By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 17 March 2018

The Mujahideen Shura Council (al-Majlis Shura al-Mujahideen, MSC or MSM), the umbrella organisation that in January 2006 had nominally subsumed Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) as the Islamic State movement was known at the time, put out a video on 12 October 2006 showing MSM being joined in an oath with tribal and insurgent groups to create Hilf al-Mutayibeen (the Alliance of the Scented Ones),[1] named after a pact reported in the Tradition to have been made by the Prophet Muhammad in Mecca, intended to uphold justice for the fledging community as it endured persecution, which was sealed in the home of Abdullah bin Jud’an by dipping their hands in perfume (al-teeb).

The five-minute video opens with six men sat around in a circle, as can be seen above. The text at the bottom of the screen reads: “Some leaders of the mujahideen and tribal shaykhs participating in Hilf al-Mutayibeen”. One of the men—as we now know, MSM’s official spokesman, Muharib al-Jubouri—reads out a speech that lasts about three-and-a-half minutes.

At this point, the camera shifts to show a bowl of yellow liquid, the perfume:

The six men then dip their hands in the bowl of perfume:

All of those present keep their hands in the perfume for about ninety seconds while Muharib reads the oath itself, and the other five repeat it back.

What Muharib is announcing is that “al-Majlis Shura al-Mujahideen, Jaysh al-Fatihin [the Army of the Conquerors], Jund al-Sahaba [the Soldiers of the Companions], Kataib Ansar al-Tawhid wal-Sunna [the Brigades of the Supporters of Monotheism and the Sunna],and many sincere tribal shaykhs and others who will be revealed in due course, decided to form an alliance which they have named Hilf al-Mutayibeen”.[2]

Hilf al-Mutayibeen proved to be a stepping stone towards the declaration of the Islamic State, a declaration Muharib made on 15 October 2006, and which was then introduced more extensively by the new proto-caliph, Abu Umar al-Baghdadi (real name: Hamid al-Zawi), on 23 December 2006. There can be little doubt the incipient tribal revolt against AQI/MSM in Anbar, formalised on 6 September 2006 as the Sahwa (Awakening), was a factor in the timing of the move towards a “State”. Muharib is alluding to this issue when he says in the video: “We call upon all the factions of the mujahideen, the scholars, the tribal shaykhs, and the dignitaries to place their hands with their brothers in Hilf al-Mutayibeen to establish the shari’a of God, expel the occupiers, and give victory to the oppressed slaves of God.”

There is, however, equally little doubt that this bold gambit of effectively declaring a caliphate was coming no matter what: the decision had been taken in the spring of 2006 by the founder of the Islamic State movement, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to “upload” his caliphal vision onto the soil of Iraq by July 2006, and this timetable was only delayed because AQI/MSM had to go through a leadership selection process after Zarqawi was killed in June 2006, since his deputy and designated successor, Abd al-Rahman al-Qaduli (Abu Ali al-Anbari), had been arrested and imprisoned in April 2006.

_________________________________

UPDATE:

In 2020, Craig Whiteside, Haroro Ingram, and Charlie Winter published The ISIS Reader: Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement, which contained (pp. 58-60) a complete transcript of the Hilf al-Mutayibeen video:

[Opening scene: The logo of the MSC in Iraq is accompanied by text that reads, “The Media Committee Presents the Announcement of the Hilf al-Mutayyabin (Alliance of the Scented Ones)”. The first scene depicts six masked figures dressed in white and kneeling in a circle, one of whom holds a piece of paper in his hand. The following statement is read by a blurred-out Muharib al-Jubouri, a professor of Islamic Studies who is soon to be revealed as the official spokesman of the new Islamic State in Iraq.]

In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

All praise be to Allah, who united the hearts of His faithful worshippers, and prayers and peace be upon the one who was sent as a mercy to all humankind and his honourable and blessed family and companions.

Allah, His Almighty, said: “And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression” [5:2]. His Almighty and Glorious also said in a hadith qudsi, “O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another.” And the imam of the mujahidin, Muhammad, prayers, and peace be upon him, said during the Farewell Pilgrimage, “Verily your blood, your property, and your honour are as sacred and inviolable as the sanctity of this day of yours, in this month of yours and this town of yours” and, prayers and peace be upon him, he said: “A Muslim is a brother of (another) Muslim, he neither wrongs him nor does hand him over to one who does him wrong. If anyone fulfills his brother’s needs, Allah will fulfill his needs; if one relieves a Muslim of his troubles, Allah will relieve his troubles on the Day of Resurrection; and if anyone covers the faults of a Muslim [his sins], Allah will cover his faults on the Resurrection Day.” And as the honest and trusted [Muhammad] said: “Injustice will appear as darkness on the Day of Resurrection.”

Therefore, Majlis Shura al-Mujahidin, Jaysh al-Fatihin, Jund al-Sahabah, Katib Ansar al-Tawhid wal-Sunnah, many of the faithful tribal sheikhs, and others who will announce himself thereafter, decided to form an alliance named Hilf al-Mutayyabin, named so after the saying of the Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him, as mentioned in Musnad Ahmad and al-Mustadrak: “I took part in the Hilf al-Mutayyabin with my uncles when I was a boy, and I would not renege on it for any price.” And in the Mursal Hadith, narrated by Talha bin ‘Auf, “If I were invited to it in Islam today, I would have answered.”

Therefore, we call all the mujahidin factions, the scholars, the chiefs of the clans, and the notables to put their hands in the hands of their brothers from the Hilf al-Mutayyabin to establish the law of the Lord of all mankind, expel the occupiers, and support the servants of Allah—the oppressed ones. Allah is Great. Honour belongs to Allah, his messenger, and the believers; but the hypocrites know not.

And now, we dip our hands in the pleasant scent [at this point, the men dipped their hands into a bowl containing a yellowish oil] and we endorse the covenant of Allah by taking this oath:

“We swear by the Mighty Allah; We swear by the Mighty Allah; We swear by the Mighty Allah to work hard to free the prisoners, lift the injustice suffered by the Sunnis overpowered by the hateful rejectionists [Rafida, i.e., Shi’is] and the occupying crusaders, and to assist the oppressed, and restore his rights to him, even if it costs our lives; not to disappoint a Muslim who comes to us with a just cause, and to implement Allah’s law on earth, and reinstate the religion [deen] to its glory. Prayers be upon the one who was sent as a mercy to all mankind, and upon all his family and companions.”

[This oath was repeated back to the speaker (Jubouri) in sequence by the other men before the video ends.]

___________________________________________

NOTES

---

[1] Or “The Oath of the Scented Ones” or “The Alliance of the Perfumed Ones” (حلف المطيبين).

[2] The word translated as “sincere” is “al-mukhlisin”, which could be rendered as “honest”, “loyal”, “faithful”, “staunch”, or “devoted”.