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On May 14, 2015, the Islamic State (ISIS) media company Al-Furqan released a new audio speech by its leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, titled "March Forth Whether Light or Heavy." In the speech Al-Baghdadi issued a general call to arms to all Muslims, urging them to emigrate to ISIS territories and to fight ISIS's enemies, whom he called the enemies of all Muslims. Al-Baghdadi directly addressed several issues related to current events, primarily the campaign being waged in Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthi rebels.
The link to the speech, on Justpaste.it, was disseminated by ISIS supporters via Twitter.
Below is a summary of Al-Baghdadi's speech, followed by the English translation of it provided by ISIS.
Al-Baghdadi begins his speech with an introduction replete with Koranic quotes stressing the importance and obligation of fighting the enemies of Islam and dying as a martyr for it. Citing the example of the Prophet Muhammad, who, Al-Baghdadi says, waged jihad throughout his entire life, he stresses that jihad and fighting are obligatory for every Muslim. Al-Baghdadi adds that participation in battle and willingness to die for Allah are aimed at testing the believers and rewarding them.
He then goes on to attack the enemies of Islam, whom he identifies mainly as the Christians and the Jews, quoting scripture in order to emphasize that they are perpetual foes of the Muslims who wish to harm them and to cause them to leave their religion. Urging all Muslims to join the Islamic State in its battles, he says that its enemies are in fact the enemies of all Muslims, as the Islamic State is but the "spearhead" in this war. "The Crusaders," i.e. the Western powers, will soon target all Muslims, he claimed.
Bluntly underscoring his call to arms and his statement that actively supporting ISIS in its war is obligatory, he states that Islam is not a religion of peace, but rather "Islam is the religion of war."
Next, Al-Baghdadi lashes out at the regimes and rulers of the Arab and Islamic countries, accusing them of being nothing but the slaves of the Western powers, which he says use them to oppress the Muslim peoples. He speaks at length against Saudi Arabia, pointing at the Saudi monarchy as one of his archenemies. Calling the Saudi royal family allies of the Christians and the Jews, he says they are traitors to Islam. He taunts the Saudis, saying that their longtime ally, the U.S., has exchanged them for Iran. In their frustration, he says, the Saudis launched an attack on the Shi'ites in Yemen, the Iranian-backed Houthis. This, he says, is hypocrisy, since the Saudis have never done a thing to assist downtrodden Muslims elsewhere, from Syria to Burma to Africa, and, most prominently, in Palestine.
Saudi Arabia's Operation Decisive Storm is nothing but the "kick of a dying man" aimed at regaining the appreciation of its masters in the U.S., he says, and urges the Sunnis to see the Saudis for their true traitorous nature and to understand that their only defender is the Islamic State.
Al-Baghdadi also talks about the situation in Anbar province in Iraq, calling upon its Sunni residents to return to their lands and villages and to embrace Islamic State rule.
In the final part of his speech, Al-Baghdadi addresses the Islamic State fighters. Beginning with those in Iraq, to whom he speaks at length, he calls on them to be steadfast and strong and to persist in their fighting, and praises them for their achievements in the war against the Iraqi government forces and the Shi'ite militias.
He also addresses Islamic State soldiers in the other countries, beginning those in the Sinai province; these he commends for striking fear amongst the Jews and expresses his hope to meet them in Jerusalem "very soon." Praising Islamic State fighters in the various areas of Syria, in Libya, and in Algeria and Tunisia, he gives special mention to those in two new Islamic State provinces – Khurasan, that is, Afghanistan/Pakistan, and West Africa. Another special mention is given to the Islamic State fighters in Yemen, whom he congratulates on their recent advances against the Shi'ites.
Following is the full text of Al-Baghdadi's speech, in the English translation provided by ISIS:
"Indeed, all praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His aid, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evils of our souls and the wickedness of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, then none can misguide him; and whomsoever Allah leaves astray, then none can guide him. I testify that there is no god but Allah alone, who has no partner, and I testify that Muhammad is His slave and messenger. As for what follows:
"Allah (the Mighty and Majestic) said, {Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you} [Al-Baqarah: 216].
