Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham: Initial Statements and Translations

by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi  •  Jan 28, 2017 at 12:40 pm

https://jihadintel.meforum.org/206/hayat-tahrir-al-sham-initial-statements

For a profile entry of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, see this entry in the Jihad-Intel database.

Praise be to God who said: Indeed, God loves those who fight in His cause in a row as though they are a [single] structure joined firmly [61:4], and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of God. As for what follows:

In view of what the Syrian revolution is undergoing today from plots that plague it and internal conflict that threatens its presence and with great effort on our part to join forces and close ranks, we- the factions whose signature is present below- announce that all our factions will cease to exist and a complete merger within the new entity under the name: "Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham" under the leadership of the engineer Abu Jaber Hashim Al-Shakh,

And we call on the factions in the arena to fulfill this covenant and to join this new entity in order to unify our forces and to preserve the gains of the revolution and the jihad - so that this project may be the nucleus of gathering the capacities of this revolution, as well as to preserve its course and so that its desired objectives may be reached in overthrowing the criminal regime. And we ask the Lord to grant us victory and the clear conquest.

Signatures of the factions invovled:

Jabhat Fath Al-Sham

Harakat Nour Al-Din Al-Zinki

Liwa Al-Haq

Jabhat Ansar Al-Din

Jaysh Al-Sunna

[Translation provided on jihadi outlet al-Fustaat, revised slightly for clarity].

Statement for the joining of the mashayakh to Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham

Praise be to God who said: 'And indeed this Ummah of yours is one Ummah and I am your Lord, so fear Me." And prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of God- who said: 'The hand of God is with the gathering'- and on all his family and companions. As for what follows:

Indeed we have followed the dunes of misfortunes in the field since the fall of Aleppo till this day of ours, and perceiving the danger, we have undertaken the role God imposed on us as students of 'Ilm in striving to join forces and unite ranks, so we made every effort possible to make the last round of merger talks succeed, and we issued a fatwa on that matter as regards the obligation of merging, and the danger of what would result from abstaining from it, and lack of progress in that matter. When that did not succeed, we tried again to remove the congestion and tension, pushing back the first signs of corruption, but God allowed that the field reached what it reached recently from infighting that made our hearts bleed, so we looked for a solution to guarantee stopping the bloodshed and reach a formula that would guarantee the lack of repetition of these events, while restraining the tremendous chaos that the field is living through, but we did not find a realistic solution for the field, except that all should comply with an end to the infighting and return to merge in what there was progress towards.

Ergo, we have considered that the formation of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham under the leadership of the engineer 'Abu Jaber al-Sheikh' the limit of what has been possible to attain, in considering this merger to be representative of a ready entity capable of confronting the dangers that are evident. So we- responding to the clear command of God on the obligation to unite forces, and with effort on our part to prevent bloodshed and to be a plug of protection against any infighting- have decided to join this blessed body, just as we call on all the factions in this blessed revolution to take the initiative to join this commission, so that we may begin a new stage from the stages of this blessed revolution, in which the page of disagreements is closed, and in which victories return by God's permission.

We ask the Lord- Almighty and Exalted is He- to bless this blessed gathering.

Signatories:

1. Sheikh Abd al-Razzaq al-Mahdi.
2. Sheikh Abu al-Harith al-Masri.
3. Sheikh Abu Yusuf al-Hamawi.
4. Sheikh Abdullah al-Muheisseni.
5. Sheikh Abu al-Taher al-Hamawi.
6. Sheikh Muslih al-'Alyani

[translated by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi]

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