effects they could have on unity of the Mujahideen and the global Jihad in general. And all success lies with Allah.
ADVICE NUMBER ONE:
BEWARE OF ACCEPTING AND SPREADING INFORMATION
WITHOUT VERIFYING ITS AUTHENTICITY
One of the many methods in which Islam has safeguarded the cohesiveness of the Islamic community is its prohibition of relaying news without confirming its accuracy.
Allah, the Exalted, has abundantly clarified to us in the Quran the ill effects that propagating unverified news has on the unity and social fabric of the Muslim community and as such, He has commanded us to validate our information before circulating it.
Allah, the Exalted, says: “O you who believe! If a rebellious evil person comes to you with news, verify it, lest you harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful to what you have done.”
[Surah Al-Hujurat, 6] Likewise, in Surah An-Noor, Allah, the Exalted, has reprimanded the believers for spreading unconfirmed claims in the midst of the Islamic community and considered spreading rumours as something major in the sight of Allah. Although these verses were revealed in relation to a specific incident, yet they still remain as a general guideline for all Muslims on how to deal with slanderous and unproven reports that are spread against other Muslims.
Allah, the Exalted, says: “When you were propagating it with your tongues, and uttering with your mouths that whereof you had no knowledge, you counted it a little thing, while with Allah it was very great. And why did you not, when you heard it, say? “It is not right for us to speak of this. Glory be to You (O Allah) this is a great lie.” Allah forbids you from it and warns you not to repeat the like of it forever, if you are believers.” [Surah An-Noor, 15-17] Failure to adhere to the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah as it relates to the transmission of reason that Allah and His Messenger I have prohibited backbiting, slander and the spread of rumours and unverified information.
In the context of the OGN video interview, ‘Why My Wife and I Left Shabab’, brother Bilal begins his program by admitting that he cannot independently verify the authenticity of the couples’ claims and that they are merely personal accounts of events. He even goes further by acknowledging that he has not officially contacted Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen to verify the accusations and hear the other side of the story. Despite that, however, brother Bilal willingly provides the couple with a platform to spread a one-sided, gloomy depiction of the Jihad in East Africa, giving a semblance of legitimacy to accusations that, even according to him, are unsubstantiated. Whatever the case may be, entertaining allegations and presenting them as facts without double-checking their veracity is something unjustified, both from a Shari’ah as well as from a journalistic perspective.
]It is sufficient as a sin for a person to relate everything that he hears’. [Muslim‘6 Advice Number Two: Beware of Accepting the Narration of Anonymous or Unknown Individuals According to the sciences of Hadith, one of the ways to verify the authenticity of narrations is to do a background check of the individuals transmitting them to determine whether they are reliable sources of information or not. This method of inquiry was the way in which the early scholars of Hadith used to analyse the chain of narrations before ascribing any Hadith to the Messenger of Allah. The scholars would carefully scrutinize each narrator for his honesty, righteousness and accuracy to determine whether he met the necessary standards that rendered his narrations acceptable or not.
Among the standards of critique was that the biography of the narrator had to be known and he should not be majhool (unknown) or mubham (ambiguous). This sort of Al-Jahaala or anonymity is one of the many flaws that the scholars of Hadith attribute to the narrations they reject due to the difficulty or inability of scrutinizing the profile of an unknown or ambiguous narrator.
In the case of ‘Why My Wife and I Left Shabab’, brother Bilal hosts two individuals without surnames, Abdur-rahman and Saffiyah. This alone would be sufficient in itself to reject their narrations but to make matters even worse their faces are covered and their voices are altered, thereby making it impossible to know who these ‘unknowns’ are. Of course, one might argue that hiding their identities was done out of concern for their safety. The rules, however, are binding considering the harmful effects of accepting disparaging testimonies from anonymous sources. According to the scholars of Hadith a narrator who is mubham or majhool is considered dha’eef and, therefore, his narration is thrown out the window.