"And He (the Mighty and Majestic) said, {So let those fight in the cause of Allah who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter. And he who fights in the cause of Allah and is killed or achieves victory – We will bestow upon him a great reward} [An-Nisā': 74].
"And He (the Mighty and Majestic) said, {O you who have believed, what is [the matter] with you that, when you are told to go forth in the cause of Allah, you adhere heavily to the earth? Are you satisfied with the life of this world rather than the Hereafter? But what is the enjoyment of worldly life compared to the Hereafter except a [very] little. If you do not go forth, He will punish you with a painful punishment and will replace you with another people, and you will not harm Him at all. And Allah is over all things competent} [At-Tawbah: 38-39].
"And He (the Glorified) said, {And those who are killed in the cause of Allah – never will He waste their deeds. He will guide them and amend their condition, and admit them to Paradise, which He has made known to them} [Muhammad: 4-6].
"O Muslims! O you who are pleased with Allah as your Lord, and with Islam as your religion, and with Muhammad (peace be upon him) as your prophet and messenger… O you who testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah… Speech will not benefit you without action, for there is no faith without action.
"So whoever says, 'Allah is my Lord,' it is incumbent upon him – if he is truthful – to obey Allah (the Mighty and Majestic) who enjoined fighting, meaning that He made it obligatory upon those who believe in Him, and commanded the performance of jihād for His cause, and promised reward for those who obey His command, and threatened those who disobey Him.
"And whoever says, 'My prophet is Muhammad (peace be upon him),' it is incumbent upon him – if he is truthful in his claim – to follow his example (peace be upon him). And he is the one who said, 'By He in whose hand is Muhammad's soul, if it were not that I would be placing hardship on the Muslims, I would never stay behind when a detachment departs to fight for the cause of Allah. But I do not find any means so that they can accompany me, nor are they pleased with staying behind when I depart. And by He in whose hand is Muhammad's soul, I would love to fight for the cause of Allah and be killed, and then fight for the cause of Allah and be killed again, and then fight for the cause of Allah and be killed again.'
"So where are you O Muslim in relation to the command of your Lord, who commanded you to fast in one verse, and commanded you with jihād and fighting in dozens of verses? Where are you in relation to your Prophet (peace be upon him), whom you claim to emulate, and who spent his whole life (peace be upon him) as a mujāhid for the cause of Allah, fighting His enemies? His lateral incisor tooth was broken in battle, his forehead was wounded, two rings from his chainmail cut his cheeks, his helmet was broken on his head, and blood ran down his face. May my father, my mother, I, and all of mankind be sacrificed for him.
"O Muslim! O you who claims to love Allah (the Mighty and Majestic), and claims to love His Prophet (peace be upon him)… If you are truthful in your claim, then obey your beloved and fight for the cause of Allah, and emulate your beloved (peace be upon him), and do not die except as a mujāhid for the cause of Allah. {Alif, Lām, Mīm. Do the people think that they will be left to say, 'We believe' and they will not be tried? But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars. Or do those who do evil deeds think they can surpass Us? Evil is what they judge. Whoever should hope for the meeting with Allah – indeed, the term decreed by Allah is coming. And He is the Hearing, the Knowing. And whoever strives only strives for [the benefit of] himself. Indeed, Allah is free from need of the creation} [Al-'Ankabūt: 1-6]. {Go forth, whether light or heavy, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allah. That is better for you, if you only knew} [At-Tawbah: 41].
"O Muslims! Indeed, Allah's way (the Blessed and Exalted) is for the conflict between truth and falsehood to continue until the establishment of the Hour. {And you will not find in the way of Allah any change} [Al-Ahzāb: 62].
"And indeed, Allah (the Glorified) tested His slaves with this conflict in order to distinguish the wicked from the good, the liar from the truthful one, and the believer from the hypocrite. {And We will surely test you until We make evident those who strive among you [for the cause of Allah] and the patient, and We will test your affairs} [Muhammad: 31].
