By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 19 March 2021

Hamid al-Zawi, the leader of the Islamic State movement from 2006 to 2010, known only as Abu Umar al-Baghdadi during his lifetime, gave a speech on 19 March 2010 entitled, “The Soldiers’ Sermon for the Axe of al-Khalil Campaign” (Khutba al-Jund bi-Hamlat Fa’s al-Khalil). It was Al-Zawi’s twenty-second and, as it turned out, penultimate speech. Al-Zawi was killed almost exactly a month later, on 18 April 2010, alongside his deputy and “war minister”, Abd al-Munim al-Badawi (Abu Hamza al-Muhajir). A translation of the speech is published below.

The word translated as “sermon” is “khutba”, meaning the most important weekly prayer in Islam, which takes place on a Friday, usually in mosques delivered by an imam. The campaign of the Axe of al-Khalil is an allusion to a Hadith story about Abraham (or the Prophet Ibrahim): “Al-Khalil” is literally “the Friend” and Abraham is also known in Islam as “Khalilullah”, “the Friend of God”. Islamic Tradition, as Al-Zawi briefly sketches, tells of Abraham being surrounded by idol worshippers, and trying to speak to the idols, to test if there is anything in them worthy of worship, and none of them answer, so he cuts them all down and smashes them up with a sharp axe, except for one, which he leaves his axe hanging on as a demonstration to the pagans that their idols are mere stock and stone with no sacral power.

Abu Umar explains that the main idol IS’s “Axe of Abraham” campaign was targeting for destruction in Iraq was democracy. Abu Umar’s speech marks the beginning of the campaign.

Abu Umar had spoken a month earlier with much the same message about IS’s duty to prevent the then-upcoming Iraqi parliamentary elections—and to roll-out IS’s change of tactics towards the Sunni Arab tribes, essentially an audio version of IS’s “Strategic Plan”, which was published internally in December 2009 or January 2010. The slightly strange thing about this speech is that Abu Umar is still speaking in terms of “prevention” about elections that had taken place two weeks earlier (7 March 2010), which means either that Abu Umar recorded the speech before the elections and it was only released afterwards, or the “prevention” he is talking about is not the act of voting itself but the process of democracy, i.e., he is calling on his troops to exploit the post-electoral wrangling period to disrupt the formation of a government.

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

“There has been an excellent example for you in Ibrahim and those with him when they said to their people: ‘Verily, we are disassociated from you and from what you worship besides God. We renounce you, and there has arisen between us and you enmity and hatred [that will last] forever, until you believe in God alone’. The only exception is Ibrahim saying to his father, ‘I will surely ask forgiveness for you, but I have no power over God to obtain anything on your behalf.’ Our Lord, in You we repose our trust, and unto You we turn repentant, and to You is our [final] destination. Our Lord, do not make us a test for those who disbelieve, and forgive us, our Lord. Verily, You—You are the Most-Mighty and Wise” [Qur’an 60:4-5].

All praise belongs to Allah. We praise Him and seek His help. Whomsoever God guides, none can misguide; and whomsoever He misguides, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but God alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and messenger.

To proceed:

God the Exalted has said, “There has been an excellent example for you in Ibrahim and those with him”, meaning in the upholding of iman [faith] and tawhid [monotheism], and the fulfilment of all that it entails and necessitates, as Al-Sa’di (may God have mercy on him) said. Among the sunna [practices, teachings, Hadith, Traditions] of Al-Khalil, peace be upon him, was his oath to God to destroy the idols of his people in their absence [or when they were unaware], so that they might take heed and desist, saying: “‘By God, I shall surely carry out my plan against your idols after you have turned your backs and gone away.’ Then he reduced them to fragments, save the chief one among them, that they might return to it [for answers]” [21:57-58].

Al-Shinqiṭi (may God have mercy on him) said in Aḍwa al-Bayan [a tafsir (exegesis, commentary) on the Qur’an]: “He [Abraham] did not content himself with forbidding them from idol worship and clarifying that they bring neither benefit or harm. Rather, he went beyond that, and smashed them, reducing them to fragments [judhadh], meaning [breaking them into] pieces.”

O mujahideen:

Your mission today to prevent these elections is a prophetic mission, even if the people covet them and rush with eagerness to plunge into their depths. It is like a fire whose light deceives the foolish and the ignorant, and when they enter it, it burns them and destroys them. So your goal and your aim, O soldiers of God, is the same goal and aim of the Prophets and Messengers: to prevent people from [being consigned to] the Fire, even if they desire it, by force if necessary, since that is better for their deen [lifeway, Islam] and their worldly life, so that they do not bite their fingers in regret [at a time] when regret is of no benefit.

[It is narrated] On the authority of Abu Hurayra (may God be pleased with him), as reported in the Sahih [Muslim],[1] that he heard the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) say: “My example and the example of the people is like that of a man who kindled a fire, and when it lit up what was around him, moths and creatures that fall into fire began to fall into it, and he began pulling them out, but they overcame him and kept falling into it. So I am holding onto your waistbands to keep you from the Fire, and you are rushing into it.”

In another narration from Muslim: “That is my example and your example: I am grabbing hold of your waistbands [to hold you] away from the Fire [and saying], ‘Come away from the Fire!’, but you overwhelm me and plunge into it.”

Imam al-Nawawi said: “The meaning of the hadith is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) likened the falling of the ignorant and the disobedient into the Fire of the Hereafter [i.e., Hell]—through their sins and desires, and their eagerness to pursue that despite his forbidding them and grasping the places by which he could stop them—to the way moths fall into a worldly fire due to their inclinations [or instinct] and weak discernment. Both are eager for their own destruction and seek it due to their ignorance.”

