The Al Aqsa Flood War - The Ramadan War '73 – Hamas Version

The "Flood of Al-Aqsa" war (Israel calls "iron swords") began with a surprise attack by Hamas on Saturday, October 7, 2023. The declaration of war was issued by Muhammad al Dief (Abu Khaled), commander of the Izz al Din al Qassam Brigades. An examination of Dief's recording and statements by Hamas leaders could open a window for the Israeli public into the motive for his cruel and murderous war against Jews and Zionists.

It is worth noting the name Hamas gave to the campaign – the Al Aqsa Flood. From there, it echoes Hamas's slogan on its 35th founding day (December 14, 2022), "Aatun Bitufan Hadir", come in a sizzling flood. In a leaflet issued on their behalf, Hamas explained the meaning of the slogan: "Our Palestinian people and our Arab and Muslim nation inevitably come to liberate Jerusalem and the holy places like a bustling flood from all of Palestine and from all the Arab and Muslim countries.  And wherever the world's dignitaries are, that is, supporters of the Palestinian right”.

The purpose of this article is to explain the context in which the surprising attack on the Gaza envelope can be analyzed by understanding Hamas' combat doctrine, and presenting it in the context of the killing of innocent civilians.

Battle of Badr as a source of inspiration for the October '73 and '23 War

Dief began his remarks with a recording announcing the start of the campaign, in a verse that relates to the battle of Badr (624) (45:54) between Muhammad and the pagans. The message he sought to convey through the verse was that just as the tribe of Quraysh was in the days of the Prophet Muhammad, so too the Jews today will be defeated and retreated. They will be punished, and it will be a much worse and more bitter hour for them. The proximity of the opening of the campaign to 6 October, and the fact that the beginning of the Yom Kippur War (6 October, 10 Ramadan) was in Operation “Badr” to cross the Suez Canal, indicate that Hamas declared war and sought to open many fronts and surprise Israel as it did 50 years ago.

Another indication that the Dief was inspired by the Battle of Badr in this campaign is his allusion to verse 9 of Surat al Anfal, 8, according to which in the battle of Badr the Muslims turned to Allah's help and he sent them a thousand angels one after another to help them. These angels were one of the reasons for the Muslims' victory in battle. Dief in this context also alluded to verse 125 of Surat Aal Imran,3 according to which Allah sent 5,000 angels to assist the Muslims in their war against the pagans at the Battle of Badr. The symbol of the Qassam Brigades quotes part of a verse (17:8) that came down in the context of the Battle of Badr: "It was not you who killed them, but Allah who killed them”.

Patience (Sabr) and constant preparation (Iʽdad) to achieve the goal

Hamas is an Islamic movement in thought and deed. In a speech given on the occasion of the anniversary of the founding of Hamas (December 14, 2022), Yahya al Sinwar defined the long-term goal of the struggle against Israel as the fulfillment of the divine promise in the Quran (17:7). In this chapter, Allah promised the Muslims that the Jews would fulfill the "second promise" (Waʽd al Aakhira), as a result of which the Jews would be humiliated and imprisoned, and the Muslims would enter the mosque, referring to the Al Aqsa Mosque, and destroy everything that the Jews had conquered.

Before fulfilling this promise there is the first promise (17:5), in which Muslim war heroes will arrive and raid into the Jewish colonies. It seems that what we saw in the envelope was, in Hamas' eyes, the promise of the first time, which would prepare the ground for the realization of Palestine's war of independence.    

To the question Israel raises when this will happen and Allah will punish, the answer is [according to the phrase that appears in Quran 17:51]: "It may be soon". To express the idea that Israel would soon be punished, Sinwar used the story of the promise of punishment to the people of Lot. In this story, the angels told Lot (11:81), "The hour [of the people of Sodom] will come with the rising of the sun. Isn't morning close?" The phrase he used from the verse was intended to convey to Israel the message that Jerusalem would soon be liberated, and to give the Palestinians hope that a victory was near.

In his speech, Sinwar explained why Hamas did not make Israel pay a price for its crimes in the West Bank, for harming the Muslim character of Jerusalem, and  make her jewish (Tahwid). He explained that Hamas estimated that in 2023 it would face large national debts due to what he called the "rise of the fascist right" to power in Israel. This new regime, he said, would cross all red lines and undermine the rules. Sinwar's important message in that speech was that Hamas proved by restraining itself about the events in the West Bank that when it remains silent – its silence is actually preparation, and when it decides to speak – it is the trigger of the rifle that speaks in its name.

This reflects Hamas' most important form of jihad, which is "preparatory jihad" (Iʽdad). A guiding light for Hamas is a verse (8:60) instructing them to prepare a force according to their ability in order to terrorize the enemy. The Quranic imperative to prepare force is the Islamic basis for Hamas' development of all types of weapons. Alongside this preparation is the order to "tie up the horses" (Ribat), that is, to conduct observations along the border at those points from which it is possible to enter enemy territory. This presence along the border is intended to deter the enemy and at the same time to study its conduct along the border.

