O' God, Revealer of the Book, Mover of Clouds, Defeat Them & Shake Them!

One of Al-Sahab's newest introductory segment for its videos, featuring its name with moving, moon-lit clouds and gold bullets emblazoned with its name.

Prayer of the Prophet Muhammad said the night before a battle, as recorded in reports about his sayings and actions (ahadith), such as hadith #2661 in Book 4: Kitab al-Jihad of Sahih al-Bukhari, one of the six collections of ahadith considered to be the most reliable by Sunni Muslims. It is from these ahadith that Al-Qa'ida Central (AQC; Qaeda, Qaida) took its name for its media outlet, the Al-Sahab (Clouds) Media Foundation.

Narrated Salim Abu An-Nadr:

(the freed slave of 'Umar bin 'Ubaidullah) I was Umar's clerk. Once Abdullah bin Abi Aufa wrote a letter to 'Umar when he proceeded to Al-Haruriya. I read in it that Allah's Apostle in one of his military expeditions against the enemy, waited till the sun declined and then he got up amongst the people saying, "O people! Do not wish to meet the enemy, and ask Allah for safety, but when you face the enemy, be patient, and remember that Paradise is under the shades of swords." Then he said, "O Allah, the Revealer of the Holy Book, and the Mover of the clouds and the Defeater of the clans, defeat them, and grant us victory over them."

اللهم منزل الكتاب, سريع الحساب, مجري السحاب, هازم الأحزاب ، اهزم الأحزاب, اللهم اهزمهم وزلزلهم

"O' God, Revealer of the Book, the One who is Swift in Calling into Account, the Mover of Clouds, Defeater of the Clans.....Defeat the clans, O' God, defeat them and shake them!"

Hadith of the Prophet on Kindness to Animals

"We were on a journey with the Apostle of God, and he left us for a while. During his absence, we saw a bird called hummara with its two young and took the young ones. The mother bird was circling above us in the air, beating its wings in grief, when the Prophet came back and said: "Who has hurt the FEELINGS of this bird by taking its young? Return them to her."

-Narrated by 'Abd al-Rahman bin 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud

Al-Khansa' : A Jahili & Muslim Elegiac Poetess

Tumadir bint 'Amr ibn al-Harth ibn al-Sharid al-Sulamiyah, better known as "al-Khansa' ," is one of the most famous pre-Islamic poets. Her life spanned both the Jahiliyyah and early Islamic periods. Al-Khansa' is most famous for her elegies written in mourning of her two brothers, Mu'awiya and Sakhr, who were killed in inter-tribal fighting and blood feuds. She converted to Islam and is said to have been a poetess favored by the Prophet Muhammad. Her four sons (Yazid, Mu'awiya, 'Amr, and 'Amrah) were killed at the Battle of Qadisiyya in November 636 and she wrote elegies to the as well.

Her name and legacy has been hijacked by transnational jihadi-takfiris who have named two magazines after her. The first, Al-Khansa', was published briefly by Al-Qa'ida in Saudi Arabia, the original Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) before it was dismantled by Saudi security and military forces between 2003 and 2006. Currently, the shadowy transnational jihadi-takfiri media outlet Al-Somood has published two issues of a new magazine dedicated to women in their war entitled Hafidat Al-Khansa' (Granddaughters of Al-Khansa').

Her collection (Diwan) is available for purchase at FADAK BOOKS (an online Arabic book retailer that I recommend).

Below is a brief selection from one of her elegies:

"The herald of the dead announced the loss
Of the most generous man, Sakhr;
And he cried it so loud
That far and wide he was heard.

It wounded me so painfully
That in my misery I looked like a drunken person.
Every morning when I awaken,
The first rays of the sun remind me of him
And every evening when the sun sets
I mourn for him”

A Note on Blogging & Those Who Cast Libelous Aspersions

Some in cyberspace have been casting libelous aspersions on my status as a graduate student studying Muslim socio-political movements, including transnational extremist groups such as Al-Qa'ida Central and its affiliates, as well as the academic nature and integrity of my blogs. My writing here at Views from the Occident and my two subsidiary blogs is clearly labeled as being academic in nature. Frankly, I think that it is pretty clear to those who actually read my original posts (as opposed to postings/pasting of primary sources and third party articles) that this is the case. I am also honored to have my blog(s) listed in the "Links" sections of a few noted experts and specialists in transnational militant groups and counter-terrorism, a fact that the libelers have conveniently failed to note. They also seem ignorant of the fact that jihadi-takfiris do not call themselves "takfiri" and actually object to being labeled as such.