Al-Hafidh ibn Hajr says, فإن جمهور المحدثين لا يقبلون رواية المستور
“The majority of Hadith scholars do not accept the narration of someone who is hidden.”Al-Imam ibn Kathir says,
أما المبهم الذي لم يسم، أو من سمي ولا تعرف عينه فهذا ممن لا يقبل روايته أحد علمناه
“As for the ambiguous narrator whose name has not been mentioned, or whose name has been mentioned however his identity is unknown, then his narration is unaccepted by everyone we know.” For arguments sake, even if the identities of these individuals were known to the reporter, then that still would not justify accepting their version of events to be true without verifying them, for that would be great injustice and bias. Furthermore, it is imperative to ask ourselves, is the disparagement of these two unknown individuals enough to discredit an established Jihadi organization that has been recognized, recommended and respected by the senior leadership of all the Jihadi groups worldwide? This is a group that has been praised by the likes of Shaikh Osama ibn Laden, Shaikh Abu Basir Nasir Al-Wuhayshi, Shaikh Abu Umar al-Baghdadi, Shaikh Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, Shaikh Abu Yahya Al-Libi, Shaikh Anwar Al-Awlaki, Shaikh Mustafa Abu Yazid, Shaikh Ayman Ad-Dhawahiri and others.
Is it, therefore, logical or acceptable from a Shari’ah standpoint, for brother Bilal to cast away the praise and recommendations of such revered Islamic leaders based on the accusations of two anonymous individuals?
Not only is there the issue of anonymity which is adequate enough to render their claims baseless, but even more so is the fact that the couple themselves admit that they are no longer in Al- that they are in territories controlled by the apostate regime, since all territories in Somalia fall under these two authorities This leads us to question the motives behind their allegations and whether the couple made these statements on their own volition, without being coerced by the apostate intelligence agencies ,eliciting fabricated testimonies from former Al-Shabaab fighters and using them to deter other young men from the path of Jihad has been the modus operandi of the apostate regime since Al-Shabaab’s withdrawal from Mogadishu in 2011. Notable cases include one of Al-Shabaab’s former media officers, Hassan Haji Hanafi, who was forced to confess to a series of concocted allegations following intense torture sessions in underground prisons only for the reality to be discovered shortly before his execution. Another case is that of Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan, AKA ‘Misky’, the Minnesotan man who was social held by the apostate regime and was, remarkably enough, given access to the media to lure other Muhajireen from the ranks of Al-Shabaab in lieu of a lenient sentence. So a multitude of unanswered questions still remain. Where exactly is the couple? If they are indeed in Mogadishu, could it be that they are also being used as pawns by the apostate intelligence agencies?
Why did their accusations of rape suddenly coincide with the BBC’s recent stories about the alleged sex slaves in Boni forest? Could this be part of the new media strategy devised at the recent London Conference on Somalia to combat the Mujahideen?
Due to the dangers of accepting narrations from dubious or unknown individuals, the pious predecessors were very strict in accepting narrations, Hadith or otherwise, without initially investigating the biography, motives, and truthfulness of the narrator. It was for this reason that Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak used to say: الإسناد عندي من الدين لولا الإسناد لقال من شاء ما شاء
“I consider the chain of narrators to be a part of the religion. If it were not
for a chain of narrators everyone would have said what he wants.” Thus, taking into consideration the gravity of the allegations and the damaging consequences they may cause, it would have been befitting for brother Bilal to carefully scrutinize the profile of Abdurahman ‘Doe’ and Saffiyah ‘Doe’ to know whether these anonymous individuals were trustworthy sources of information before disseminating their narratives to the world as facts.
As for the reality on the ground, then as a Mujahid stationed on the battlefields of East Africa, I testify before Allah, the Most High, that what I have witnessed in the Islamic Wilaayat is in total contradiction to the picture depicted by Bilal and the couple in the OGN interview.
I have spent nearly a decade in Somalia and have had the opportunity to live and fight alongside many other Muhajireen from different parts of the world. It is an honour to be a soldier of Allah and part of HSM’s Muhajireen cadre – a cadre that consists of the most varied composition of races, ethnicities and nationalities. United by a common creed and the desire to support the religion of Allah and help in the establishment of Islamic Shari’ah, we, the Muhajireen, have become a part and parcel of the fabric of the Somali society just as the Muhajireen of Makkah became a pillar of the Islamic community in Medina. By Allah, every sincere Muhajir would, without a shred of doubt, testify to the generosity, hospitality and selfless sacrifice of the Ansar of Somalia and their love of Islamic Shari’ah.
This is a land in which millions of Muslims relish under the Shade of Sharia and enjoy security and prosperity; a land that has become a beacon of hope for every oppressed Muslim in East Africa and beyond and where thousands of Muslim families have flocked to, seeking refuge under the protection of the Mujahideen; a land upon whose soil, the haughtiness of the enemies was decimated; a land where thousands of Muhajireen and Ansar have sacrificed their lives in order for the religion of Allah to take hold in this blessed land.