"Indeed, your Lord has made jihād for the cause of Allah obligatory upon you and has commanded you to fight His enemies so that He may forgive your sins, raise you in rank, take from among you martyrs, purify the believers, and destroy the disbelievers. Otherwise, He Himself (the Glorified) is capable of prevailing over them. But it is in order to test you. {And these days [of varying conditions] We alternate among the people so that Allah may make evident those who believe and [may] take to Himself from among you martyrs – and Allah does not like the wrongdoers – and that Allah may purify the believers [through trials] and destroy the disbelievers. Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while Allah has not yet made evident those of you who fight in His cause and made evident those who are steadfast?} [Āl 'Imrān: 140-142].
"O Muslims! Whoever thinks that it is within his capacity to conciliate with the Jews, Christians, and other disbelievers, and for them to conciliate with him, such that he coexists with them and they coexist with him while he is upon his religion and upon tawhīd (monotheism), then he has belied the explicit statement of his Lord (the Mighty and Majestic), who says, {And never will the Jews or the Christians approve of you until you follow their religion} [Al-Baqarah: 120]. {And they will continue to fight you until they turn you back from your religion if they are able} [Al-Baqarah: 217]. {Neither those who disbelieve from the People of the Book nor the polytheists wish that any good should be sent down to you from your Lord. But Allah selects for His mercy whom He wills, and Allah is the possessor of great bounty} [Al-Baqarah: 105].
"So this is the condition of the disbelievers in dealing with the Muslims until the establishment of the Hour. {And you will never find in the way of Allah any alteration} [Fātir: 43].
Indeed, fighting the disbelievers, hijrah (emigration), and jihād will remain until the establishment of the Hour. Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, 'Hijrah will not cease [to exist] until repentance ceases [to be accepted], and repentance will not cease [to be accepted] until the sun rises from the West.' He (peace be upon him) also said, 'Goodness – reward and booty – will be in the forelocks of horses until the Day of Judgment.' He (peace be upon him) also said, 'There will not cease to exist a group from my nation fighting upon the truth, manifest until the Day of Judgment. Then, Jesus son of Mary will descend, and their leader will say, 'Come and lead us in prayer.' So he will say, 'No. You are leaders over one another as an honor from Allah for this nation.''
"O Muslims! Do not think the war that we are waging is the Islamic State's war alone. Rather, it is the Muslims' war altogether. It is the war of every Muslim in every place, and the Islamic State is merely the spearhead in this war. It is but the war of the people of faith against the people of disbelief, so march forth to your war O Muslims. March forth everywhere, for it is an obligation upon every Muslim who is accountable before Allah. And whoever stays behind or flees, Allah (the Mighty and Majestic) will be angry with him and will punish him with a painful torment. {O you who have believed, when you meet those who disbelieve advancing [for battle], do not turn to them your backs [in flight]. And whoever turns his back to them on such a day, unless swerving [as a strategy] for war or joining [another] company, has certainly returned with anger [upon him] from Allah, and his refuge is Hell – and wretched is the destination} [Al-Anfāl: 15-16]. {If you do not go forth, He will punish you with a painful punishment and will replace you with another people, and you will not harm Him at all} [At-Tawbah: 39]. {And whoever strives only strives for [the benefit of] himself. Indeed, Allah is free from need of the creation} [Al-'Ankabūt: 6].
"So there is no excuse for any Muslim who is capable of performing hijrah to the Islamic State, or capable of carrying a weapon where he is, for Allah (the Blessed and Exalted) has commanded him with hijrah and jihād, and has made fighting obligatory upon him.
"And we call upon every Muslim in every place to perform hijrah to the Islamic State or fight in his land wherever that may be. And do not think that we are calling upon you to march forth out of weakness or incapability, for we are strong by Allah's bounty, strong by Allah, strong by our faith in Him, our seeking of His aid, our seeking refuge with Him, our reliance upon Him alone without any partners, and our good expectation of Him. This is because the battle is one between the allies of the Merciful and the allies of Satan, and so Allah (the Mighty and Majestic) will support His soldiers, grant His slaves authority, and preserve His religion, even if the days alternate between victory and loss, even if war is competition, and even if wounds afflict both parties. We do not call upon you O Muslim out of weakness or inability. We call upon you out of advice for you, love for you, and compassion for you. We remind you and call you so that you do not attain Allah's anger, torment, and punishment, and so that you do not lose this good that the mujāhidīn for Allah's cause obtain. This good of the worldly life and Hereafter entails the expiation of sins, obtainment of good deeds, raising of ranks, getting closer to Allah (the Mighty and Majestic), and accompanying the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. We call upon you so that you leave the life of humiliation, disgrace, degradation, subordination, loss, emptiness, and poverty, to a life of honor, respect, leadership, richness, and another matter that you love – victory from Allah and an imminent conquest.
