The al-Qa'ida-loyalist outfit Hurras al-Din that operates in northwest Syria released on 7th March 2020 a new speech by Sheikh Abu Himam al-Shami [/al-Souri], who is the amir of the organization. I provide a full translation of the speech in this post. I have to say that this is one of the most generic jihadist speeches I have ever looked at. If a computer program were devised to generate jihadist speeches, it would not be all that dissimilar to this one by Abu Himam al-Shami. The speech is also somewhat repetitive.

In sum:

- The battle in Syria is one of the monotheist mujahideen against the idolater enemies. There is a great international disbeliever/apostate conspiracy against the jihad in Syria. The people of al-Sham and the mujahid factions need to beware of this conspiracy and avoid falling into the trap of losing their decision-making to malign actors.

- The people of al-Sham and the mujahideen need to be steadfast and endure and remember that tribulation of the believers is something by which God tests His servants and distinguishes the truly faithful.

- The mujahideen should pursue guerrilla warfare against the enemy and do all they can from various tactics to terrorize the enemy. They should not despair despite their poverty and hardship.

- The youth of the Islamic Ummah should support the jihad in Syria.

- Please God, destroy Assad, his followers, the Jews, Christians, Shi'a and other enemies of the religion.

Analytically, there is little to say about this speech beyond the following points. First, clearly and unsurprisingly the speech is in opposition to international understandings such as the recent Russian-Turkish agreement over northwest Syria. Second, the speech avoids mentioning any factional partisan disputes and is in keeping with the current policy of the Hurras al-Din leadership to set aside disputes with the likes of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and focus on a unified effort to fight the enemy (despite the fact Hurras al-Din maintains its own operations room with its closest allies separate from the al-Fatah al-Mubin operations room of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and the other factions. Third, the references to poverty etc. could indicate Hurras al-Din's own bad financial situation and scarcity in resources. Fourth, there is no indication or suggestion of adopting a policy of focusing on Western/external targets. Indeed, given the situation in the northwest and the scarce resources and difficult position of the organization, such a policy would make no sense for Hurras al-Din.

Below is the speech translated in full.

[Intro by media foundation]:

Sham al-Ribat Foundation for Media Production Presents:

Speech by the Mujahid Sheikh Abu Himam al-Shami (may God protect him)

A speech with the title:

Oh people of al-Sham, be steadfast, be steadfast

[Speech of Abu Himam al-Shami]:

In the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful

Praise be to God the Lord of the Worlds. Praise be to God the Powerful, the Mighty. Praise be to God the supporter of the believers, praise be to God who says: "And it has been a right upon Us to support the believers." Praise be to God who has chosen us from among His creation to wage jihad against His enemies and to raise His banner and to make supreme His word and implement His Shari'a. And prayers and peace be upon the sayyid of those sent and the imam of the pious, and example of the mujahideen, and leader of the intrepid ones, God's blessings be upon him and all his family and companions. As for what follows:

God (Almighty and Exalted is He) said: "So let those who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter fight in the path of God. And whoso fights in the path of God then is killed or overcomes, We will bring him a great reward. And what is the matter with you that you do not fight in the path of God and the oppressed of the men and women and children who say: 'Oh our Lord, get us out of this city whose people are oppressive and place for us from Yourself a guardian and place for us from Yourself a supporter. Those who have believed fight in the path of God and those who have disbelieved fight in the path of the Taghut so fight the allies of Satan. Indeed the plot of Satan has been weak" [Qur'an 4:74-76].

And God Almighty has said: "Indeed God has purchased from the believers their lives and wealth in that for them is Paradise as they fight in the path of God and kill and are killed: a true promise upon Him in the Torah, Gospel and Qur'an. And who is truer to his pledge than God? So rejoice in your transaction you have pledged and that is the great reward" [Qur'an 9:111].

And on the authority of Mu'awiya bin Qara on the authority of his father: he said: SAWS said: "If the people of al-Sham are corrupt there is no good in you. A sect of my Ummah will remain victorious, not harmed by those who abandon them, until the hour arises"- [narrated by Ahmad].

And SAWS said: "A sect of my Ummah will continue fighting on truth and triumphing over whoso opposes them, until the last of the fights the Antichrist"- [narrated by Abu Dawud].

To our people in blessed al-Sham:

The Almighty has said: "So those who have migrated and have been driven out of their abode and have been harmed in My path and have fought and been killed, I will certainly remove from them their evil deeds and insert them into Paradise under which rivers flow: a reward from God. And with God is the best reward"- [Qur'an 3:195].