What is deeply saddening today is that we have people who, after failing to persevere in the path of Jihad, due to their inherent weaknesses, are now trying to uproot the tree of Shari’ah that was irrigated with the pure blood of thousands of Martyrs.
The same individuals who were yesterday welcomed with open arms are today stabbing in the back the very people who gave them a home and a helping hand so that they can freely practise their religion. These were the people who opened up their arms and warmly welcomed the Muhajireen into their homes and gave them preferential treatment, even more than their own sons and daughters. These were the people who sacrificed their lives, wealth and time to ensure that their Muhajireen brothers were never in need.
It is not peculiar however, to find in every Jihadi theatre people who always overlook the immense achievements of the Mujahideen and preoccupy themselves with finding faults and spreading baseless rumours and Somalia is no exception. There have always been those who, stimulated by personal grievances and lack of knowledge, seek to turn the entire struggle of the Muslims of East Africa into trivial bickering and forget the ultimate goal of liberating Muslim lands from the grips of the disbelievers. Abdurrahman and Saffiya are just the latest in a string of similar attempts to delegitimize the Jihad in East Africa by casting doubts over the motives of the Mujahideen and accusing them of heinous crimes, even going as far as hurling them with allegations of rape and the senseless murder of innocent Muslims.
Had they had any insight into the history of the Mujahideen of East Africa, they would have come to know that the first martyrdom operation ever carried out by HSM in Mogadishu was done so as a retaliation for the honour of a Muslim sister who was raped by the Ethiopian soldiers.
Accusing the Mujahideen of committing zina and raping Muslim women is a betrayal of the blood of the martyrdom seekers who sacrificed their lives and everything in their possession to preserve the dignity, chastity and honour of their Muslim sisters. Had brother Bilal and his anonymous interviewees known the severity of accusing a Muslim of rape without evidence and the stern punishment set by Islamic Shari’ah for such unfounded accusations, they wouldn’t have come out so brazenly with these allegations.
Allah, the Exalted, says, “And those who accuse chaste women, and produce not four witnesses, flog them with eighty stripes, and reject their testimony forever, they indeed are the Fasiqoon (sinners).” [Surah An-Noor, 4]
Allah, the Exalted, says, “Verily, those who like that (the crime of) illegal sexual intercourse should
be propagated among those who believe, they will have a painful torment in this world and in the
Hereafter. And Allah knows and you know not.” [Surah An-Noor, 19]
As for the claims that Harakat Al-Shabab al-Mujahideen are indiscriminate in their killings, then this is clearly rejected by the many-recorded incidents, both by the disbelievers and HSM’s media department, which prove that the Mujahideen exert their utmost effort to distinguish between Muslims, non-Muslims and women and children while carrying out military operations.
The Westgate siege, Garissa, Mpeketoni and Mandera attacks are all documented examples of how the Mujahideen take great care to preserve the sanctity of life and only spill the blood of those legislated by Allah and His Messenger. Of course, in any Jihadi arena there will be isolated incidents where innocent people lose their lives even after taking the necessary precautions, because after all, the Mujahideen are not infallible and operate in a war zone where there is a mixture of Muslims and disbelievers.
Even during the time of the Messenger of Allah there were a handful of cases in which the companions set out on expeditions and accidently killed those who did not deserve to bekilled. Classical examples are the story of Khalid ibn al-Walid and the tribe of Bani Jadhima and the story of Usama ibn Zayd when he was dispatched to the tribe of Juhayna, where innocent Muslims lost their lives at the hands of the noble companions. In no way, however, does this render their Jihad illegitimate nor can we brand them as murderers who targeted innocent Muslims.
Likewise, if we were to hypothetically say that innocent people were killed during some of HSM’s military operations; it still would be unjust to portray a few unintentional isolated incidents as a methodology of barbarism where the Mujahideen deliberately set out to kill Muslims or children.
Mistakes that occurred during the era of the companions were not only restricted to the battlefield, but even on an administrative level there are incidents in Islamic history where citizens would complain about their governors or even the Caliph himself, Never would you find, however, a call to rebellion or an attempt to undermine the Islamic authority.
