By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 8 November 2018

As explained in a previous post, Abu Sulayman al-Utaybi, the Chief Judge of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) from early April to late August 2007, has become an important character in many accounts of the history of the Islamic State movement because his abrupt removal from office was followed by his defection from ISI and a journey to Al-Qaeda’s central leadership in Pakistan, where he provided a testimony against his former bosses. If interested in an assessment of that testimony and the whole saga around how it has been used—by Western scholars, Al-Qaeda, and other critics of the Islamic State—check out the prior post. This post reproduces the transcript for what is, as far as I can tell, Abu Sulayman’s first media product for ISI, a twenty-minute video speech released by Al-Furqan Foundation for Media Production on 11 April 2007, entitled, “Why Do We Wage Jihad?”

With the exception of the beheading videos, it was rare that Islamic State operatives appeared on video before the caliphate era—and even in the caliphate era, the leadership very rarely appeared. The ISI emir from 2006 to 2010, Abu Umar al-Baghdadi (real name: Hamid al-Zawi), always gave his speeches as audio releases. The security reasons for doing that amid the Surge and Sahwa (Awakening) are obvious, but it did complicate his caliphal pretentions—how were the world’s Muslims supposed to render under somebody they did not know? The current (now overtly claimed) “caliph”, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (real name: Ibrahim al-Badri), was countering exactly this point when he gave his sermon at the Nuri Mosque in Mosul on 4 July 2014, days after the declaration of the caliphate, but having fulfilled the obligation of showing the Muslims their caliph, in the Islamic State’s perception, Abu Bakr has disappeared. [UPDATE: Abu Bakr would appear once more before he was killed, in April 2019.]

It is, then, interesting that so senior an official as Abu Sulayman—the chief religious official in a religious organisation like ISI is obviously immensely powerful—made his debut in Islamic State media output in this way. What is notable is that it was not quite unique at the moment that it happened. Eight days later, ISI announced the “First Cabinet” of its “State”—as is often forgotten now, the Islamic State was declared in October 2006—and it was given as a video address by the official spokesman, Muharib al-Jabouri. Abu Umar was clearly trying to offset the messaging (or propaganda) challenge of not being able to appear personally by having other top ISI officials appear.

Another minor point of interest: Abu Sulayman’s official title while in office was “Chief Judge” (al-Qadi al-Awwal), but in this video he is referred to—it is in the text of the image above—as “the Shar’i Judge” (al-Qadi al-Shar’i). At all events, the same text also refers to Abu Sulayman as “al-Shaykh al-Mujahid” (the Warrior Shaykh), a designation indicating he is among the leaders of the Islamic State.

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Why Do We Wage Jihad?

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

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and the outcome is for the righteous, and there is no aggression except against the wrongdoers. There is no deity but Allah, the God of the first and the last, the Sustainer of the heavens and the earths, and the Owner of the Day of Judgement—there is no success except through obedience to Him, no honour except through humility before His greatness, no richness except through dependence upon His mercy, no guidance except by seeking His light, no life except in His pleasure, no bliss except in nearness to Him, and no righteousness or success except through sincerity to Him. When He is obeyed, He is thankful; when He is disobeyed, He forgives and pardons. Neither those who count can enumerate His blessings, nor the grateful fulfil the right of His thanks, nor the describers reach the extent of His greatness. He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and when He decrees a matter, He only says to it: “Be!” and it is.

And peace and blessings be upon the one sent with the sword before the Hour so that Allah alone would be worshipped without partner [i.e., the Prophet Muhammad], and upon his family, his Companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgement. I testify that there is no deity but Allah alone without partner—a testimony of truth and sincerity by which I take Allah, His Messenger, and the believers as allies, and by which I disavow the tawaghit and the rivals worshipped wrongfully and falsely besides Allah.

“O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims” [Qur’an 3: 102].

“O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed, Allah is ever, over you, an Observer” [4: 1].

“O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great success” [33: 70-71].

O umma of Islam! If the enemies of Allah among the Crusaders, Jews, their apostate lackeys [or agents: adhnabihim al-murtadeen], and the Magian Rafidites have spread corruption across the land, destroying crops and progeny, and if the stench of treachery, betrayal, clinging to the earth, and abandonment of jihad fills the air, then there remain servants of Allah who accept no life but a life of honour and dignity. They reject living under enslavement, and their motto is: “Do not give me the water of life in humiliation; but give me the bitter cup of glory to drink!”

