I seek Allah's protection from Satan the Accursed.
In the name of Allah, the Most Kind, the Most Merciful.
All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family, and his Companions, and upon those of mankind who follow him rightfully until the Day of Judgment.
To proceed:
Less than one month after the martyrdom of the Sheikh and Mujahid Said Abu Saad, may Allah have Mercy on him, the Ummah is once again mourning the martyrdom of another Lion of Tawhid, Abu Imran (Emir Saifullah), may Allah have Mercy on him.
Emir Saifullah was martyred in the city of Nalchik in Kabardino-Balkaria on March 24th, 2010. His car was stopped at a checkpoint, and the Emir had but two choices: surrender and accept a life of torture and humiliation, or refuse to surrender and instead embrace martyrdom.
He opened fire immediately and shot one of the renegade policemen several times, before he himself was martyred in a hail of bullets.
This brave and selfless decision allowed his companion to escape, and all praise be to Allah.
Let us look briefly at the life, the works and the legacy of the martyr, with the permission of Allah.
His life:
Emir Saifullah was born Anzor Astemirov in 1976. From an early age he was a devout Muslim, and even in his youth he began to call others to Islam. He became a well-known and greatly respected Imam in the city of Nalchik.
But there is a time for preaching, and then there is a time for fighting.
So when Jihad erupted across the Caucasus Emir Saifullah answered the call to Jihad. But he continued to call others to Islam and to Jihad, as Allah (glorious and exalted is He) commands in Surah an-Nisa:
"Then fight in Allah's cause - you are held responsible only for yourself - and incite the Believers. It may be that Allah will restrain the fury of the disbelievers; for Allah is the strongest in might and in punishment".
(The Holy Quran, Surah 4. "The Women", verse 84)
Unlike others, he did not let petty nationalism nor his own personal ego get in the way of him performing his religious duty, and thus he pledged allegiance to Emir Abu Usman.
Allah (glorious and exalted is He) says in Surah 9. The Repentance, verse 36:
"And fight the polytheists collectively, as they fight you collectively"
Emir Saifullah put a lot of emphasis on unity - not only uniting the various groups operating in the Caucasus on the single banner of the Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus, but also uniting the Mujahideen of the Caucasus with their fellow Mujahideen the world over.
This is why he purposely chose to repeatedly appear before the same banner flown by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Youth Mujahideen Movement of Somalia, and many other Mujahideen movements across the globe.
He was also a front-line warrior, as the whole world was made aware in October 2005 when he led the huge raid against the renegade forces in Nalchik.
Allah (glorious and exalted is He) says:
"Fight them, and Allah will punish them by your hands, cover them with shame, help you (to victory) over them, heal the breasts of the Believers"
(The Holy Quran, Surah 9. "The Repentance", verse 14)
This operation, more than any other, set alarm bells ringing in Moscow.
The 'situation' in Chechnya had clearly spread far beyond the borders of Chechnya, and had become a 'situation' that now encompassed the entire North Caucasus! The Russians would be forced to send thousands more troops and spend many more billions of dollars to try to control this 'situation'.
And the rest of the world took notice too - suddenly they realized: this was not some battle between Chechen 'separatists' and the remnants of the Soviet Union. This was a battle between Islam and Disbelief - between Truth and Falsehood!
His works:
And the Emir was also to play a leading role in the battle for hearts and minds which is being fought across the globe.
It was Emir Saifullah who, more than any other individual, convinced Emir Abu Usman that the time to declare an Islamic Emirate had arrived, to the delight of Muslims the world over.
It was Emir Saifullah who regularly called for the translation of Islamic works from scholars such as Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi into Russian, to ensure the next generation of Mujahideen are following the correct Aqidah.
It was Emir Saifullah who was given the heavy burden of passing a sentence of death on Akhmed Zakayev, a man who had previously shared strong ties of kinship to some of the Mujahideen, but who had sadly abandoned Islam and Jihad for a life of luxury in Europe.
It was Emir Saifullah who gave scholars such as Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi reassurance than the struggle in the Caucasus was one of Jihad for the sake on Allah, and no longer merely a struggle for 'national liberation'. The renewed interest in the Jihad in the Caucasus is largely the result of Emir Saifullah's efforts to raise awareness and strengthen ties between the Mujahideen of the Caucasus and others from around the globe.
Perhaps more than any other single individual Emir Saifullah recognized the importance of communication between the Muslims and Mujahideen of the Caucasus and those from the rest of the world.
Some people had mistakenly believed that what was happening in the Caucasus was an anti-imperialist struggle, or a war for national liberation.
And while the Mujahideen certainly do wish to expel the Russian invaders, they have no desire to replace an ethnic Russian secularist with a Chechen or Ingush one!
The Mujahideen of the Caucasus are fighting to make the word of Allah (glorious and exalted is He) supreme!
The Mujahideen of the Caucasus are fighting to establish the Sharia throughout the entire region!
The Mujahideen of the Caucasus are fighting to enjoin good and forbid evil!
And they are not concerned about what the United Nations or the European Union has to say about them!
Allah (glorious and exalted is He) says in Surah 5. The Table Spread, verse 54:
"O ye who believe! If any from among you turn back from his Faith, Allah will bring a people whom He loves, and who love Him, humble towards the Believers, stern towards the disbelievers, striving in the way of Allah, and fearing not the blame of any blamer"
And thanks to the efforts of men like Emir Saifullah, the Ummah now knows that this is precisely what the Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus are striving for, may Allah (glorious and exalted is He) grant them victory or martyrdom.
His legacy:
Undoubtedly the legacy of the Emir will be seen in the ties he established with Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi and the other scholars and Mujahideen across the globe. His martyrdom will lead to renewed interest in and patronage of the Jihad in the Caucasus, Allah willing.
The Emir has been martyred, so let us continue his work!
Let more works be translated from Arabic, English and other languages into Russian, so that the youth of the Caucasus can continue to benefit from the best Islamic minds, so that the next generation of Mujahideen be raised on the correct Aqidah right from the start.
But even more importantly, let more works be translated from Russian into Arabic, English and other languages, so that the Ummah can be made more aware of the situation in the Caucasus, about what is being done to our brothers and sisters, and what can be done to help them.
And finally, let us not mourn the martyrdom of Emir Saifullah. We should rejoice, for Allah (glorious and exalted is He) has granted him the thing for which he longed - martyrdom in His path! And that is the supreme success!
"Allah has purchased of the Believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur'an: and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah? Then rejoice in the bargain which ye have concluded: that is the achievement supreme!"
(The Holy Quran, Surah 9. "The Repentance", verse 111)
So let us ask Allah to grant Emir Saifullah the highest levels of Paradise!
Let us ask Allah to strengthen the Mujahideen of Kabarda, Balkaria and Karachai province, and keep them on the straight path!
Let us ask Allah to strengthen the Mujahideen throughout the Caucasus, and to keep them united under one banner!
Let us ask Allah to strengthen the unity between the Mujahideen of the Caucasus and the Mujahideen around the world!
Let us ask Allah to send a new Emir to serve as the Chief Qadi (Judge) of the Supreme Sharia Court of the Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus, and to implement the Sharia across the Caucasus, and then across the globe!
And our final prayer is that All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
Abd al-Khaliq al-Muhajir
Rabi Al-Akhar 23, 1431 AH
Corresponding to April 8th 2010
Source: Ansar Al-Jihad
Kavkaz Center
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