22 November 2010

By Al-Ikhwah Al-Mujahidun

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

His Youth:

Sheikh al-Maulavi Ihsanullah bin Agha Muhammad bin al-Maulavi Mirza Muhammad was born in the year 1381 AH in a famous religious family in the village of Salim in the Mizani district of Zabul Province.

The grandfather of Sheikh Ihsanullah was Sheikh Mirza bin Muhammad, one of the most famous scholars of Kandahar province and one of the most prominent men of the region. He had plunged into bloody battles against the English in the second war between Afghan and the British forces. In those battles and violent clashes that occurred between the British and the Afghan forces he was seriously wounded in the leg in the Spin Boldak border region. Because of this, he became famous among the people as Mullah Mirza Muhammad the cripple.

His studies:

Since birth, Sheikh al-Maulavi Ihsanullah enjoyed a naturally high level of intelligence and erudition. His father, therefore paid close attention to his education, instruction and formation since his early youth.

In the beginning he took pains for his learning elementary religious studies at his home. After completing those studies, he sent him to finish his religious education in centers of Shari'ah studies and Shari'ah madrasas abroad.

Sheikh al-Maulavi Ihsanullah completed his higher Shari'ah studies after extraordinary effort in different madrasas abroad. He completed a class on the noble Hadith given by Hafez Sheikh Abdul Wahed and received the award of excellence in the noble Hadith from the above-mentioned sheikh.

His Jihad:

Sheikh al-Maulavi Ihsanullah was in the beginning stages of his Shari'ah instruction when the Communists managed to seize power and take matters into their own hands. As soon as they reached the seat of power, the Islamic Jihad began against their atheistic beliefs in all quarters of the country. All segments of the heroic Afghan people took part in this Holy Jihad. The burden of responsibility and leadership of this Jihad, however, fell upon the shoulders of scholars and sheikhs.

Because Sheikh al-Maulavi Ihsanullah belonged to a famous scholarly in his district; Jihadist family, he considered Jihad against the Russians and their Communist lackeys to be his religious obligation and legal responsibility. Responding to this religious responsibility, he first undertook armed Jihad and plunged into fierce battles against the Russians under the leadership of the Martyr "Muqayyim" in the Mizani district of Zabul province. After he spent a period of time there, he traveled to Helmand province and for two years engaged in bloody wars against the Communists on the different battlefronts of that province.

After he was able to receive training on different Jihadist tactics, he returned once again to Zabul province. There he established a strong Jihadist front with the assistance of al-Maulavi Abdul Zaher in the Arghsu Gharah area of the Mizani district of Zabul province.

In addition to training the Mujahideen of his new front on military matters and Jihadist issues, he also raised their ideological awareness and educated them on Islamic culture. So, in addition to training them on military matters, they were educated on ideology and guided to Jihad and resistance on both the military and religious fields.

His Role in Establishing the Islamic Taliban Movement

When the Islamic Taliban movement was established in May 1994 with the purpose of realizing the hopes of Jihad and achieving the expectations of the Mujahideen, Sheikh Ihsanullah was among the first to stand by the side of the founders of the movement, and exerted blessed efforts to strengthen and shore up the movement.

At the beginning of the foundation of the Taliban, and in its first days, the Sheikh in his region swayed the Jihadist field commanders and the general populace to the Islamic Taliban movement and their call to join them voluntarily. As result of this call, all the leaders and people of the district joined the movement and stood with their weapons alongside their Taliban brothers, ready to make any sacrifice for the goal of establishing the original Islamic regime in the country.

The wise efforts of Maulavi Ihsanullah brought about the residents of the region joining the Islamic Taliban movement and in this manner the movement, with the help of the local people, was able to take control of the area lying between the district of Dand and the border region of Spin Boldak, as well as seize complete control of the above-mentioned district.

On 5 November 1994 CE, after the movement had taken control of Kandahar province, the Taliban leadership resolved to send Sheikh Ihsanullah to Ghozni and Zabul provinces to discuss a mutual agreement with the field commanders in that district and their request to join the movement.

After conducting dialogue with the scholars and field commanders of that district, the sheikh was able to convince them to join the movement voluntarily and with no compulsion. He had convinced them that the movement had no intention other then to implement the sovereignty of Allah on His land and establish an Islamic government in Muslim Afghanistan. Because of this wise message, the movement was able to take complete control of the southwest of the country in short time.

On 26 January 1995 CE, after the movement had taken control of Ghozni province, Sheikh Ihsanullah moved on orders from the movement leaders to clear the southern districts towards the Gardiz and Khost region.

When Sheikh Ihsanullah "Ihsan" arrived in the region, he gave an important speech in the Paktia province center; Gardiz to a large crowd that had gathered from the Muslims and Mujahideen from the different regions of the southern provinces. The session was convened with the purpose of the Taliban coming to this region. Sheikh Ihsanullah in his speech explained the goals of the Taliban Islamic movement and he elevated goals according to a rational, scholarly method.

After that, he traveled to Khost province and there met with the general Jihadist official for the southern provinces and the famous, scholarly, Jihadist person; Sheikh Jalaluddin Haqqani, may Allah ta'ala protect him. The people of Khost province under the leadership of Sheikh Haqqani gave him a warm greeting.

