What do you mean by the Sahawat?

What Do You Mean by "Al-Sahawat"?

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah. Brothers, beyond the details of events, we are still interested in discussing concepts in a discourse directed towards the rational, so that we may stand with them on common ground in the service of religion and the presentation of its interests above organizational considerations.

Classification of Fighters: Mujahideen and Al-Sahawat

Some classify the fighters into Mujahideen and Al-Sahawat, based on three stages:

In the first stage, it is considered that one of the groups is the owner of the pure and correct methodology, and that if any mistakes occur from it, they are mistakes of conduct that do not undermine the purity of its methodology. Therefore, it is the first to be described as Mujahideen.

Then it is assumed that if there is a dispute between this group and other groups, the truth must be with his group, while the other groups must be fighting his group because of what he assumed about the purity of their methodology and the Islamic legitimacy of their project, and to prevent the establishment of an Islamic state.

Then comes the third stage in the launch of the term Al-Sahawat on these groups that fought those who considered them the purest Mujahideen, and justifying the fighting of these Al-Sahawat and even inciting it.

Moving Beyond the Debate and Defining the Concept of Mujahideen

And to move away from the debate, my brothers, I will not stop here at the first stage, I will not discuss whether the so-and-so group is pure in methodology and correct in its project or not. Let us move beyond this stage, you and I, brother, and agree on a definition of Mujahideen as those who strive to establish the religion of Allah in their land and show mercy to the oppressed. They are the humble towards the believers from the general public and from all the fighting factions, the honorable towards the disbelievers, so you see most of their strength is directed towards the fighting disbelievers.

Who are these people? Let us move beyond this stage. You may see them represented in a group, but I will never agree with you on that, due to the difference in our sources, follow-ups, and criteria.

The Danger of the Genetic Classification of Al-Sahawat

But regardless, if a group is considered Mujahideen, does that necessarily mean that others must be considered Al-Sahawat? As if we are dealing with a genetic trait, where people carrying the Al-Sahawat gene are discovered and dealt with accordingly.

Do we not have in the arena of Sham various types of people whose positions differ regarding the establishment of the Islamic state and the Sharia?

Types of People in the Arena of Sham (14 Types)

1. Evil Type: They have sold their consciences to the international system and its agents in the region. Their mission is to fight the jihadi project and prevent the establishment of an Islamic state. They have no other mission and find no hesitation in carrying it out.
2. Type with Very Weak Faith: They receive salaries from the international system and its agents in exchange for promises to fight those affiliated with jihad or some of them. However, they have no real desire to do so and can leave fighting them if paid similarly to what the disbelievers pay or if their needs are met.
3. Type that Promises the Disbelievers to Fight Those Affiliated with Jihad: And takes a reward for that, but in the moment of truth, he will not fulfill these promises, because his soul rejects nationalism, chivalry, or religion to fight them. So, he will join them or throw down his weapons and flee.
4. Type with a Generalization of Injustice Towards Those Affiliated with Jihad: He does not differentiate between their good and bad, but if contained with a good word and kindness, he becomes in their hands like a seal and may ransom himself with his soul.
5. Type that Cares Only About Toppling the Regime: And stopping the killing of his brothers and sisters, and does not have a clear position on the form of the state that should be established afterwards.
6. Type that Wants to Topple the Regime and Repeats What He Hears from the Media: That "we should respect voting," but he does not understand the dimensions of this statement and its contradiction with the Sharia, and may abandon it in a discussion session.
7. Type Convinced of This Statement and Will Not Abandon It: But he is not ready to fight for it, but rather fights to topple the regime only.
8. Type Convinced of Democracy and Ready to Fight for It: And sees the establishment of an Islamic state as a form of dictatorship.
9. Type Whose Convictions Can Be Elevated and Included in the Islamic Project: But the devils among men in the functional states supporting the revolution destroy much of what we build in a closed room session, because he is uneducated and lacks ideological and methodological immunity. Nevertheless, he can be neutralized by companionship, generosity, and remnants of chivalry, so that if he does not contribute to the building of the Islamic state, he does not contribute to its destruction.
10. Type that Wants a Democratic State and Calls for It Religiously: Because his soul has become accustomed to this false call or confusion and stumbling in the jurisprudence of benefit and harm, but he does not resist the Islamic state if it is established.
11. Type that Calls for Democracy Religiously and Is Ready to Join Hands with the International System to Resist the Islamic State.
12. Type that Calls for an Islamic State but Has No Objection to It Being a Repetition of the False Model of One of the Functional States: Which relies on the religious institution and is nevertheless subservient to the international system, implementing its agendas.
13. Type that Calls for an Islamic State but Nationalistic: Does not exceed the drawn borders and maintains good relations with neighboring countries and the international system, justifying this by the inability to do otherwise.
14. Type whose Internal Literature and Upbringing of Its Members is Based on the Will to Establish a Pure Islamic State, Even a Global Caliphate: That does not recognize borders, and at the same time tries to avoid provoking the world against it. Therefore, statements come from it that are sometimes correct and sometimes incorrect, and it remains silent at times when it should not. However, its general course of action is the duty of the time: fighting the disbelievers and aiding the oppressed.