Oh our people in al-Sham:

Seek help in God and be patient. Indeed God is with the patient. And be steadfast upon truth and cling to it, and ask God for steadfastness on the religion and death upon Tawheed, and know that the Sunna of God in tribulation of His creation is in effect until God should inherit the earth and whoso is upon it, so that God may test the believers and destroy the disbelievers. God- Almighty and Exalted is He- has said: "Alif-Lam-Mim: have the people reckoned that they will be left and say: 'We have believed'- but they will not be tested?' [Qur'an 29:1-2].

And He has said: "Or have you reckoned that you will enter Paradise and God has not yet known those of you who have waged jihad while knowing those who endure?" [Qur'an 3:142].

And for you in the Messenger of God is a find example, for your Prophet (SAWS) was exposed to many trials that can occur to a man, from poverty, hunger, being struck, torment, ridicule, war and jihad, as well as the loss of the mother, father, grandfather, and uncle and loss of children and companions and abandoning of the abode.

And in the hadith of Sa'ad bin Abi Waqas (may God be pleased with him): I said: "Oh Messenger of God, which people are the most strongly tested?" He said: "The prophets, then the just, then the exemplary, for the exemplary of the people: the man is tested on his religion, so if there is a solid foundation in his religion it is increased in his tribulation and if there is in his religion weakness it is diminished from him. And the tribulation continues upon man until he walks on the face of the earth with no fault upon him"- [narrated by Ahmad].

And I reckon you as only having come out to support your religion and demand the implementation of the Shari'a of your Lord. And indeed your slogans and statements enraged your enemies so the friend and enemy conspired against you, and they tried and still try to steal the fruit of your jihad, and rally against your demands so that you should be content with the very least. For if you do that (God forbid), you have ruled upon yourselves in death or humiliation and degradation for another hundred years seeking refuge in God. And what is happening now in the field of al-Sham is but one of the series of the grand plot against Islam and its people, led by the nations of disbelief from the rulers who are collaborations and traitors and have sold their religion and lands, and have bartered the resources of their peoples to please their masters of the Jews and the Christians. And the states of disbelief continue discussing and maneuvering to reactivate the exhausted Nusayri regime, and put out the blessed jihad of this Ummah, and try to transform the directive of the arms directed against this collapsed regime to arms directed against the mujahideen in the name of waging war on terrorism!

And is it as though the Muslims in al-Sham are being exterminated and killed and their homes destroyed above their heads and their markets bombed and the hospitals and markets bombed by the aircraft of the mujahideen?!

And is it as though the millions of the displaced and the thousands of male and female prisoners, who are forced to endure the worst torture, with their honour violated- may God alleviate their distress and hasten their freeing from imprisonment- because of the mujahideen?!

The mujahideen are the ones who defend the religion, honour and land, so God is our reliance and He suffices as trustee, so no surprise!!

So on the authority of Abu Huraira (may God be pleased with him): he said: the Messenger of God (SAWS) said: "There will come upon the people years of deceptions, in which the liar is believed and the honest declared a liar, and the traitor is trusted, and the trusted betrayed, and in which al-Ruwaibdah will speak"- narrated by Ibn Majeh.

And we realized early on the danger of this conspiracy and we warned all to stop it, but the poisonous wealth of the supporters and sweetened promises of the guarantors have weakened the will to fight among many, and distracted them with what is baser from what is best, and the distortion of the compass direction, for after the reins of the initiative were in their hands, as they sought to bring down the criminal disbeliever Nusayri regime, their desires have become no higher than the level of desire of children and women in seeking security and safety and living in peace between trees and tents.

So beware oh our people in al-Sham, and oh our brothers in all of the mujahid factions, lest you submit to the pressure of the supporters or be deceived by the promises of the guarantors, for the will to fight is being usurped from you, so you become after that prisoners to their decisions, so you are sold and purchased so you become regretful for what you have done. So indeed I call you oh our people and oh our brothers and oh our youth and oh our merchants to return to God and we should only put our reliance on Him and we should only seek help in God the Powerful and Mighty, and we should cling to the command of our Prophet and not relinquish our weapons and jihad, and we should unite our rank and cooperate in what is among us so we can build a strike force to take revenge for our free and martyrs against the regime and its helpers and allies.

Oh our people in al-Sham

We are your mujahideen sons and brothers. We have pledged to God to support His religion and raise His banner and implement His Shari'a and support you and defend you in all we can, so help us ad do not forsake us and do not despair or lose hope for the mercy of God.