In Khost province, Sheikh Maulavi Ihsanullah "Ihsan" gave a wonderful speech to a large gathering which had congregated to welcome the Islamic Taliban movement. In his speech, he declared the goals of the movement and its noble intentions. During his speech, he requested that the people of Khost stand by the side of the movement, strengthen its support and zeal.

In exchange, the residents of Khost, under the leadership of Mujahid Sheikh Jalaluddin Haqqani and according to his sublime guidance, announced their support for the Islamic Taliban movement and that they would stand by its side. Then, all the Mujahideen of this province joined the Taliban movement and played a tangible role in achieving its goals.

Because of the efforts of the Sheikh Ihsanullah and his valuable lectures, the vast southern regions – Paktia, Paktika and Khost provinces – fell completely under the control of the Islamic Taliban movement. He was able by his excellent, scholarly speeches and lectures to achieve an ideological unity and harmony between those Mujahid people of Herat who love knowledge on the one hand and the Islamic Taliban movement on the other.

It is worth mentioning that Sheikh Ihsanullah "Ihsan" was a scholarly person who with his logical reasoning and his unique eloquence (was able) to convince others thoroughly. He was able to select various methods in his preaching to draw people to listen to his words, his lectures and his sermons.

At the same time, when he was present in Herat province and bore responsibility for this province, he took part in meetings and celebrations held by the Mujahid people of Herat just like a normal person without granting himself any special distinctions.

On 11 September 1996 CE, when the leadership of the Islamic Taliban movement decided to send its forces to clear Nangahar, Konar and Lughman provinces, they sent Sheikh Ihsanullah as a preacher, reformer and interpretive scholar for those forces. His excellency played a productive and positive role; and through his wise methods declare the goals of the Islamic Taliban movement to the Mujahideen of the eastern provinces and their zealous people. With his excellent, scholarly expertise he was able to convince the people of the provinces to stand with the movement.

During the time the Taliban movement took control of Nangarhar province, Maulavi Ihsanullah "Ihsan" remained for a brief period in the province as its official until the time that the capital Kabul fell under the rule of the Islamic Taliban movement on 27 September 1996 CE.

After the control of the Islamic Taliban movement was imposed over the capital Kabul, Sheikh Ihsanullah "Ihsan" was appointed by the movement leadership, as general director for the central bank (Afghanistan Bank).

His knowledge and political vision:

In addition to his excellence in religious learning, Sheikh Ihsanullah "Ihsan" was a political personality of broad intelligence, proper vision and knowingly perceptive of the affairs of his society.

He had many solutions for the issues and crises confronting the Islamic Ummah, and believed the sole solution to abolish corruption and fitnah was Jihad against the denying corrupters.

Sheikh Ihsanullah "Ihsan" would debate with all deniers of the truth with the proper method and argue with them using the appropriate method. Recommendation and purity of the soul were considered the most successful methods for the success of the Islamic call.

The commander Sheikh Abu al-Layth al-Libi, may Allah Almighty have mercy on him, considered Sheikh Ihsanullah Ihsan a second Sayyid Qutb, and would listen to the sermons and lectures he gave in both Farsi and Pashtu.

His Martyrdom

On 24 May 1997 CE when some of the northern provinces – such as Faryab, Jowzjan, Mazar-e-Sharif and Kandahar – fell under the control of the Taliban movement for the first time, Sheikh Ihsanullah "Ihsan" was going with the Mujahideen to those districts. He wished to conquer those provinces just like the southern, western and eastern provinces had been conquered via peaceful reconciliation, without the occurrence of battles of clashes. He wanted to rid the Afghan people of the continuous bloody wars and to choose a peaceful way of life far removed from nationalist and ethnic struggles.

The enemies of peace and reconciliation, however, did not want to see the sovereignty of Allah established in the country, or the choice of a secure life in the shade of the establishment of an Islamic government. They, therefore assisted the Communist generals in laying vile plans against those Mujahideen who came to this region. To carry out these plans, they resisted and waged war against the movement.

Because of the Mujahideen's lack of knowledge of the area and its strategy of military conscription, and their inability to strengthen their ties with the local populace, they were not able to resist this treachery or extinguish their misguidance. Due to the resistance headed by the Communist generals like Abdul Malik, a large number of Taliban Mujahideen were martyred. Therefore, the movement leadership decided to withdraw from this region and ordered its Mujahideen to conduct a tactical retreat.

Sheikh Ihsanullah "Ihsan" had arrived to the city Mazar-e-Sharif shortly before this treacherous plot. When war was launched he was in the above-mentioned city. After the Taliban withdrawal from the region, he and the Taliban foreign minister Mullah Muhammad Ghawth and another group decided to depart Mazar-e-Sharif for the Shadyan desert. When they reached the area of Sharkent in Balkh province, Sheikh Ihsanullah "Ihsan" was martyred on the 27th day of May 1997 CE, as a result of an ambush set up by the treacherous tyrants against him.

Translated from Al-Somood issue #41

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