Similarly, here in East Africa and every Jihadi arena for a matter of fact, there are mistakes which have occured and will continue to occur because error is something innate in human nature. The question we need to ask ourselves, however, is how do we deal with these mistakes? Do we rant on social media and call for the disbanding of HSM, allowing 10 provinces governed by Shari’ah Law to crumble and be reoccupied by the Crusaders? Do we remain silent? Or do we follow the Prophetic methodology of privately advising the Islamic authority, praying for their leaders, enjoining the good, forbidding the evil and by being patient on the harm one experiences, all in the hope of preserving the unity and strength of the Muslims.
The Prophet of Allah i said:
إن الله يرضى لكم ثلاثا، ويسخط لكم ثلاثا: يرضى لكم أن تعبدوه ولا تشركوا به شيئا، وأن
تعتصموا بحبل الله جميعا ولا تفرقوا، وأن تناصحوا من ولاه الله أمركم، ويسخط لكم: قيل
وقال، وإضاعة المال، وكثرة السؤال
“Allah likes for you three things and hates for you three things: He likes for you that you worship Him alone without partners, that you cling to the rope of Allah together and not be divided and that you advise those who Allah put in charge of your affairs. He dislike for you gossip, the squandering of wealth and asking ti many questions”. [Musnad Ahmad, 8799]
من أراد أن ينصح لسلطان بأمر، فلا يبد له علانية، ولكن ليأخذ بيده، فيخلو به، فإن قبل منه
فذاك، وإلا كان قد أدى الذي عليه له
“Whoever wants to advice the ruler regarding an issue then let him not openly do so. Rather, take him by the hand in private. If he then accepts the advice it so be it and if not then he has fulfilled his obligation”
[Musnad Ahmad, 15,333]
In addition to the aforementioned, the OGN narrative of the couple is riddle with inconsistencies. Take, for example, their description of life under Shari’ah Law in Somalia. At first, they themselves attest to the fact that their initial impression of life in the Islamic Wilaayat was according to, if not even greater, than what they had expected. They admit that Shari’ah Law was being fully implemented, that Islamic morals were being enforced and that everything was “phenomenal” in this “Islamic environment”. They speak of peace, stability and that life was “simple and beautiful”.
It was only later on, after claiming that they experienced what they perceived as oppression, when they began to controvert what they affirmed initially and then, overnight, this phenomenal Islamic environment, which was wonderful and attractive, all of sudden turned into Nazi Germany that“suspended the rule of Shari’ah”. Again, no one is infallible, but justice in Islam is of paramount importance and personal grudges should not blind a person from being fair nor should they justify the spreading of false information even against the most abhorrent of enemies.
Allah, the Exalted, says, “O you who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah and be just witnesses and let not the enmity and hatred of others make you avoid justice. Be just: that is nearer to piety, and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Well Acquainted with what you do.” [Al-Ma’idah, 8]
On their part, Abdurrahman and Saffiya have been quite economical with the truth and generously omitted most of the crucial details regarding the circumstances of their arrest. While living in one of the Islamic Wilaayaat and working with one of HSM’s departments, Abdurrahman one day approached his Amir and informed him that he had suddenly decided to leave the Islamic Wilaayat.
After several unsuccessful attempts to convince Abdurrahman to stay, the Amir instructed the insistent Abdurrahman to be patient until the brothers could provide a safe route. Due to the hostility of the region and the fact that Abdurrahman’s appearance did not resemble the majority of
however, insisted that he would find his own route. Local Somalis, allowing him to travel alone in enemy territory would be dangerous. Abdurrahman, worried about the many perils Abdurrahman may face on his journey out of the Wilaayaat, such as being arrested by the African Crusaders, his Amir arranged a meeting between him and the Governor of the Islamic Wilaayah, in the hope that the governor could convince Abdurrahman of the possible dangers he could face. But Abdurahman was still adamant and insisted on travelling into enemy territory, which compelled the governor to order him not to leave the Islamic Wilaayah until safe arrangements had been made and he was then placed under house arrest.
Abdurrahman was then transferred to the brothers responsible for facilitating his journey out of the Wilaayaat and, when everything was ready, he was then finally given the option of leaving.
That, of course, was what he wanted. Strangely enough, however, Abdurrahman had a sudden change of heart and on his own volition decided to stay. Back in the Islamic Wilaayah, once again Abdurrahman was welcomed back and allowed to resume his normal duties as he promised to be honest with the brothers. He betrayed the trust conferred upon him, however, and things took a dramatic turn when, while on patrol one night, the local Hisbah apprehended a suspicious vehicle on the outskirts of the town and the Amir received a phone call summoning him to the local police station at an unusually late hour. To his surprise, the Amir found Abdurrahman, his wife, Saffiya and another man all in custody. Bear in mind that Abdurrahman’s wife had left the Islamic Wilaayaat many months prior and had settled in Mogadishu.