"O Muslims, Islam was never for a day the religion of peace. Islam is the religion of war. Your Prophet (peace be upon him) was dispatched with the sword as a mercy to the creation. He was ordered with war until Allah is worshipped alone. He (peace be upon him) said to the polytheists of his people, 'I came to you with slaughter.' He fought both the Arabs and non-Arabs in all their various colors. He himself left to fight and took part in dozens of battles. He never for a day grew tired of war. He (peace be upon him) passed away during the period he was preparing the expedition of Usāmah (may Allah be pleased with him). And from his last instructions – peace be upon him – was, 'Dispatch the expedition of Usāmah.'
"His companions after him and their followers carried on similarly. They did not soften and abandon war, until they possessed the Earth, conquered the East and the West, the nations submitted to them, and the lands yielded to them, by the edge of the sword. And similarly, this will remain the condition of those who follow them until the Day of Recompense. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) has informed us of the Malāhim (bloody battles) near the end of time. He gave us good tidings and promised us that we would be victorious in these battles. He is the truthful and trustworthy, peace be upon him. And here we are today seeing the signs of those Malāhim and we feel the winds of victory within them.
"And if the Crusaders today claim to avoid the Muslim public and to confine themselves to targeting the armed amongst them, then soon you will see them targeting every Muslim everywhere. And if the Crusaders today have begun to bother the Muslims who continue to live in the lands of the cross by monitoring them, arresting them, and questioning them, then soon they will begin to displace them and take them away either dead, imprisoned, or homeless. They will not leave anyone amongst them except one who apostatizes from his religion and follows theirs. And you will remember what I now say to you, and I entrust my affair to Allah.
"O Muslims, the Jews, the Christians, and the rest of the disbelievers will not approve of you nor abandon waging war against you until you follow their religion and apostatize from yours. This is the word of your Lord (the Mighty and Majestic) and the tidings of your Prophet, the truthful and trustworthy, peace be upon him. America and its allies from amongst the Jews, Crusaders, Rāfidah (Shi'ites), secularists, atheists, and apostates claim that their coalition and war is to aid the weak and oppressed, help the poor, relieve the afflicted, liberate the enslaved, defend the innocent and peaceful, and prevent the shedding of their blood. They also claim to be in the camp of truth, good, and justice, waging war against falsehood, evil, and oppression, alongside the Muslims! Rather, they claim to defend Islam and the Muslims! Indeed, they lie. And Allah spoke the truth and His Messenger (peace be upon him) spoke the truth.
"O Muslims, the apostate tyrannical rulers who rule your lands in the lands of the Two Holy Sanctuaries (Mecca and Medina), Yemen, Shām (the Levant), Iraq, Egypt, North Africa, Khorasan, the Caucasus, the Indian Subcontinent, Africa, and elsewhere, are the allies of the Jews and Crusaders. Rather, they are their slaves, servants, and guard dogs, and nothing else. The armies that they prepare and arm and which the Jews and Crusaders train are only to crush you, weaken you, enslave you to the Jews and Crusaders, turn you away from your religion and the path of Allah, plunder the goods of your lands, and rob you of your wealth. This reality has become as obvious as the sun in the middle of the day. No one denies this except for one whose light Allah has obliterated, whose foresight Allah has blinded, and whose heart Allah has sealed.
"Where are the jets of the Arabian Peninsula's rulers towards the Jews who desecrate the destination of our Messenger's Isrā' (al-Quds), peace be upon him, and who afflict the people of Palestine from amongst the Muslims with the worst of torment? Where is the support of Āl Salūl and their allies for a million of the weak Muslims who are all without exception being exterminated in Burma? Where is their chivalry towards the barrel bombs of the Nusayriyyah and their cannons, which demolish the Muslims' homes upon the heads of their dwellers from amongst the women, the children, and the weak in Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Homs, Damascus, and elsewhere. Where is the jealousy of the Arabian Peninsula's rulers towards the noble women who are raped daily in Shām, Iraq, and the various lands of the Muslims? Where is the relief of the rulers of Mecca and Medina for the Muslims in China and the Muslims in India against whom the Hindus commit the worst of crimes daily, including murder, burning, rape, severing of joints, looting, plundering, and imprisonment? Where is their relief for them in Indonesia, the Caucasus, Africa, Khorasan, and everywhere else? The Arabian Peninsula's rulers have been exposed and disgraced and have lost their supposed 'legitimacy.' Their treachery has become clear even to the laymen of the Muslims. And their reality thereby became apparent. So their masters from amongst the Jews and Crusaders had no more use for them. And so their masters began to replace them with the Safawī (Safavid) Rāfidah and the Kurdish atheists.
"When Āl Salūl realized their masters' abandonment of them, their disposal of them like tattered shoes, and their replacement of them, they launched their supposed war against the Rāfidah of Yemen. And it is not a storm of resolve, rather it is the kick of a dying person, by Allah's permission, as he struggles during his last breaths.
"Āl Salūl, the slaves of the Crusaders and allies of the Jews, do not wish that any good should be sent down to the Muslims from their Lord. They remained for decades not caring about the tragedies of the Muslims all over the world generally, and in Palestine particularly. Thereafter, they remained for years allied with the Rāfidah of Iraq in a war against Ahlus-Sunnah (the Sunnis). Thereafter, they remained observing the barrel bombs of death and destruction in Shām for years, enjoying and taking delight in the scenes of Muslims being killed, imprisoned, slaughtered, and burned, and their honor raped, their wealth plundered, and their homes destroyed, all at the hands of the Nusayriyyah.
"Today they claim to defend Ahlus-Sunnah in Yemen against the Rāfidah! Rather, they have lied, failed, and lost. Their war is nothing but an attempt to prove themselves once again to their masters from amongst the Jews and Crusaders. It is nothing but a desperate attempt to turn the Muslims away from the Islamic State whose voice is high everywhere and whose reality has become clear to all the Muslims and therefore the Muslims began to gradually rally around it. Their storm is nothing but a storm of delusion after the fire of the Rāfidah scorched their thrones and after the Rāfidah's march reached the people of the Arabian Peninsula, a matter that will lead thereafter to the Muslim public in the Arabian Peninsula rallying around the Islamic State since it defends them against the Rāfidah. This is what frightens Āl Salūl and the rulers of the Arabian Peninsula and makes their thrones tremble.
"This is the secret of their supposed 'storm,' which, by Allah's permission, will be their imminent end, for Āl Salūl and the rulers of the Arabian Peninsula are not people of war nor do they have the patience for it. Rather, they are people of luxury and extravagance, people of intoxication, prostitution, dances, and feasts. They have become accustomed to the defense of the Jews and Crusaders for them and their hearts have drunk humiliation, disgrace, and subservience.
"O Muslims everywhere, has the time not come for you to realize the truth of the conflict and that it is between disbelief and faith? See on which front the rulers of your lands stand and to which camp they belong. Has the time not come O Ahlus-Sunnah for you to know that you alone are the targets? This war is only against you and against your religion. Has the time not come for you to return to your religion and your jihād and thereby bring back your glory, honor, rights, and leadership? Has the time not come for you to know that there is no might nor honor nor safety nor rights for you except in the shade of the Caliphate?
"And what saddens us and eats at our souls is to see some of the women, children, and families of Ahlus-Sunnah seeking refuge in the areas controlled by the Rāfidah and Kurdish atheists in Iraq. They stand at their doors, humiliated, disgraced, and displaced in the lands. And there is no might nor strength except by Allah. Those who carry the blame for the displacement of these Muslims and their humiliation are the evil scholars from the supporters of the apostate tyrants, the callers at the gates of Hellfire, those who confuse those poor people and portray the Islamic State to them as being the cause of evil and the source of hardships. They say, 'If not for them, you would live in safety, extravagance, luxury, and peace.' They portray the Crusaders, Rāfidah, atheists, and apostates to them as being people of good, justice, mercy, and compassion, and that they are the peaceful defenders of Ahlus-Sunnah! There is no doubt that these are the years of deception.