Honest and constructive critique, criticisms, and suggestions are always welcome, which is why I have set up an e-mail address for my blogs. Libel and gross aspersions on my character and academic integrity, however, are not. My academic e-mail is also available via a quick Internet search, should any who seem to think that I am not a graduate student wish to check the facts before engaging in libel.

Thanks to my readers and to my professorial mentors, friends, colleagues, and (God willing) future colleagues for their continued support and advice. Peace.

Four Hadith on Jihad from Sahih al-Bukhari, One of the Sunni Sahihayn

Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad ibn Isma'il ibn Ibrahim al-Bukhari al-Jufi (usually referred to as Imam al-Bukhari), was born in 810 and died in 870 C.E. in the important Central Asian city of Bukhara, which is now in modern day Uzbekistan. He is one of the two most important and highly-regarded Muslim compilers of ahadith (singular: hadith), traditions of the Prophet Muhammad's reported sayings, judgments, and actions. The other is Abu'l Husayn Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Wushayri al-Nishaburi ("one from Nishapur," a city in the region of Khurasan in modern day Iran), known more commonly as by his shortened name, Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj or "Imam Muslim." Their two collections are among the "six books" that today make up the Sunni hadith cannon.

Their two ahadith collections, Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, are the most widely respected and commonly referred to collections of ahadith by Sunni Muslims and Islamicist scholars alike. Shi'is, particularly Twelver Shi'is, have their own ahadith collections and do not generally consider the Sahihayn ("two Sahih collections" of al-Bukhari and Muslim) to be reliable. "Sahih" is a technical term referring to the "soundness" of the ahadith contained in the collections, a judgment based on a number of factors including the asaneed (singular: isnad) or the chains of transmission (transmitters) through which the ahadith are narrated). A detailed Sunni Muslim hagiographical biography of al-Bukhari can be found HERE.

The translations below are largely based on those of Muhammad Muhsin Khan's dual-language translation of Sahih al-Bukhari, published by Dar us-Salam Publications. I have made some amendments.
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Hadith #2797, Kitab al-Jihad, Sahih al-Bukhari

Abu al-Yaman from al-Zuhri from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab narrated from Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet said: "By Him [God] in Whose Hands my soul is: Were it not for some men amongst the Believers [Muslims] who dislike to be left behind me and whom I cannot provide with means of conveyance, I would certainly never remain behind any Sariyah [battalion, military unit] going out for jihad [struggle, in this case armed struggle] in the Path of God [as ordained by God in the Qur'an]. By Him in Whose hands my soul is: I would love to be martyred [fighting] in the path of God and then come back to life and be martyred again, and then come back to life and be martyred again."

Hadith #2817, Kitab al-Jihad, Sahih al-Bukhari

Muhammad bin Nashar from Ghundar from Sh'ubah narrated by Anas ibn Malik: The Prophet said: "Nobody who enters Paradise likes to return to the world even if he got everything on the Earth, except a martyr who wishes to return to the world so that he may be martyred ten times because of the honor and dignity he receives from God."

These two hadith are famous ones and are quoted by jihadi-takfiris, including Al-Qa'ida Central leader Usama bin Laden in the introductory segment to the video series Wind of Paradise, a series of four videos (currently) dedicated to the group's "martyrs" in the Afghanistan-Pakistan theater. See the short embedded video below [starts at the1:43-minute mark].


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Hadith #2841, Kitab al-Jihad, Sahih al-Bukhari

Shayban from Yahya from Abu Salamah narrated by Hurayrah: The Prophet said, "Whoever spends two things in the Path of God [as ordained by Him in the Qur'an] will be called by all the gatekeepers of Paradise who will be saying, 'O so-and-so, come here!'" Abu Bakr [the first caliph or head of the Muslim community following the Prophet's death in 632 C.E.] said: "O, Messenger of God! Such persons will never be destroyed." The Prophet said: "I hope you will be one of them."
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Hadith #2818, Kitab al-Jihad, Sahih al-Bukhari

'Abdullah ibn Muhammad from Mu'awiya ibn 'Amr Abu Ishaq from Musa ibn 'Uqbah from Salam Abu al-Nadr, Mawla of 'Umar ibn 'Ubayd Allah, narrated from 'Abdullah ibn Abu Awfa: The Messenger of God said: "Know that Paradise is in the shade of swords."