The axis of resistance unites around the goal

The axis of resistance is led by Shiite Iran, and in order to unite the forces around a common enemy, the differences between the Sunni and Shiʽa have dimmed, and an "ecumenism" (Taqrib of al Madhib) approach has been adopted between them. In his speech on the occasion of this year's World Jerusalem Day on 14 April, Sinwar referred to this axis as the "Jerusalem axis" (Mihwar al Quds). According to him, the most important battleground in the resistance axis is Bilad al Sham, Greater Syria. At its heart is Palestine, and Jerusalem and its entrances as a focal point for Ribat's activity. Therefore, he said, Hamas had reconciled with Assad's Syria, which represents one of the arenas of concentration of power. As part of these efforts to shape the "Jerusalem axis", Hamas is developing its relations with Hezbollah, which is the most important part of Jund al Sham, and must still make an effort to develop relations with the Yemeni and Iraqi arenas.

The common denominator of the emerging axis of Jerusalem is the belief that there is a divine promise that Israel will cease to exist (Zawal). True, as written in quran (30:6), Allah does not break His promise, but fulfilling that promise requires human effort, which Hamas and the Shiite axis undertake.

The goal – the release of the "captive" prisoners

The issue of the release of prisoners imprisoned in Israel and considered prisoners by Hamas (Asra) is central and strategic. Hamas referred to the Gilad Shalit deal as "loyalty to the free". The value of loyalty, that is, keeping a word and a promise, is a fundamental value in Islamic virtue theory. This means that Hamas has an obligation to release the prisoners in every way. It is worth remembering that the abduction of Shalit in 2006 was referred to by Hamas as the "dissipating illusion", meaning that the abduction revealed that the invincible army - the IDF - had turned out to be an illusion that had dissipated.

As she wrote in a leaflet on the anniversary of the Shalit deal in 2022, the "loyalty to the free" deal outlined victory over the enemy, and inspired the Palestinian people that the path of resistance is the way to achieve rights by force and protect the land and holy places. Hamas has made it its mission to release the prisoners (asra) and liberate the place to which the Prophet Muhammad was driven at night (Masra), namely Jerusalem and the Al Aqsa Mosque.

The command to kill and Islam's treatment of "non combatants"

In the course of his remarks, Dief quoted part of verse 191 of Surat al Baqara, 2 in which he commanded to kill: "And slay them wherever you catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out". In the same breath in which he quoted the verse that included a command to kill that he applied to the Jews, Dief ordered Hamas fighters not to kill old people and children.

In light of the horrific images from Hamas's invasion of the Gaza envelope, it is appropriate to examine Islamic religious law in order to clarify the issue of the killing of civilians or "non combatants" in the ranks of the enemy.  Ella Landau-Tesron stated in her important study of the status of non combatants in Islamic religious law that the term "non combatants" used in the doctrine of "just war" in the West does not fit Islamic religious law. Although according to Islamic religious law, those who are forbidden to harm are always non combatants,  But not all non-combatants have "immunity" and are not "a soul forbidden by Allah to kill".

To this category of "protected blood" belong only Muslims and infidels who have a specific legal agreement with Muslims. Such an agreement can be permanent as a protectorate agreement (dhimma) or temporary (aman)1. In ancient Muslim sources one can find a list of those forbidden to harm that includes women, children, the elderly and monks. But during combat, the prohibition against harming innocent "non-combatants" is almost invalid.

Among Muslim religious scholars, there is broad agreement that in times of war, "non-combatants" who participate in hostilities – their blood is permitted like the blood of the fighters themselves. Some are cautious when it comes to women and minors, apparently because of the prohibition against harming them attributed to the Prophet Muhammad2. There are differences of opinion among Muslim religious rulings on the question of what constitutes the participation of "non combatants" in the campaign. Muslim religious scholars in the early period permitted the blood of "non-combatants" if they actually fought, but the later scholars expanded the scope of participation in war that permits the blood of "non-combatants". For example, espionage, extradition of Muslims, incitement, giving advice to combatants, etc3.

In classical Islamic law, non Muslims are divided into two groups: first, non Muslims who do not fight against Muslims. In them, according to the Kuraa`n (60:8), one must act with grace and justice. The second, on the other hand, consists of many  non Muslims who are fighting against Islam and must be fought against and answered with an offensive (2:190, 193). Israeli society, being an imperialist society, according to Sheikh Yusuf al Qaradawi, is a military society, and even those who are called civilians are, in fact, military personnel. Qaradawi stated that anyone who has passed childhood in Israel is a man and they're a woman – a conscript into the army. It is worth noting the assertion of someone who was, and still is, even after his death, a source of religious authority for Hamas. "The entire home front, including professionals, workers and manufacturers, stands behind the fighting army even if the home front does not have weapons”4.

