Men Who Made History
The Martyr Maulavi Ihsanullah “Ihsan”
Zilhajj 13, 1431 A.H, Saturday, November 20, 2010
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
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan