Issue 12 CoverOn Friday I spent a couple of hours going through the latest issue of Dabiq, DAESH’s on-line magazine. They released it last week to boast of the murders, injuries, and terror they have inflicted anew on the world. The events in Paris and the downing of the Russian airliner feature large.

They claim, amongst other things, that the bomb on the Russian airliner was originally going to go on an American plane, but that Russia’s commencement of air attacks in Syria caused them to change the target.

There’s much to address about the magazine. I was immediately struck by the differences between it and Inspire (Al-Qaeda’s on-line magazine). Dabiq is even more focused on demonstrating the Qur’anic justification for their actions, and has a much harsher tone.

The editorial was, of course, about Paris. It started with these words from the Qur’an:

They thought that their fortresses would protect them from Allah; but Allah came upon them from where they had not expected, and He cast terror into their hearts so they destroyed their homes by their own hands and the hands of the believers. So take warning, O people of vision. (Al-Hashr: 2).

It continues:

The divided crusaders of the East and West thought themselves safe in their jets as they cowardly bombarded the Muslims of the Khilāfah [caliphate]. {They will not fight you all except within fortified cities or from behind walls} (Al-Hashr: 14). But Allah [followed by Arabic calligraphy for “peace be upon him” that I haven’t worked out how to reproduce yet] decreed that punishment befall the warring crusaders from where they had not expected. Thus, the blessed attacks against the Russians and the French were successfully executed despite the international intelligence war against the Islamic State. Both crusader nations had undoubtedly destroyed their homes with their own hands through their hostilities towards Islam, the Muslims, and the Muslim body of the Khilāfah.

It’s interesting to me that they didn’t also mention the bombing in Lebanon here, but perhaps killing fellow Muslims, even ones they personally consider inadequate, doesn’t fit the narrative.

However, there has been much written about these events, including by me, and I doubt I could offer anything more that’s meaningful.

For some time I’ve been thinking about writing a piece about the women of DAESH, and this isn’t it, but there’s an article in this issue of Dabiq that speaks for itself when it comes to the attitude of this group towards women. Thus, I’m going to produce the article in full below.

The article is called ‘Two, Three, or Four,’ and is by someone called Umm Sumayyah al-Muhājirah. The title refers to the choice of the number of wives. Prepare to be disgusted.

Please note that in the article all references to Mohammed are followed by Arabic script that means “peace be upon him.” Other figures from the Qur’an and Bible have similar treatment. I haven’t reproduced the Arabic script here as I am unable to. No disrespect is meant to Muslims in general. Also, Dabiq has an unusual use of { } and [] brackets. I’ve reproduced them exactly as in the article. Words in [] brackets, for example, are the author’s, not mine.

In the Name of Allah, the Lord of all things, who permitted marriage and prohibited fornication, created us from a single soul, created from that soul its mate, and dispersed from the two of them many men and women. May blessings and peace be upon the Prophet and Messenger who disciplined and taught his companions, and upon those who are guided by his Sunnah and follow him with excellence until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows:

Indeed, when the Sharī’ah of our Lord was eliminated, the laws and rulings of the kuffār gained power in the lands of the Muslims, Islam was shamefully abandoned, and faces turned towards promiscuous Europe, the voice of falsehood rose and with it the voices of those hostile towards the people of the religion, and the cancer of those who legislate besides Allah ate away at the Ummah’s body. They prohibited what He permitted, and permitted what He prohibited, and one of the most manifest things that they ruined and defamed in defense of women and their rights – as they claimed – was polygyny. They utilized their podiums to that end, including the podiums of the kufrī parliaments and the secular TV channels, and placed on these podiums howling dogs, fools who do not perceive nor know their foolishness. Their poisoned words crept into the hearts of women from the lands of the Muslims, to the point that we almost couldn’t find a single woman that is accepting of this issue, except for those whom Allah protected.

Allah said in His clear-cut revelation, {And if you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry those that please you of [other] women, two or three or four. But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one or those your right hand possesses. That is more suitable that you may not incline [to injustice]} [An-Nisā’: 3]. This is a verse as clear as the sun that does not require extensive explanation or interpretation. Therefore, O slaves of Allah, you may marry two, three, or four women, unless you fear that you will have shortcomings in your fairness towards them or will fail to fulfill their rights, in which case you suffice with one wife. Ibn Kathīr said, “His statement {two or three or four} [An-Nisā’: 3] means marry any women you wish apart from the orphans. If one of you wishes he may marry two, and if he wishes, three, and if he wishes, four.”

Indeed, Islam was not the first to introduce polygyny. Rather, it was present in the sharī’ah of those before us. Allah’s Messenger said, “Sulaymān Ibn Dāwūd said, ‘I will surely have intercourse with a hundred women tonight, or ninety nine, and every one of them will give birth to a knight who will wage jihād for the cause of Allah…’” [Reported from Abū Hurayrah by al-Bukhārī].