Hamas received sharʽi approval for allowing the blood of Jews in Israel already in the 1990s, in the context of granting juridical permission for istishhad attacks (referred to in the media as "suicide bombing attacks"). The most sweeping fatwa permitting sacrifice attacks was supplied by Qaradawi, stating: "...Every Israeli is a soldier in the army or in practice or in the force, that is, he is a reserve soldier who can be summoned at any time for war. Those who are referred to (civilians; Madaniyyun) are, in fact, military personnel in the Zionist army in practice or by force"5.

Qaradawi ruled that resistance (muqawama) to the occupier invading the land of Palestine is legitimate both in heavenly law, man made law, and the international convention. He ruled that part of this resistance was the shelling of Israeli settlements or the settlers and the capture of officers and soldiers, or their abduction and holding in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and prisoners, or in exchange for the evacuation of the homeland by the occupation and its armies6.

Similarly, Jordanian Abu Muhammad ­al Maqdasi, an important al Qaeda theorist, ruled in a fatwa in which he justified the September 11 attacks from a religious perspective. He ruled that a child in Islamic law is considered an adult from the moment he was seen as symbols of sexual maturity, forbearance or hair growth around the penis. This could be at the age of 12 or even younger, and since then he has been considered a mature Sharia obligatory observance. From this he concluded that from that age onwards the non Muslim would no longer be considered as a child but as an adult, and therefore the existing prohibition in Islam to kill children will not apply to him, that is, his blood will be permitted7. Another argument raised by Maqdisi is that women, children and the elderly who participate in hostilities or assist combatants, even if only with advice, opinion, information, etc. – are the same as combatants8.

In a fatwa issued last week by a group called "The Nation's Clerics", an umbrella organization that includes many judicial bodies, including in Palestine, it was determined that what the jihad fighters of the Al Qassam Brigades did for Allah in the Al Aqsa Flood campaign is the greatest act of Islam today. This is jihad in theory designed to repel aggression and defend religion and holy places. The reasoning is quoted from the Quran (8:57): "If you gain the mastery over them in war, disperse, with them , those who follow them, that they may remember”9. This fatwa contains a categorical determination according to which every Zionist soldier or settler whose blood is permitted in Palestine and abroad.

An article published on 12 October on the website of the international ruling body, the World Union of Muslim Clerics (established in 2004 to respond to what it called fatwas issued by "the clerics on their behalf"), stated on the issue of Hamas killing and capturing civilians, that there are those among Israeli civilians who take part in the military hostilities and others who provide technical assistance. "In the end, everyone's sentence is that of an occupier, and the latter is doomed to come out of this land. After his departure, he will have the right to be protected in every way10”. The author of the article, ʽIsam Talima, like his teacher Qaradawi, stated that Zionist society is military, and all its members are invited to reserve duty. Beyond that, the term military man has changed, and there are civilians who, by virtue of their profession, contribute to the army. Talima ruled that "in the land of an occupier, anyone who lives on its land is an occupier".  

What has Hamas learned so far from the war?

The answer to this question can be learned from the words of Ismail Haniyya11, who defined the war on its opening day as a huge victory and a "decisive decision" (Fath mabin; phrase from the Quran 48:1). Al Qassam Brigades operatives, he said, wrote down the outlines of the humiliation and defeat on the enemy. He described them as having fulfilled the Qur'an (33:23), meaning they pledged to Allah to sacrifice their lives for Him, fulfilled their vows and became martyrs. Those of them who have not yet sacrificed themselves, according to him, it is right to do so and has not changed his commitment.

Haniyya defined the war as the beginning of the campaign to liberate Jerusalem, the land of Palestine and the Palestinian prisoners. He learned from the events about the weakness of the enemy, and defined it as a political, military, intelligence, security and moral defeat. He described the entry of al Qassam forces into the surrounding communities as "the enormous crossing", alluding to the crossing of the canal by the Egyptians in October 1973. This success was carried out this time, he said, by Qassam fighters who write history with their blood, rifles and feet who stepped on the occupying invaders. What may indicate Hamas's goal, which has never changed, are Haniyya's words to Israel: "Get out of our land; We do not want to see you above this earth; This land is ours, Jerusalem is ours and everything is ours. You are strangers (Tariʼun) in this pure and blessed land”.

summary

Hamas is an Islamic movement endowed with patience, believing that Allah has decided the struggle against Palestine in favor of the Muslims, and therefore it is only a matter of time before Israel ceases to exist. Al Qassam Brigades fighters are building a consciousness centered on fulfilling the divine promise to punish the Jews. The first promise is to enter the Jewish colonies, the second is to enter the Al Aqsa Mosque.

For Hamas, victory is not a military term, but an Islamic cultural and cultural term. The longer it faces Israel in combat and does not surrender, the more it shows patience, which is the trait of believers. Defeat (lewdness) in the eyes of Hamas is not a military term but a religious one. As far as she is concerned, since Allah is on their side, they cannot be defeated. Therefore, the goal must not only be to damage the material, but to try to harm Hamas' fighting spirit by understanding the components of its culture of resistance. It is also important to remember that Hamas embodies an Islamic idea of faith, which is more difficult to eradicate.

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