After inquiry, they confessed – and this is according to the couple’s own testimony that they made to Abdurrahman’s Amir–that they were planning to flee from the Islamic Wilaayaat. Saffiya, the planner of operation and the getaway driver were then arrested by the Hisbah, cutting their plans
short. Saffiya had rented a vehicle from Mogadishu and travelled to the Islamic Wilaayaat in order to smuggle her husband out. Absurdly, she even purchased a facial cream that was to be applied on Abdurrahman’s skin to darken his light complexion so that he could blend in with the local Somalis.
Not only that but Saffiya, informed Abdurrahman’s Amir that she had made all the preparations for Abdurrahman to settle in Mogadishu, stating that she had a formal letter of acquittal from the Criminal Investigation Department of the Somali Government exempting her husband of all associations with Al-Shabaab. She stated that Abdurrahman had been promised amnesty and that he would be exonerated of all crimes if he came to the apostate government controlled territories.
In essence, he was going to Mogadishu to give himself up to the apostate regime, which he managed to do eventually, to his own detriment. In no way, however, do we declare him or his wife to be working with the apostates, despite their gullibility, nor do we deem them to have become apostates by leaving the Islamic Wilaayaat and abandoning Jihad. It was against the backdrop of these suspicious events that Abdurrahman was detained and, unlike the nightmare he depicts it to be, Abdurrahman was not held in a cell, handcuffed or beaten.
Instead, he was placed under house arrest and his travel was restricted to ensure his own safety.
He even had access to his phone and other belongings.
Now with these details brought to light, I’ll leave it to the Muslim reader to come to his or her own conclusions and decide whether the authorities of the Islamic Wilaayaat did the right thing by preventing Abdurrahman from travelling to the apostate and crusader governed areas. At the end of the day, Abdurrahman has made his choice of turning back on his Hijra, abandoning Jihad and choosing the path of ignominy and defeat. We ask Allah to guide him back to the path of glory; the path of Hijra and Jihad.
Allah, the Exalted, says:
“And whomsoever Allah wants to lead astray you can do nothing for him against Allah.” [Al-Ma’ida, 41]
Besides the slanders and unfounded claims, what is truly disheartening is that throughout this one-hour-long interview, there is no mention of the crimes that the African Crusaders and their Western allies have perpetrated against the innocent Muslims living in East Africa. There is no reference to the daily butchering that the Ethiopian troops commit against the Muslims living in the Islamic Wilaayah of Bay and Bakool. There is no allusion to the rape and abduction committed by Ugandan and Burundian forces against Muslim women in the Islamic Wilaayaat of Lower and Middle Shabelle.
There is no sympathy shown to the thousands of Muslims displaced by Kenyans indiscriminate bombings in the Islamic Wilaayah of Gedo. It is as if the couples’ personal dilemma is more important than the greater struggle of the Muslims in East Africa, their oppression and their fight to liberate their lands and live under Islamic Shari’ah.
Overall, what is found in this two-part interview is nothing more than allegations, generalizations and slanderous rumours emanating from an unknown disgruntled couple whose apparent aim is to tarnish he reputation of the Mujahideen. They are mere lies disguised as facts. In Islam, there is absolutely no room for entertaining unfounded accusations and merely claiming that “everyone knows” will never hold water in the court of Shari’ah.
Allah, the Exalted says, “Say, Bring forth your proofs, if you are truthful.” [An-Naml, 64]
Allah, the Exalted says, “Since they (the slanderers) have not produced witnesses!
Then with Allah they are the liars.” [An-Noor, 13]
Allah, the Exalted says, “Say: “Have you any knowledge (proof) that you can produce before us? Verily, you follow nothing but conjecture and you do nothing but lie.” [Al-A’raaf, 148]
Allah, the Exalted says, “Inform me with knowledge if you are truthful.” [Al-A’raaf, 143]
The Prophet Muhammad said,
لو يعطى الناس بدعواهم لادعى رجال أموال قوم ودماءهم، ولكن البينة على المدعي،
واليمين على من أنكر
“If people were to be given according to their claims, then men would have claimed the wealth and blood of others. However, the burden of proof is on the claimant and an oath on the defendant”.