"O Ahlus-Sunnah in Iraq, and specifically our people in al-Anbār, be certain that our hearts are broken on account of your leaving of your homes and your lands, and your seeking of shelter in the territory of the Rāfidah and the Kurdish atheists, and your being forced to wander the lands. And even if some of your relatives are apostates waging war against the religion of Allah and allied with the Rāfidah and the Crusaders, then we don't hold you accountable for their crimes. So return to your lands, and remain in your homes, and seek shelter – after first seeking shelter with Allah – with your people in the Islamic State, for you will find therein, by Allah's permission, a warm embrace and a safe refuge. For you are our people. We defend you, your honor, and your wealth. We want you to be mighty and noble, we want you to be safe and secure, and we want your salvation from Hellfire.
"So seek shelter – after Allah – with the Islamic State. What do you wait for after the truth has become clearer than the day and after the spiteful Rāfidah exposed their reality? Here they are today slaughtering everyone considered from Ahlus-Sunnah in Baghdad and elsewhere. No one was saved from them, even their allies, supporters, aids, tails, and dogs from the apostates who had once belonged to Ahlus-Sunnah, those in the Sahwah, army, police, and elsewhere, those whom the evil scholars confused into fleeing the implementation of Allah's law in the territory of the Islamic State. So they became homeless, humiliated, fearful, and worrisome of the Rāfidah's cruelty, whereas the Muslims live in the territory of the Islamic State with might and honor, secure by Allah's bounty alone, with a life of comfort, going about the affairs of their business, livelihood, and trade, enjoying the grace of living under the rule of their Lord's law, and all praise and grace is Allah's. Therefore, O Muslims, seek shelter – after Allah – with the Islamic State.
"We direct a renewed call towards those who remained in the ranks of the Rāfidah and the Crusaders in the army, police, and Sahwah so that they repent to Allah and abandon their support of the disbelievers against the Muslims, and so that Allah accepts their repentance and forgives them and they are thereby saved from Hellfire. Rush towards repentance for its gate will not be closed until the sun rises from the West. Repent so that you might save your Hereafter before it is too late, for you have lost the worldly life, so do not lose with it your Hereafter for the sake of someone else's worldly life. Repent before the hands of the mujāhidīn reach you, for there will be no repentance for you thereafter, and you will lose both the worldly life and Hereafter. Repent, turn back, and return to your people. Repent and you will find them merciful towards you. Your repentance is more beloved to us than killing you or expelling you. Repent for we do not call you out of weakness. Rather, we call you while our swords are at a distance of two bow lengths or nearer from your necks. If you repent, you will not find from us anything except good and kindness.
"O soldiers of the Islamic State, be firm, for you are upon the truth. Seek help through patience, for victory comes with patience and triumph is for those who are patient. Be patient, because the Crusaders are bleeding to death, the Rāfidah are faltering, and the Jews are horrified and in dread. Your enemies have become weaker than they were yesterday – by Allah's grace – and are growing weaker and weaker, and all praise be to Allah. You have become mighty by Allah's grace. We say this without boasting. You are growing stronger and stronger by Allah's grace. So be patient, for it is one of two good outcomes, and it is just one soul, so sacrifice it cheaply for Allah's cause. {Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'ān. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which is the great attainment} [At-Tawbah: 111].
"I will not conclude without commending the brave lions of creed, the soldiers of the Caliphate, those in Baghdad, in its north and south, who are holding onto hot coals, who are firmer than stone, those who humiliate the Rāfidah in their strongholds and their major fortresses every day. How good you are! How good you are! We consider one of you equal to a thousand. If the Muslims are heedless of the greatness of your actions and the terror you inflict, then enough for you is Allah. Indeed, nothing is hidden in the earth nor in the heaven from Allah (the Exalted).