What’s strange is that the Jews and the Christians taunt the Muslims with respect to polygyny, yet if they were to look into their own books they would’ve known that it was something present in their religions, for it is stated in their books that Ya’qūb had two wives and two concubines, and that Dāwūd had a number of wives and concubines, as mentioned in 2 Samuel [5: 13] and 1 Samuel [25: 42 – 44]. They also stated that Sulaymān had 700 wives and 300 concubines, as mentioned in 1 Kings [11: 3].

They also stated Rahba’ām (Rehoboam) Ibn Sulaymān, who according to them succeeded his father in kingship, had 18 wives and 60 concubines. Thus, the men of the previous nations used to take many wives, and doing so was permitted in the sharī’ah of those before us. Then the Sharī’ah of Islam came and defined a specific number of wives that no Muslim is allowed to exceed, that number being four. As for concubines, then there is no limit.

Sālim reported from his father that Ghaylān Ibn Salamah ath-Thaqafī embraced Islam while married to ten women. So the Prophet said to him, “Choose four of them” [At-Tirmidhī reported it in “The Book of Marriage” and titled the subsection, “Chapter: What Has Come Concerning a Man Who Embraces Islam While Having Ten Wives;” Ibn Mājah also reported it in “The Book of Marriage” and titled the subsection, “Chapter: A Man Embraces Islam While Having More than Four Wives”].

Indeed, the legislation of polygyny contains many wisdoms. Amongst them is that women are greater in number than men, who face many dangers and hardships in their lives, such as war, hazardous work, and disasters. Likewise, young men tend to prefer virgins and abstain from marrying widows and divorcees, so who then would look after this group of women?

Furthermore, Allah might afflict a woman with infertility, but instead of divorcing her Islam has permitted the man to marry another woman while keeping his infertile wife honored and supported.

Also from the wisdoms of polygyny is that the woman, by her nature, has her life interrupted by phases in which she is unable to fulfill the rights of her husband, as is the case with menstruation, childbirth, and postpartum bleeding. So during such phases he can find in his other wives what should prevent him from falling into forbidden or suspicious matters. But, by Allah, if there were no virtue in polygyny other than the fact that it’s a prophetic Sunnah from the best of mankind, we would have sufficed with that as a proof with which we would deafen the ears of the stubborn opponents.

How much does it eat at my soul to openly mention a reality that makes the heart of a muwahhid bleed, that reality being that the opposition to polygyny, whether directly or indirectly, has gone beyond the blind women and now sits in the hearts of some of the female seekers of knowledge and women who adhere to the bulk of the shar’ī rulings. This became so after the calls of the enemies of Allah, the religion, and His Messenger found their way towards them through the doubts that these enemies propagate, doubts that effectively state, “No to polygyny. Polygyny is oppression towards women.” And Allah is sufficient for us and the best disposer of affairs.

And it saddens me to say that with some of them, the matter may reach the point of pronouncing a statement of kufr – and Allah’s refuge is sought – or a statement that could imply kufr, and Allah’s help is sought. You find her saying, with the Shaytān having inflated her with falsehood, “Anything but polygyny, anything but this ruling. O Allah forgive me, but I can’t handle it, neither for myself nor for others.” One woman even said to me when I was talking to her, “Do you want me to commit kufr and thereby apostatize? If I saw him with another woman it would be a fitnah for me with respect to my religious adherence, and I would leave my home and wander about in loss!” And another woman asked her friend, “What would you prefer? That Allah frees your husband after being imprisoned for years and he would then marry a second woman, or that he remain imprisoned and not do do?” So she answered her saying blatantly, “I prefer that he remain imprisoned, for that is easier on me than for him to marry a second wife!” My Lord, have mercy on us! For a Muslim, muwahhid husband to remain imprisoned by the Rāfidah or other kuffār and be subjected to the worst kinds of torture is easier on the jealous woman than for him to come out of prison and practice a law from the laws of Allah?! This is all in addition to other dangerous statements which the woman doesn’t really think much about, but which may cast her into the fire of Hell, and Allah’s refuge is sought.

And how many women in the lands of the Muslims display their “discontent” towards polygyny! I sat with some such women and advised them, and I found that with many of them the tone of their speech bears witness that this “discontent” is in fact a hatred of the ruling itself, even if the cursed Iblīs has sugarcoated it for the woman and downplayed it for her, saying, “It’s only that you don’t want it for your husband, so you can’t be blamed!” So here I warn her, and I remind her of the statement of Allah, {But no, by your Lord, they will not believe until they make you judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in submission} [An-Nisā’: 65]. So where is your submission and where is your obedience to the command of your Lord and and His wisdom? You were not named a “Muslimah” to to begin with except because you’ve submitted to Allah with tawhīd and yielded to Him with obedience!

