New release from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan's Mullā Akhtar Muḥmmad Manṣūr: "Speech to the Annual Sharī'ah Courses of the Mujāhidīn"

:الحمدلله رب العلمین والصلوة والسلام علی رسوله محمد و علی آله و اصحابه أجمعین و بعد
Mujahid brothers!
Peace, Mercy and Blessings of Allah be upon you all
I pray to Allah that you are all well and in good health. That you have taken out time and attended these annual training programs, may Allah Almighty recompense you in full and may He (SWT) accept all your sufferings, fatigue, thirst, hunger, sleeplessness , injuries, imprisonments, sorrows and all sorts of hardships rendered for the establishment of an Islamic system, Ameen, O Lord of the worlds.
Mujahid brothers!
The reason behind organizing such training programs by the leader of Islamic Emirate for the Mujahideen and especially for the high ranking officials is to convey necessary Shar’i (lawful) and jurisprudential rulings about the great worship of Jihad, etiquettes of Qital (fighting) in the path of Allah, dealing with the masses, rectifying intentions, obedience and other such important Islamic teachings and directions to the Mujahideen.
A Shar’i (Islamic) rule states that if a duty-bound Muslim is engaged in an act of worship or in a worldly affair then it becomes obligatory upon him to learn all necessary Islamic rules and regulations about that certain act of worship or transaction. For example, when a person attains the age of puberty and becomes bound by the daily prayers, it similarly becomes obligatory upon him to learn about the Islamic rulings regarding prayers in order for it to be performed correctly. As we are engaged in the important act of worship (Jihad), a critical act of worship in which human beings are killed and mastery is gained over the lives and property of people, therefore if one does not attain necessary knowledge about Jihad, he will most certainly fall into dangers and strife. Hence it is of utmost importance that we utilize this opportunity to learn about the necessary rules of Jihad and study the ethics, permissibility and prohibitions in Jihad. We must recognize the importance of the Layha (Military Code of Conduct booklet) of the Islamic Emirate which is written in light of sublime Shariah law with clarified rulings about all affairs of Mujahideen and we must grasp each article and implement it with the utmost care.
Therefore I advise you to partake in these training courses with passion and sincerity, listen attentively to the lectures and sermons of the respected scholars and elders, and memorize their talks, advice, recommendations and important Islamic rulings to your utmost ability. Make this your habit and impart this knowledge to your Mujahideen brothers so that our sacred Jihad, just as our motto, truly follows sublime Shariah law and our Jihadi ranks are cleansed from the smallest lapse and transgression.
Mujahid brothers!
You know better that Jihad is worship and as with every act of worship which entails reward, it is dependent upon intention of the person performing that act or worship. So if we truly want our Jihad to be considered Jihad in the path of Allah, to secure His favor (help and victory) in this world and attain immense reward and status in the hereafter, we must first and foremost begin by rectifying our intentions. We must purge our intentions from all material and worldly intents such as status, personage, haughtiness, spoils, authority and other such objectives, rather our sole aim should be gaining the gratification of Allah Almighty and establishment of an Islamic system.
As for engaging in practical Jihad after rectifying our intentions, then this stage entails we conduct ourselves inside the limits of Shariah and Hanafi Jurisprudence. All praise is due to Allah, Shariah has clarified every matter for us including the shar’i (lawful) way of dealing with others. That we claim the purpose of our Jihad is for raising high the word of Allah then it is incumbent upon us to first consider Shariah or the word of Allah superior and an authority over us. We must accept the ruling of Shariah in every matter and avoid individual ijtihad (judgment), personal disposition and Ifrat Tafreet (extremism and negligence). Instead we must completely follow Shariah and firmly believe that whatsoever Shariah has ordered is in our benefit even though on the surface it might weigh heavy upon someone’s personal preferences.
On top of following the rulings of Shariah in Jihadi affairs, we must also adopt Taqwa (fear of Allah) as our personal characteristic. Taqwa is a highly praised quality which is considered by Allah as the standard for honor of human beings. Whoever has the most Taqwa will be that much closer to Allah Almighty and that much honorable in His sight.