To the mujahideen brothers who endure and await.

Oh strangers, oh strangers of the tribes, oh protectors of the religion, oh guardians of the creed, oh sons of Islam: you are the soldiers of God in His land. He has chosen you and ennobled you to raise His banner and support His religion: "Oh you who have believed, if you support God, He will support you and plant firm your feet" [Qur'an 47:7].

And know that God created men for this religion- "men who have fulfilled what they have pledge to God." Indeed God created men for this religion who will support it and guard it and protect it and raise His banner and implement the rule of the Shari'a and fight His enemies, so they have sold their lives and wealth to God.

"For among them are those who have fulfilled their vow"- so they have fulfilled it and completed it and perfected it for they have expended their lifeblood and lives as cheap in the path of God and desiring to please Him, so God has completed the transaction.

So oh my mujahideen brothers,

Be steadfast, be steadfast.

Oh soldiers of God, oh servants of God, be steadfast before your enemy, and be steadfast upon truth and cling to your religion. The Almighty has said: "Oh you who have believed, if your meet a group, be steadfast and remember God a lot in the hope you may succeed" [Qur'an 8:45].

And beware lest your Islam be undermined and let not the gathering of the enemies terrify you and let not the conspiracy of the far and the betrayal of the near terrify you, for in the hadith of Thawban (may God be pleased with him): he said: the Messenger of God (SAWS) said: "The nations will soon summon each other against you, as people eating have invited each other to share their dish"- [narrated by Abu Dawud].

So be steadfast, be steadfast oh soldiers of God.

This battle is the battle of Islam, and this conflict is a conflict between disbelief and faith, a conflict between truth and falsehood, a conflict between the monotheists and the idolaters, for this battle is the battle of the monotheist honest mujahideen against the enemies of the religion from the disbelievers and apostate Tawagheet and the atheists and hypocrites. So either you be steadfast so your Lord will make use of you or you turn back and your Lord will replace you: "And if you turn back, He will replace you with a different people then they will not be the likes of you" [Qur'an 47:38].

And our Lord has ordered us to take up the causes that strengthen us against our enemies. The Almighty has said: "And prepare for them what you can from force and tying of horses by which you may terrify the enemy of God and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know but God knows. And what you spend in the path of God will be repaid to you and you will not be wronged" [Qur'an 8:60].

So prepare for them what you can from force, prepare for them all force and all of the arts of fighting. And do not limit yourselves to confronting your enemy in fighting face to face, but rather use with them all tactics and the best of them and most useful of them is guerrilla warfare, for it is a war of the oppressed. So terrify them by infiltration and terrify them with raids, and intensify the raid upon them over and over, raid after raid, and silence their breaths with the inghimasis and martyrdom operatives and blow up the land from under them and make the trees and rocks participate, and render their night as day and their day as fire.

And among the reasons for victory and force after preparation is organizing the armies and organizing the battalions and squadrons and closing ranks. The Almighty has said: "Indeed God loves those who fight in His path as one rank as though they are a structured edifice" [Qur'an 61:4].

So this is a conveyance from the Blessed and Almighty of love for His believing servants when they unite in confronting the enemies of God in the turmoil of the clash, fighting in the path of God those who have disbelieved in God, so that the word of God should be the highest, and His religion the supreme and lofty over the rest of the religions.

On the authority of Sa'id al-Khudri (may God be pleased with him): he said: SAWS said: "Three are those towards whom God smiles: the man who arises from the night, the people when they unite in rank for prayer, and the people when they unite in rank to fight"- [narrated by Ibn Majeh].

The Almighty has said: "And if God supports you, no one can overcome you. And if He forsakes you who is there who will support you after Him? So let the believers put their reliance in God" [Qur'an 3:160].

And the Almighty has said: "And it has been a right upon Us to support the believers"- [Qur'an 30:47].

And the Almighty has said: "Oh you who have believed, seek help in patience and prayer. Indeed God is with those who endure. And so not say that whose killed in the path of God are dead but they are living but you do not realize. And indeed We test you with something of fear, hunger and deficiency of wealth, lives and fruits. And give glad tidings to those who endure"- [Qur'an 2:153-155].

