The First Muslim Guerrilla Leader

O mountains of Gounib,
O soldiers of Shamyl,
Shamyl's citadel was full of warriors,

Yet it has fallen, fallen forever ...

I'm reading a book that I bought almost a year ago. As you can see from the old, classic photo above, it's all about a Caucasian warrior who lived in the 18th century. Imam Shamil Daghestani, a Muslim scholar, a Sufi, saint and the Shaykh of Naqshabandi Tariqa of Caucasus who promulgated Shari'ah and eradicated Jahili customs from Daghestan. Apart from that, he yielded his sword against Russian bayonets.

Reading the book by Muhammad Hamid is just like reading an epic story .An epic story of faith in God and a legacy that every Muslims cherish, to be retold from generation to generation. It is enough to say that the Sufi movement, especially in Caucasus post-Ottoman period in the eighteenth century was not a Muslim cult that busied themselves merely chanting their zikr or awrad. Their struggle, refusing to concede and kowtow to slavery is indeed worth reading. A great book, written to tell us a great story of Muslims struggle in Caucasus.

Spending two, three days on this book is way much better than attending BTN course, isn't it?