Thus, the duty laid upon you, O soldiers of creed [jund al-aqeeda], is to expend [every] effort, to exhaust your capacity, and not to fall short in doing all that can be done by way of prevention [of the elections]. For this is jihad, and this is taqwa [piety, godliness, fear/consciousness of God], as Abu al-Su’ud (may God have mercy on him) explained in his tafsir on [the phrase] “haqqa tuqatih”:[2] “The meaning of true taqwa and its intrinsic obligations is exhausting one’s capacity in fulfilling what is obligatory.” End quote. After that, the outcome is in God’s hands.

We are workers, acting by the command of God and in accordance with His shari’a, and, if God wills it, we will be granted success in what we strive for; this is what we hope for and long for, and we believe, by His grace, that it will come to pass. God will not disgrace us, for He is the Most Generous, the Bestower. And if the All-Wise decrees otherwise out of His wisdom, then He does so, for none can repel His judgement and none can overturn His decree.

Al-Tabari said: “The correct understanding of tawakkul [entrusting to, relying on (someone else)] is to place one’s trust in God the Exalted, to rely on Him in all affairs, and to delegate all of it to Him—after exhausting one’s own effort in pursuing what the slave needs, in his deen and worldly matters, as commanded. Tawakkul does not mean, as some claim, surrendering to wild beasts, failing to take precautions against enemies, forsaking the pursuit of a livelihood and sustenance, or neglecting to get treatment for illnesses. That is ignorance and contradicts God’s judgment regarding His slaves, and contradicts the practice of the Messenger of God with his umma.” End quote.

Then, we believe that those leading you in this phase, in this prophetic mission, are brothers who are among our finest men in character and in deen. They have precedence in waging jihad against our enemy, as you already know. We have appointed them as your emirs [commanders], so listen to them and obey them. Beware of letting them down—for the man is [only as strong] as his brothers. In the Sahih, [it is narrated] from Ibn Umar (may God be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Listening and obedience is a duty, so long as one is not commanded to sin”.[3] And in Sahih Muslim, [we are told] from Abu Hurayra (may God be pleased with him) that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: “You must listen and obey in hardship and in ease, in what pleases you and in what displeases you, and even when others are given preference over you.”

We advise our brothers, the emirs of the soldiers, to be gentle with them, to take precautions for them, and to care for them as much as possible, without [slipping into either] cowardly inaction or reckless [actions that lead to] destruction. We believe, O slaves of God, that by God’s favour, that you destroying the idol of elections [sanam al-intikhabat] will bring great benefit to Islam and the Muslims. With God’s help, you will witness a fundamental shift in the nature and direction of the current war—but this time in favour of the deen of God, His soldiers, and His slaves from among Ahl al-Sunna [the people of the Sunna, i.e., Sunnis].[4]

We believe that this is the most hopeful military operation we have undertaken since the beginning of the blessed jihad in this proud and free land. We have named this campaign “The Axe of Al-Khalil” after the axe of Ibrahim with which he destroyed the idols of the mushrikeen long ago. And with God’s help, you will destroy the idol of modern jahiliyya known as democracy and its idolatrous elections [al-intikhabat al-shirkiyya].

So go forth, O soldiers of God, in the name of God. I ask God to aid you, and let your supplication in this blessed endeavour be what has been authentically reported from our Prophet, who used to say: “O God, by You I fight, and by You I attack, and there is no might nor strength except through God.”

My Lord, aid them and do not aid [others] against them; grant them victory and do not grant victory over them; plot in their favour and do not plot against them; guide them and ease their guidance; and grant them victory over those who transgress against them.

O God, make us among those who give thanks to You, remember You, fear You, are obedient to You, and turn humbly to You [in submission].

My Lord, accept our repentance, wash away our sins, answer our supplications [or prayers], make firm our proof, guide our hearts, direct our tongues, and remove the malice from our hearts.

O God, Revealer of the Book, Mover of the clouds, Defeater of the confederates: defeat them and grant us victory over them.

“God has full power over His affairs, but most men know not” [12:21].

Your brother,

Abu Umar al-Qurayshi al-Baghdadi

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NOTES

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[1] Abu Hurayra was reportedly one of the Prophet’s Companions (Sahaba), who by the Tradition died c. 680 AD, half-a-century after Muhammad. Abu Hurayra is one of the most prolific assigned sources of Hadith, the sayings and doings of Muhammad. The problem is the familiar one: Salih Muslim by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj and Sahih al-Bukhari by Muhammad al-Bukhari, the two most authoritative Hadith collections for Sunnis, were compiled in the mid-ninth century AD, two centuries after Abu Hurayra had died

[2] The phrase “haqqa tuqatih” literally translates as, “the true right of His fear”, and more loosely, “as He truly deserves to be feared”. It was part of Abu al-Su’ud’s exegesis on what is required for complete, uncompromised, and sincere taqwa (consciousness of God). If one was being reductionist, “true piety” would work as a translation.

[3] A literal translation would be: “Listening and obedience is a duty, so long as one is not commanded to disobedience.” The word “disobedience” is “ma’siya”, which means to disobey what God has revealed in the Qur’an and His laws (the shari’a), i.e., to commit a sinful act.

[4] The implicit “last time” in this sentence is a reference to the 2007-08 Sahwa (Awakening), which saw the course of the Iraq war change fundamentally because the tribes in Anbar and most of the other Sunni Arab areas—with the notable exception of Ninawa—as well as the bulk of the other Sunni Islamist insurgents turned on the Islamic State and threw in their lot with the Americans.