When the caller to jihad cries out: “O steeds of Allah, mount up!”, they cast the world and all its ornaments and luxuries behind their backs and took up arms—and what are arms! They sacrificed in the way of Allah all that is precious and dear: their families, the most beloved to a man; their wealth, which is cherished; their homes, which are valuable—and above all, they sacrificed their very selves. Their slogan: “Our heads, O Lord, are in our palms; seeking Your reward, Your bounty, and nearness to You.”

Allah the Exalted said: “Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur’an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which is the great attainment” [9: 111].

O Muslims! The rapid events have left us bewildered, and we do not know about what we should speak, or with what we should speak!

Shall we speak about the wounds of the Muslims and the harm the disbelievers have inflicted upon them? “They will not harm you, except for a trifling annoyance” [3: 111].

Shall we speak about the violated honours, the looted wealth, the plundered treasures?

Shall we speak about the mosques that were demolished and the lands that were seized?

Or shall we speak about the conquests that have descended, the mercies that have rained down, and the victory and tamkeen [lit. “empowerment”, jihadists governing territory] that loom on the horizon?

O umma of Islam! Allah the Exalted—if He says something, it is the most truthful of speech, and if He promises, it is the most faithful of covenants—and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah? Indeed, Allah says—and when Allah speaks, every other word falls away: “Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while such [trial] has not yet come to you as came to those who passed on before you? They were afflicted with poverty and hardship and were shaken until [even their] messenger and those who believed with him said, ‘When is the help of Allah?” Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near’” [2: 214]. O umma of Islam! Every moment of our history, every particle of our soil, every word of our life affirms and confirms the meaning of this verse: “Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near” [2: 214].

The only battle throughout the history of humanity whose outcome is known and whose end is sealed is the battle between Islam and disbelief. Allah the Exalted said: “Say, ‘Do you await for us except one of the two best outcomes [victory or death for the sake of Islam] while we await for you that Allah will afflict you with a punishment from Himself or at our hands? So wait; indeed, we, along with you, are waiting’” [9: 52].

O Allah! We ask You to combine for us the two best outcomes. O Allah, support us with victory from You. O Allah, conclude for me [my life] with martyrdom from You by which You forgive my sins, are pleased with me, and smile at me [in delight].

O umma of Islam, we fight and wage jihad in the path of Allah because the worshippers of the Cross invaded the lands of the Muslims and inflicted upon their people grievous torment, slaughtering their sons and taking their women captive.

We fight and wage jihad in the path of Allah because a group from among our own skin, speaking our tongue, but whose hearts are hearts of devils in the bodies of men, allied with the Crusaders and supported the apostate state of the tawaghit in the army and police apparatus, killing the worshippers, corrupting the land, and spreading corruption upon the earth.

We fight and wage jihad in the path of Allah when the sanctities were violated and the matter reached its peak, and the enemies innovated ways to wage war against Islam and its people.

We fight and wage jihad in the path of Allah when the rule of Allah was lost from the lands, and truth became falsehood, and falsehood became truth—just as the noble Prophet said: “There will come to the people years of deception, in which the liar is believed, and the truthful is disbelieved, and the treacherous is trusted, and the trustworthy is betrayed, and the Ruwaybida will speak.”

It was said: “And what is the Ruwaybida, O Messenger of Allah?”

He said: “The foolish one who speaks about public affairs.” (Narrated by Imam Ahmad).

O Muslims, we fight and wage jihad in the path of Allah so that the word of Allah may be supreme. Whoever fights so that the word of Allah may be supreme, he is in the path of Allah. Allah the Exalted said: “And fight them until there is no more fitna and the deen is all for Allah” [8: 39].

Some scholars said: “If some of the deen is for Allah and some is for other than Him, fighting is obligatory until all the deen is for Allah.”

“And fight them until there is no more fitna and the deen is all for Allah. But if they desist, then indeed Allah is Seeing of what they do. And if they turn away—then know that Allah is your protector; excellent is the protector and excellent is the helper” [8: 39-40].

We wage jihad and fight in the path of Allah because jihad is among the greatest acts of devotion and most noble acts of worship. It is the best act with which the devout seek nearness to Allah and compete with one another for, because it results in the victory of the believers, the elevation of the word of the deen, and the suppression of the disbelievers.

