Among the Believers Are Men:
ABŪ MUHĀRIB AL-MUHĀJIR
Abū Muhārib al-Muhājir, the
mujāhid who made headlines around the world as “Jihadi John,” was originally
from the northeast of the Arabian Peninsula, while his mother originated from Yemen . At a young
age, the honorable brother traveled with his family to London . This would become a place he grew to
hate along with its kāfir people, whose customs were far-removed from the
praiseworthy values he was much accustomed to. It was through the mercy and blessings
of Allah that Abū Muhārib attained the gift of a sound ‘aqīdah and correct
manhaj despite residing in one of the centers of kufr and despite the increased
presence of deviants calling to the gates of Jahannam.
Around the time of the blessed
raids that rocked London and its transport
system in “2005,” and while the jihād in Iraq was at its peak, with the
announcement of the Islamic State of Iraq being made the following year, Abū
Muhārib began to embark upon the path of hijrah and jihād. He would busy his
days with jihād-related work together with his brothers in creed, including
Bilāl al-Barjāwī and Muhammad Saqr (may Allah accept them), both of whom would
later be killed in separate drone strikes in Somalia early in 1433AH.1 None of
this went unnoticed by MI5 (British intelligence), which started vigorously
targeting Abū Muhārib and those with him. Thus began the campaign of bugging
devices, routine surveillance, house raids, arrests, and no-fly lists, which
also came to include the prevention of any form of overseas travel.
Despite the efforts of MI5, Abū
Muhārib never ceased in his struggle to make hijrah for the sake of Allah. On
his last attempt to leave the UK
for his homeland of Kuwait ,
Abū Muhārib was stopped at the airport and kept for questioning by MI5, the
result of which was their refusal to allow him to travel. During the
interrogation, Abū Muhārib would present himself as unintelligent, as was his
method when dealing with intelligence agencies. The Prophet said, “War is
deception” [Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim].
One particular agent said to him,
“You’re not going anywhere. We are going to be on you like a shadow.” The joke
would eventually be on him, for it was just a matter of days before Allah
opened for Abū Muhārib the opportunity to make hijrah to Shām. Right under the nose
of the much-overrated MI5 British intelligence agency, Abū Muhārib together
with his companion in hijrah carefully and secretly made their departure,
utilizing every means available to them. Depending upon Allah alone for success,
Abū Muhārib with his companion embarked on a long and strenuous journey that
totaled approximately two months and involved trekking the mountain ranges of Europe and its marshy farmlands, sneaking across borders,
and being detained by the authorities of various nations on at least two
occasions. The journey required a great amount of patience and a high degree of
security precautions, two things for which Abū Muhārib was well known.2
Through their persistence and
perseverance, Allah granted them safe deliverance into Shām in the latter part
of “2012.” Upon arrival, Abū Muhārib wasted no time and immediately placed his
hand with the Jamā’ah, joining the Islamic State while it was operating under
the name “Jabhat an-Nusrah,” prior to al-Jawlānī’s treachery. He was not
deceived by the presence of hundreds of groups, or their numerous flags bearing
their hypocritical logos and names. It would be through this very manner of
foresight and decisiveness that Allah would grant Abū Muhārib steadfastness throughout
the many trials which the Islamic State would encounter, including al-Jawlānī’s
betrayal and nullification of his bay’ah to Amīrul-Mu’minīn Abu Bakr
al-Baghdādī (hafidhahullāh). Abū Muhārib was among the very first to declare
his disavowal of al-Jawlānī and would say regarding him, “He’s just going to be
another Shaykh Sharīf,” referring to former head of the Islamic Courts Union of
Somalia – Sharif Sheikh Ahmed – who committed blatant apostasy by entering into
the parliaments of shirk and supporting the United States and African crusader
nations in the war against Islam and the Muslims.
It was Abū Muhārib’s sincerity,
ambition, and enthusiasm to work and tire himself for Allah’s sake that granted
him prominence, as he grew to be loved and respected by many. He participated
in the conquest of the Taftanāz airbase near Idlib and the 17th Division base
near ar-Raqqah. He also partook in the operation in Salqīn near Idlib – where
Abū Mu’āwiyah al-Misrī3 was martyred – as well as in many other battlefronts.
He also participated in the fighting against the sahwāt of Shām and was injured
within the first week of the Sahwah, sustaining a gunshot wound to his back
during the battle to retake Huraytān.
His harshness towards the kuffar
was manifested through deeds that enraged all the nations, religions, and
factions of kufr, the entire world bearing witness to this. {That is because
people are not afflicted by thirst or fatigue or hunger in the cause of Allah,
nor do they tread on any ground that enrages the disbelievers, nor do they
afflict the enemy with anything except that is registered for them as a
righteous deed} [At-Tawbah: 120].
A side of Abū Muhārib that wasn’t
witnessed except by those who knew him was his mercy, kindness, and generosity towards
the believers, his protective jealousy for Islam and its people, and his
affection towards the orphans. Of the deeds that attest to his kindness and
generosity is that after receiving a sabiyyah (concubine) as a gift he did not hesitate
to give her away – likewise as a gift – to an unmarried injured brother. And
from the incidents that attest to his protective jealousy for Islam and its
people is that after engaging in a debate with a Madkhalī (a pro-Saudi
“Salafī”) in one of the “masājid” in the lands of kufr, the Madkhalī remarked
regarding the abuses of the spiteful Jews against our sisters in Palestine that the women
“deserved it.” Abū Muhārib had to be restrained from hitting this Madkhalī by other
worshippers at the “masjid.” A brother who witnessed the incident recalled,
“Abū Muhārib began to weep loudly. I watched him in his prayer weeping in sujūd
as if he had lost a loved one.”
And amongst the deeds that attest
to his affection towards the orphans is that following the martyrdom of Bilāl
al-Barjāwī, Abū Muhārib would frequently visit his orphaned son, t out to the
park and the zoo. He would also teach Qur’ān to other sons of shuhadā’.
{Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those with him are forceful against
the kuffār, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating,
seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure. Their mark is on their faces from
the trace of prostration. That is their description in the Tawrāh. And their
description in the Injīl is as a plant which produces its offshoots and
strengthens them so they grow firm and stand upon their stalks, delighting the
sowers – so that Allah may enrage by them the kuffār. Allah has promised those
who believe and do righteous deeds among them forgiveness and a great reward}
[Al-Fath: 29].
On Thursday, the 29th of
Muharram, 1437, Abū Muhārib finally achieved shahādah for the cause of Allah,
which he had sought for so long, as the car he was in was targeted in a strike
by an unmanned drone in the city of ar-Raqqah, destroying the car and killing
him instantly. May Allah accept our brother among the shuhadā’, envelop him
with His mercy, and enter him into the highest levels of al-Firdaws.
-----------------------
1 Editor’s Note: That was before
Harakat ash-Shabāb joined the war against the Khilāfah under the leadership of
Akhtar Mansour, the infamous agent of the murtadd Pakistani intelligence.
2 Editor’s Note: Perhaps we
release the story of his long hijrah in a
future issue.
3 To read about Abū Mu’āwiyah
al-Misrī and his best friend Abū
Qudāmah al-Misrī (may Allah
accept them both), see Dābiq, issue 7,
“Among the Believers are Men,”
pages 46-49
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