Obedience of your leaders, compassion towards younger friends and respect for the elders, good conduct with the masses, brotherhood, sacrifice, service, humility, forbearance, forgiveness, trustworthiness, good ethics and noble manners are other excellent qualities with which every Mujahid must be beautified because a Mujahid must be an example of a true Muslim for the masses so that he is followed and the people encouraged towards Islam and Jihad due to his good character and noble manners.
We must understand that the poor defenseless servants of Allah Almighty or Muslim masses that live in areas under our control, who interact with us, turn to our administrative bodies or with whom we relate in one way or another are a trust placed in our hands. They have been entrusted to us by Allah Almighty and placed under our guardianship. It is a huge trial for us to see how we deal with them?
If Allah forbid we deal with them with arrogance, pride, bad-manners and severity, surely we shall be exposed to the wrath of Allah Almighty because He Almighty does not accept oppression directed by anyone upon His slaves. Hence we must be vigilant and follow the prophetic command:
بشروا و لاتنفروا، یسروا و لاتعسروا
Translation: Talk to people about happiness and shun hate, deal with kindness and shun severity
We must deal with our Muslim masses in noble manners, sympathy and kindness so to attain the gratitude of Allah Almighty and retain the support of our people.
Regarding the current situation I must say that, all praise is due to Allah, the Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate are in a much better state than at any other time due to the Bounty and Support of Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty blessed the Mujahideen with great conquests in various provinces of the country and this victorious process is still continuing. The multifaceted enemy plots aimed at splitting the Mujahideen, weakening the foundations of the Islamic Emirate and undermining the resolve of Mujahideen, all these political, propaganda and military plots were vanquished, and all praise belong solely to Allah. The Islamic Emirate remains unified and its foundations are strengthening by the day therefore we must thank and praise Allah Almighty all the while learning from the past situation and being vigilant of future enemy plots.
As for the brothers who grew upset over the past year or remained at a distance from the Islamic Emirate, we must exert full efforts to placate, assuage and integrate them back into the united fold of Islamic Emirate. I want to revive the saying of the founder of Islamic Emirate and our and your beloved leader, Amir ul Mumineen Mullah Muhammad Umar Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) and declare “we do not hold any personal enmity and animosity towards anyone, our friendship and enmity are solely based on the fundamentals of the sacred religion of Islam”.
As the Islamic Emirate has various commissions and departments, the armed Mujahideen and officials must therefore partner with these administrative bodies. Aside from conducting military operations, the Mujahideen must also exert themselves in Preaching and Guidance or invitation of enemy personnel. In education sector, you must create opportunities for religious and scientific education for children and the younger generation of the country in the framework of Shariah. You must similarly participate in all the working bodies for the development and improvement of Jihadi work to the best of your abilities.
In the end I must once again clarify that our path is the path of Divine Shariah and Prophetic pathway. A live example of which was presented to us by the late Amir ul Mumineen, Mullah Muhammad Umar Mujahid and which holds the value of a constitution for us. Our only path is Shariah. Our many enemies seek to tarnish the image of Islamic Emirate with varied propaganda and will continue to use various tools in the future but we must remain sagacious, vigilant and on the straight path. We must not pay heed to enemy propaganda and insinuations and must only focus on our obligation and tasks.
We are hopeful to Allah that, Allah willing, we shall witness many conquests in the coming months.  The events of the previous year, various enemy plots and victories of the Islamic Emirate showed that, praise be to Allah, divine victory is on our side. We firmly believe in Islamic victory and it is from our core beliefs that if we cling to Shariah and remain steadfast on it, no enemy shall prevail over us and we shall remain victorious because Allah Almighty says:
وأنتم الأعلون ان کنتم مؤمنین. آل عمران
 
Translation: And you will be superior if you are [true] believers. (Al-Imran: 139)
So come, let us renew our pledges with reliance on Divine victory and with Taqwa, Iman and resolve to serve the religion of Almighty Allah. Let’s rectify our intentions and prepare for decisive strikes against the enemy purely for the sake of raising the word of Allah armed with strong determination and towering spirits.
To end I once again extend my salutation and best wishes to you all and pray that Allah Almighty free the entire Muslim nation from the calamitous situation and give victory to the Mujahideen. May Allah once again shine the rays of an Islamic government over the entire country and may He bless our suffering nation with a tranquil, dignified and peaceful life under the shade of an Islamic system, Ameen, O Lord of the worlds.
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