No one turns away from this jihad except the hypocrites [munafiqun], as Allah the Exalted said: “Those who believe in Allah and the Last Day would not ask your permission to be excused from striving with their wealth and their lives. And Allah is Knowing of the righteous. Only those ask permission of you who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day and whose hearts have doubted, and they, in their doubt, waver. And if they had intended to go forth, they would have prepared for it some preparation. But Allah disliked their being sent, so He held them back, and it was said, ‘Remain [behind] with those who remain’” [9: 44–46].

O Muslims, is it acceptable after all this for someone to ask: “Why do we wage jihad?”? Can it really be acceptable after all this for someone to ask: “Why do we wage jihad?”?

We incite the umma as a whole to wage jihad in the path of Allah. We incite the umma to fight the Crusaders and suppress the apostates, following the example of the Master of the Messengers: “O Prophet, sufficient for you is Allah and those who follow you of the believers. O Prophet, urge the believers to fight.”

“O Prophet, urge the believers to fight!”

“O Prophet, urge the believers to fight!”

So, O cavalry of Allah, ride! O land of Allah, witness! O heavens, rain down! O soldiers of Allah, rise! O bearers of the banner, stand firm! And rejoice in Paradise! By Allah, we shall not lay down the sword until Allah judges between us.

We shall sever hands and strike necks: “So strike [them] above the necks and strike from them every fingertip” [8: 12].

O umma of Islam, have you not a model in Al-Siddiq [the first caliph, Abu Bakr]? Have you not a good example in the Caliph of the Messenger of Allah, when some Muslims advised him not to dispatch the expedition of Usama? He said: “By Allah, even if the birds snatched me and the wild beasts surrounded Medina, and even if the dogs dragged the feet of the Mothers of the Believers, I would not undo an army that the Messenger of Allah had set forth, nor would I untie a banner that the Messenger of Allah had tied. By Him in Whose hand is my soul, if there remained no one in the towns but me, I would still dispatch them. Shall I obey him while he is alive and disobey him when he is dead?”.

Have you not a model in Sa’d ibn al-Rabi, who, when wounded during the Battle of Uhud with over seventy wounds between stab wounds, arrow shots, and sword strikes, said to his people: “Convey my greetings to the Messenger of Allah and tell him: ‘I truly find the fragrance of Paradise,’ and tell my people: ‘There is no excuse for you to allow harm to reach the Messenger of Allah while any of you has an eye blinking.’” Then his soul departed—may Allah be pleased with him and have mercy on him.

Finally: In this message of mine, I warn those people who have taken deceit as a weapon and hypocrisy as a refuge [i.e., the Sahwa]. I warn them. I warn those who have taken their oaths as a shield and have turned people away from the path of Allah—the people of political parties who try to combine disbelief and faith, tawhid and shirk, saying: “We only intended reconciliation and improvement”, while in truth they have committed corruption and fabrication [isa’atan wa-talfiqan]. I warn them of the wrath of Allah and His anger first and foremost. Indeed, Allah has prepared for those who lie upon Him, upon His Messenger, and upon the umma of Islam a painful punishment—so severe that if many of those allied to evil and supporters of deviation knew it, they would prefer death in the cradle rather than falling into such consequences.

I warn them of the fate of deceit in this world and the Hereafter, as Allah the Exalted says: “Those before them had plotted, but Allah came upon their building from the foundations, so the roof fell upon them from above them, and the punishment came upon them from where they did not perceive. Then on the Day of Resurrection He will disgrace them and say, ‘Where are My partners for whom you used to oppose [the believers]?’ Those who were given knowledge will say, ‘Indeed disgrace, this Day, and evil are upon the disbelievers’” [16: 26-27].

O Allah, indeed the earth is Your earth, the sky is Your sky, the sea is Your sea, and the army is Your army. O Allah, deal with the worshippers of the Cross and their apostate lackeys. O Allah, deal with the spiteful Rafidites. O Allah, deal with the tawaghit of the Arabs and the non-Arabs. O Allah, count them number by number, kill them all, and leave not one of them. O Allah, take from our blood until You are pleased. O Allah, take from our blood until You are pleased. O Allah, take from our blood until You are pleased.

And our last supplication is that all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Your brother,

al-Mu’tasim bi-Allah [The One Who Seeks Refuge in God],

Abu Sulayman al-Utaybi, from the land of the two rivers [Iraq]

Under the Islamic Emirate in Iraq

[NB: It is strange that “Emirate” and not “State” is used here, but that is what is in the transcript—KWO]