Injustice in Generalizing the Description of "Al-Sahawat"

And while these 14 types are all present in the arena of Sham, each with varying degrees of what they have done. Therefore, when you ask me, brother: "You are defending Al-Sahawat, do you want us not to fight Al-Sahawat?" Who exactly are the Al-Sahawat you are talking about? Which of the previous fourteen types specifically?

Is it not a clear injustice and a great sin to put these 14 types in one pot and treat them the same way if they fight a group that some of us have made a standard for right and wrong? And we do not differentiate between the motives for this fighting: Is it employment and betrayal, or is it a strong push and the recovery of a right?

Is it not a horrible mix-up to describe all or most of them as fighting the Mujahideen out of hatred for Islam, violating their sanctities, and displaying their corpses, while this only comes from the first type?

The goal here is not to justify this fighting or not to justify it, but to sort out the concepts that, if left mixed, will lead to more blind provocation in a vicious cycle of killing and reaction to killing.

Is it not an injustice to treat them all as if they are afflicted with the genes of Al-Sahawat, and consider the infection of Al-Sahawat to be such that the 14 types are equal in it, evidenced by the fact that one of the types was photographed with another type, and because a type united with a type that had previously sat with a type that received support from the worst of the types?

The Duty of Distinguishing Between Categories

It is not your right to fight and confront those who can be neutralized or won over with wealth, yes with wealth. These people have a share from the zakat of wealth, a ruling that is not abrogated as long as the need for it exists. Anas reported: "A man would come to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, seeking only the worldly life, but by evening, his religion would become more beloved and more precious to him than the world and all that is in it."

Our mission is not to discover and fight all those who carry the gene of the Khawarij and confront them all. Rather, our mission is to distance people as much as we can from the evil categories and to push them towards participating in building the Islamic project or at least neutralizing them from destroying it. It is not permissible for us to replace that with fighting them as much as we can.

Thus, only the first, eighth, and eleventh categories will remain in enmity towards the Islamic project, and even the individuals of these categories will decrease. Even with these, we strive to postpone the battle with them as much as possible so that they do not distract us from the duty of the time, which is fighting the aggressive disbeliever and aiding the oppressed.

Warning Against the Mistake of Classification

Brothers, it is necessary to remind that we do not underestimate the danger of what is called the Khawarij. We know that it is a project that destroys jihad and prevents the establishment of the possible Islamic state. However, at the same time, we know that classifying categories under the description of the Khawarij without right is not less dangerous. Whoever does that destroys jihad just as those who are truly Khawarij do.

Our condemnation of describing some of these categories as Khawarij does not mean at all that we approve of everything they do, nor that we bet on the goodness of their future outcome. However, our mission is to push them in the right direction at a time when global powers are trying to drag them into servitude.

Here also is a very important matter. Just as it is necessary to refrain from confusing these categories, it is necessary for the righteous among these categories to distinguish themselves from the people of falsehood, to assert their innocence from them, and to clarify their positions so that they do not give Satan an excuse to mislead others in confusing them.

Adhering to the Pure Method

Whoever follows the poor servant knows his concern for the purity of the method and the clarity of the vision in the matter of the Islamic Caliphate, the establishment of the Sharia, and the rejection of democracy and the rejection of the Taghut. We have published in this regard the series, words, and articles, and we have refuted the arguments and doubts, and we have condemned the call to approve the polytheistic constitutions and political participation in the existing systems, and we have warned against the psychology of deviation that diverts Islamic work from the Sharia.

But all of this, brothers, obliges us to distinguish between the mentioned categories and deal with each of them as our great Sharia dictates, which we call people to establish.

I ask Allah to guide us all to what He loves and is pleased with. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.