[Al-Bayhaqi, 3386]
Finally, I wish to remind the Muslims to fear Allah regarding the honour of their fellow Muslim brothers, especially the Mujahideen. Know that unjustly accusing a Muslim of that which he is free of is a weighty matter in the sight of Allah and has severe consequences on the Day of Judgement as the Prophet Muhammad said, من قال في مؤمن ما ليس فيه أسكنه الله ردغة الخبال حتى يخرج مما قال
“If a person says something that is not true about a believer, Allah will cause him to dwell in the pus and drippings of the people of hell until he retracts what he has said” [Abu Dawud, 3597]
The Prophet Muhammad also said,
» إن من أربى الربا الاستطالة في عرض المسلم بغير حق «
“The worst type of riba is attacking a Muslim’s honour without right” [Abu Dawud, 4876]
Deliberately spreading lies, slanderous accusations and dubious information about an entire Jihadi movement is an even dangerous matter, as this pits the Ummah against them and sows the seeds of division and discord amongst the Mujahideen. The Prophet Muhammad said,
المشاؤون بالنميمة المفسدون بين « : ألا أخبركم بشراركم؟ فقالوا: بلى يا رسول الله، فقال
الأحبة، الباغون البرآء العنت
“Should I not inform you of the worst of you?” The companions replied yes, O Messenger of Allah. The Prophet then said, “Those who spread slander, sow dissent amongst loved ones and seek out faults”.
In the case that a person hears unconfirmed reports and rumours about Muslims, especially the Mujahideen, what is befitting is that he defend their honour, safeguard their reputation and not allow rumour-mongers to tarnish their character.
Allah, the Exalted says, “Why then, did not the believers, men and women, when you heard it (the slander) think good of their own people and say: “This (charge) is an obvious lie?” [An-Noor, 12]The Prophet Muhammad i said, » من رد عن عرض أخيه رد الله عن وجهه النار يوم القيامة «
“Whoever defends his brother’s honor, Allah protects his face from the Fire on the Day of Resurrection.” [At-Tirmidhi, 1931]
The Prophet Muhammad said,
ما من امرئ يخذل امرأ مسلما عند موطن تنتهك فيه حرمته وينتقص فيه من عرضه إلا خذله
الله عز وجل في موطن يحب فيه نصرته، وما من امرئ ينصر امرأ مسلما في موطن ينتقص
فيه من عرضه وينتهك فيه من حرمته إلا نصره الله في موطن يحب فيه نصرته
“There is no one who deserts a Muslim in a place where his sanctity is violated, and his honour is belittled, but Allah will desert him in a place where he needs His help. And there is no one who supports
a Muslim in a place where his sanctity is violated, and his honour belittled, but Allah will support him in in a place where he needs His help.” [Musnad Ahmad, 16,368]
Finally, I advise brother Bilal, his interviewees and the Muslims in general to fear Allah and know that they will be held accountable on the Day of Judgment for everything they say and circulate.
Know, my brother Bilal, that there is no need for a Mujahid to engage in the tabloid sensationalism of the Western media and present it as ‘Naseeha’ to the Muslims, because such form of journalism is in contradiction to the tenets of Islam where accountability is of paramount importance.
Not only that, but you are doing more to harm than help the Jihad by merely presenting stories for their shock value, without verifying their factual accuracy, the Shari’ah standpoint, as well as the motives
Your ‘journalism’ is acting as a tool for defamation, misrepresenting the truth, trivializing the entire struggle and reducing the Jihad to such simplicity as ‘he said’, and ‘she said’.
Fear Allah, Akhi, and do not be carried away with disseminating slander in the form of ‘journalism’, thereby inadvertently preventing the Muslims from the path of Allah and being from among those who call towards Fiqh - abandoning Jihad.
Allah, the Exalted, says: “And follow not (O man i.e., say not, or do not or witness not, etc.) that of which
you have no knowledge. Verily! The hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those you will be questioned.” [Al-Israa, 36]
At the end of the day, those who desire to tarnish the name of the Mujahideen by spreading lies will only harm themselves, and by the grace of Allah, the ship of Jihad in East Africa will continue to sail despite those who seek to submerge it under the currents of fitnah and divert it from its course of liberating Muslim lands and raising high the Word of Allah.
May peace and blessings of Allah be upon His Messenger Muhammad.
Written by
Abu Muhammad Al-Muhajir
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