And indeed I know and see what is in you from poverty, scarcity and need, and indeed you know what the mujahideen are going through in the field of al-Sham, from poverty and economic siege and material strangling by those who strive to weaken them and dismantle them to destroy them. And I say to you in consolation:

On the authority of Anas (may God be pleased with him): he said: "The Messenger of God- SAWS- came out to the trench so behold the mujahireen and ansar were digging in a cold morning for they had no slaves doing that for them, so when saw what was in them from hardship and hunger, he said: oh God, indeed the life is the life of the Hereafter, so forgive the ansar and the mujahireen. So they said to him in affection for him: we are the ones who have pledged allegiance to Muhammad on jihad so long as we live"- [narrated by al-Bukhari].

And with all this hardship, hunger and need that was upon his companions in digging the trench, he was conveying them with glad tidings of the treasures of Chosroes and Caesar from the land of the Persians and the Romans.

So be patient of my brothers and do not despair for what has afflicted you and do not be said for what is in you from poverty. The Almighty has said: "And how many a prophet fought and with him many religious scholars, but they did not lose assurance for what afflicted them in the path of God and they did not weaken and they did not submit. And God loves those who endure"- [Qur'an 3:146].

This is the convoy of the prophets and their followers: they are not afflicted by the loss of assurance despite the tribulation and trial, and they do not weaken in seeking out the enemy, and they have not submitted to their enemy, but they have proceeded on their insights and the methodology of their prophet, enduring upon the command of God and the command of their prophet and following His revelation and inspiration. Safeguard what benefits you and seek help in God and do not weaken. Occupy yourselves with remembrance of God and obedience to Him and recital of the Qur'an and meditate upon it night and day. Be servant monks in the night, courageous knights in the day. Be where God wishes to see you. Strengthen the fronts and prepare for them what you can from force by which you may terrify the enemies of God. Bring down the raids upon them by night and day. Bomb them with what you can. For God blesses the one who shoots and will make right: "And you have not shot [/thrown] even as you shot, but God shot."

The Almighty has said: "Fight them: God will torment them at your hands and ruin them and will give you victory over them and heal the hearts of a believing people, and remove the fury of their hearts. And God will accept the repentance of whoso He wills, and God is knowing, wise" [Qur'an 9:14-15].

My message to the youth of the Islamic Ummah who refrain from supporting their mujahideen brothers and refrain from defending the oppressed. I say to them: the Almighty has said: "And what is the matter with you that you do not fight in the path of God and the oppressed of the men and women and children who say: 'Oh our Lord, get us out of this city whose people are oppressive and place for us from Yourself a guardian and place for us from Yourself a supporter"- [Qur'an 4:75].

Oh youth of Islam...

Has it not pained you to see the oppressed and subjugated people in the land of al-Sham as they are forced to endure the types of the tormenter from the enemies of God?

Has it not pained you to see the corpses of the slain from women, men and children?

Has it not saddened you to see the millions of people displaced from their abode and land?

What will you say to your Lord when He asks you about supporting them?

So God is our reliance and He suffices as trustee.

Oh God, indeed I have conveyed, so oh God, bear witness.

In conclusion

Our Lord, forgive us our sons and our exceeding bounds in our matter, and plant firm our feet and give us victory over the disbelieving people.

Oh God, grant us and our Ummah a thing of guidance in which Your allies and the people of obedience to You are strengthened and Your enemies and those who disobey You are laid low, right is commanded and what is wrong is forbidden, and judgement is made by Your law, oh Lord of the Worlds.

Oh God, oh Lord of lords, oh King of kings, oh One of might and power, oh King of the dominion and kingdom.

Oh God, support Your monotheist mujahideen servants in every place and time.

Oh God, accept the killed of them and heal their wounded and heal their afflicted and free their prisoners, oh most merciful of the merciful.

Oh God, free Your monotheist servants of the mujahideen and religious scholars and purely devoted preachers and our believing Muslim sisters from the prisons of the criminal oppressive tyrants.

Oh God, free them and free them and return them to their people safe and sound rejoicing and not disgraced or tormented through Your mercy.

Oh God, oh Powerful, oh Mighty, oh Strong, oh Vanquisher of the mighty and Breaker of the Chosroes kings.

Oh God, destroy Bashar and his soldiers and followers and partisans and allies.

Oh God, seize them with the mighty potent seizure.

Oh God, Revealer of the Book and Defeater of the Parties, Quick of Account, oh God defeat them and shake them and destroy them and give us victory over them, oh Mighty, oh Wise.

Oh God, destroy the Jews, Christians, Nusayris and whoso supports them.

Oh God, destroy the Shi'a, communists and whoso takes sides with them: Your enemies, the enemies of the religion.

And God's blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and all his family and companions. And praise be to God the Lord of the Worlds.