"And I commend the valiant men of tawhīd, the heroes of Islam, the brave mujāhidīn from the muhājirīn and the ansār in the defiant region of Baiji, the fortress of Ahlus-Sunnah in the north, and the mujāhidīn in the defiant region of Kirkuk who contest the coalition of disbelieving nations against the Muslims and who proved that the boots of the Islamic State today are from the heaviest of boots and its voice is from the loudest of voices. They have presented their blood and corpses as an evidence for that, and they offered their souls cheaply to defend Islam and its people. They made the Jews and the Crusaders in America, Europe, Australia, and Canada sleep with rage filling their hearts, powerlessness burdening their backs, and fear pounding their beds. How good you are! How good you are! You have proven that the Muslims will not be defeated as long as they hold firm to the Book and the sword with which our Prophet (peace be upon him) was dispatched. Be firm, may I be sacrificed for you. Be firm, because your assaults on the Rāfidah and their allies in Iraq not only make the Crusaders bleed and strengthen the pillars of the Caliphate, but will make the Nusayriyyah in Shām and the Houthis in Yemen collapse.
"And I commend the lions of walā' and barā' (allegiance and enmity for Allah's sake), the predators of al-Anbār who demolished the strongholds of the apostates, who made them swallow cups of humiliation and bitterness, who scattered them and expelled them, and who snatched al-Anbār from the eyes of the apostates and the throats of the Rāfidah, in spite of America and its allies. How good you are! How good you are! You have taught a lesson to the world that to Allah belongs all honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers. Be firm. How good you are! Your next engagement by Allah's permission, will be Baghdad and Karbala.
"And I commend the lions of the Caliphate, the muwahhidīn (monotheists) of the Sinai Peninsula, the mighty and defiant who disbelieved in pacifism and treaded the path of honor, dignity, and manhood. They refused humiliation and subservience and offered their blood and lives for their religion. How good you are! How good you are! We consider you to be amongst those whom the Master (the Mighty and Majestic) described by saying, {men who are true to what they promised Allah} [Al-Ahzāb: 23]; we consider you such and Allah is your judge. We ask Allah (the Glorified) to allow us to see you in al-Quds very soon. It is a sufficient deed for you with Allah that you have pounded the beds of the Jews with terror.
"And I commend the lions of the Caliphate in Raqqah, Mosul, Aleppo, Dijlah, al-Furāt, al-Jazīrah, al-Barakah, al-Khayr, Homs, and Hama. How good you are, O heroes of Islam! How good you are! You are recording the Malāhim and restoring the glories of Islam. Be patient and firm, and be cautious, for the enemies of Allah are mobilizing, thundering, increasing, and threatening the people of Mosul. We believe that their mobilization will be for Raqqah and Aleppo before Mosul. So be cautious.
"And I commend the lions of the Caliphate in Damascus and Diyala, the patient, the firm, the warriors. How good you are! How good you are! A nation with people like you can never be defeated.
"And I commend the soldiers of the Caliphate, the valiant heroes of Libya, Algeria, and Tunisia. How good you are. Be firm and be patient, for the final outcome is for you, with Allah's permission.
"And I commend the mujāhidīn from the soldiers of the Islamic State in Khorasan and West Africa. We congratulate them on their pledge of allegiance, and we ask Allah to make them firm and grant them victories and consolidation. How good they are!
"And I commend the soldiers of the Caliphate in Yemen. We congratulate them on their advance and look forward to seeing more from them. How good they are!
"I will not forget to mention the captives in the prisons of the apostate tyrants everywhere. I say to them: We have never forgotten you for a day and we will never forget you, by Allah's permission. We will not hold back any strength or spare any effort or miss any opportunity, until we free the last one of you, with Allah's permission. So be patient and firm. I mention in particular the seekers of knowledge in the prisons of Āl Salūl. May Allah humiliate Āl Salūl and their supporters.
"O Revealer of the Book, O He who is swift to account, O Allah, defeat the parties, defeat them and make them tremble. O Allah, deal with America and its allies from the Jews, the Crusaders, the Rāfidah, the apostates, and the atheists. Our Lord, obliterate their wealth and harden their hearts so that they do not believe until they see the painful torment. Our Lord, forgive us our sins and the excess committed in our affairs and plant firmly our feet and give us victory over the disbelieving people. And the last of our call is: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the creation."