And how many muhājirāt there are who are seekers of knowledge and whom I would consider to be from the best of women, except that as soon as you mention this issue they completely flip and almost promote the slogans of secularism without even realizing it. And there is no ability nor might except with Allah. Rather, from amongst them is she who praises Allah that her husband was killed before taking multiple wives, and to Allah we belong and to Him we will return! To her likes I say: Why did you make hijrah? Wasn’t it to establish the Sharī’ah of Allah in the land? And isn’t polygyny a part of this Sharī’ah? Know then that the One who has honored the Muslim woman and has given her rights that protect her from the plots of the wicked is the very One who has permitted for the man to marry those that please him of women. And based on that, it is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to argue concerning the Sharī’ah of Allah, accepting what pleases her and rejecting what goes against her desires. Bishr al-Hāfī (died 227AH) said, “All calamities lie in following your desires, and all cures lie in opposing them” [Sifat as-Safwah].

And indeed, this religion is a whole that cannot be divided. Allah said, {So do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part? Then what is the recompense for those who do that among you except disgrace in worldly life; and on the Day of Resurrection they will be sent back to the severest of punishment. And Allah is not unaware of what you do} [Al-Baqarah: 85]. So beware, my sister, of being from amongst such people, and beware of letting your blind jealousy lead you to disliking this shar’ī ruling, for it is feared that you would thereby fall into apostasy, as Allah said, {That is because they disliked what Allah revealed, so He rendered worthless their deeds} [Muhammad: 9]. Imām Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah stated when commenting on the āyah, {O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet or be loud to him in speech like the loudness of some of you to others, lest your deeds become worthless while you perceive not} [Al-Hujurāt: 2], “So if raising their voices above his voice was a cause for rendering their deeds void, then how much more so is advancing and raising their opinions, intellects, personal tastes, politics, and experience over that which he came with? Is this not more befitting of being a cause for rendering their deeds void?” [I’lām al-Muwaqqi’īn].

And every Muslimah should know that it is normal for her to be jealous and feel sad if her husband marries another woman, and we are not better than the Mother of the Believers, the pure siddīqah, daughter of as-Siddīq, ‘Ā’ishah, of whose jealousy much has been narrated. However, she never opposed what Allah had permitted and did not prevent her husband – the Prophet – from marrying another woman. Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her and with her father) never stood in his way saying, “It’s either me or her. Divorce me and marry her.” Far be it from her to do so!

The Shaytān – and it may be a human shaytān from amongst the women – will say to you, “If he loved you, he wouldn’t have married another woman while being married to you.” So say to him or her, “Our Prophet married seven women after ‘Ā’ishah while she was the most beloved person to him, and his love for her did not weaken or decrease, until our Lord allowed him to pass away in her room with his head between her chest and her neck. May my mother and father be sacrificed for him!”

He will also say to you, “You never had any shortcomings in any of your dealings with him, so where does he get the right to marry another woman while being married to you?” So say to him, “Even if I were from the most perfect of women, and the best of them in character, beauty, knowledge, and manners, the Legislator has not exempted me from amongst other women, and has given the man the right to marry a second, a third, or a fourth woman!”

The whisperer, whether human or jinn, will also say to you, “You can prevent him, make things difficult for him, make his life unpleasant, and incite the children against him.” So say to him, “Yes, I can, and indeed the schemes of women are tremendous, as our Lord has described, but where would I be with respect to having fear of my Lord b? And where would I be with respect to Him making things difficult for me in the Dunyā, and His questioning of me in the Hereafter, if I oppose what He has allowed and hate what He has permitted?!”

He will also say to you, “You will not bear seeing your husband with another wife, and it’ll inevitably be a fitnah for you with respect to your religious adherence!” So say to him, “It will not be a fitnah for me, and Allah is my protector. Allah will not abandon me when I have submitted to His wisdom and yielded to His law!” Then with the statement of Allah, cut off from them the channels through which they try to blow and inflate you with falsehood: {It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error} [Al-Ahzāb: 36].

And my advice to you, my sister, O wife of a man who practices polygyny: I know with certainty that there is no jihād more difficult for a slave than jihād against one’s inner self. Indeed, Ibnul-Qayyim said, “The most obligatory jihād is to wage jihād against one’s inner self, against one’s desires, against the Shaytān, and against the Dunyā. So whoever wages jihād against these four things for the sake of Allah, Allah will guide him upon the paths to attain His pleasure, which lead him to His Paradise” [Al-Fawā’id]. So if you wage jihād against this inner self that persistently incites you to do evil, place a barrier between you and the whispers of the retreater (Shaytān), restrain your jealousy with the reins of the Sharī’ah, and remain patient and forbearing and anticipate Allah’s rewards – for what is with Allah is better and more lasting – then you will be at ease, enjoy relief, and have a pleasant life.

So pay no attention to the statements of unprincipled women whose sources of reference are vile plays and soap operas. Rather, let your example be the women of the prophetic household. And every sister should know that when her husband wants to marry another woman, it’s not obligatory for him to consult her, nor to seek her permission, nor to try and appease her. If he does that, it is an act of generosity on his part and a means of preserving the companionship between the two of them. So be content, my sister, submit to Allah with obedience, and yield to His law. And if a woman does this, then it is fitting for the Most Generous to increase her rewards in the Dunyā and the Hereafter.

Here, I also wish to address the men, both those who have multiple wives and those who intend to take multiple wives, and remind them of two matters. The first is that the woman, as is known, was created from a curved rib, so if you, our brother, have made the decision to marry a second, then I remind you by Allah to be gentle with her and speak softly to her, and be extremely patient and tolerating when you inform her of your intent. Don’t be afraid of her initial reaction, be patient with her, and use in your advice the words of Allah and the hadīth of His Prophet. And if she’s stubborn, then frighten her with the Almighty and remind her that this is a part of this Sharī’ah, and that we are in a state whose system of rule is khilāfah upon prophetic methodology inshā’allāh. If, however, she refuses and is arrogant then I say to you what Allah said addressing the best of those who walked the earth: {O Prophet, why do you prohibit [yourself from] what Allah has made lawful for you, seeking the approval of your wives? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful} [At-Tahrīm: 1]. Imām at-Tabarī r says, “The people of knowledge differed over which lawful matter Allah had permitted for His Messenger and His Messenger then prohibited himself from. Some of them said that it was Māriyah, his Coptic slave-girl, whom he prohibited for himself with an oath that he would not come near her, thereby seeking to please his wife Hafsah Bint ‘Umar, because she had become jealous of Māriyah being alone with Allah’s Messenger on her day and in her room. Others said that it was something he used to drink and which he liked. The correct statement on this issue is to say that what the Prophet prohibited for himself was something that Allah had made lawful for him, and it’s possible that it was his slave-girl, and it’s possible that it was a type of drink, and it’s possible that it was something other than that, but whatever it was, he prohibited for himself something that was lawful for him so Allah admonished him for prohibiting something that He had made lawful for him and declared the dissolution of the oath which he had taken and that it was forbidden for him to make this prohibited for himself.” For this reason, don’t make it prohibited for yourself to help preserve the honor of a widow or become the guardian of an orphan because you seek to please your wife!

As for the second issue, then I wish to remind the men, both those who have multiple wives and those who intend to take multiple wives, to fear Allah, and also remember that oppression will be darkness on the Day of Judgment, and that the crooked side of your body will not be rectified by the wife whom you crookedly inclined to in the Dunyā, thereby oppressing another of your wives in the process and falling short in your duties towards her and mistreating her. That day {a man will flee from his brother and his mother and his father and his wife and his children} [‘Abas: 34-36].

Furthermore, the frontiers of the Islamic State – may Allah grant it victory – have increased in number and its front lines have multiplied after all the paths of kufr and nifāq allied together to wage war against it, and no war takes place except that there are people killed on both sides, as Allah said, {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} [At-Tawbah: 111].

How many a shahīd ascends from this Dunyā – we consider him so, and Allah is his judge – and leaves behind a grieving wife and orphaned children. So who after Allah is willing to take care of them? If one of the Sahābah were killed and he had a wife, the others would race one another to propose to her once she had completed her ‘iddah, each one wanting to help preserve her honor and become the guardian of an orphan, knowing that his reward is with the Master. And I used to always say to my Muslim sisters, “Allah says, {Never will you attain the good [reward] until you spend from that which you love. And whatever you spend – indeed, Allah is Knowing of it} [Āli ‘Imrān: 92], and the husband is from amongst that which the wife loves, so why doesn’t she spend from him, seeking the face of her Lord, by being content with him marrying another woman?” Let every sister just put herself in the shoes of the wife of a shahīd and sacrifice some of the selfishness that is a part of our nature!

And our final call is: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all creation. May Blessings and peace be upon our leader, Muhammad, and upon all his family and companions.

It’s very long, but no-one can attack me for quoting it out of context. I don’t even know where to start with this, but I do know that any claim that DAESH makes that they treat women well and as equals is demonstrated to be false by this article. There are, of course, many allegations against DAESH in their treatment of women. Although I personally think a lot of them are true, none has yet been proven in a court of law. This article though shows an attitude towards women that is appalling, and to me damns the whole organization.

For an explanation of my use of the words “Auē Tēnei Wiki” see Auē a Tau Kē Tēnei Wiki.