The Takb?r (????????), also transliterated Tekbir or Takbeer, is the Arabic phrase All?hu akbar (???? ????), usually translated as "God is [the] greatest". It is a common Islamic Arabic expression, used in various contexts by Muslims; in formal prayer, in the call for prayer (adh?n), as an informal expression of faith, in times of distress, or to express resolute determination or defiance.
The form All?hu is the nominative of Allah, meaning "God". In the context of Islam, it is the proper name of God. The form akbar is the elative of the adjective kab?r, meaning "great", from the Semitic root k-b-r. As used in the Takb?r it is usually translated as "greatest", but some authors prefer "greater". The phrase is often transliterated less accurately as Allah akbar.
The term Takb?r itself is the stem II verbal noun (taf??lun) of the triliteral root k-b-r, meaning "great", from which akbar "greater" is derived.
The phrase is well known in the West for its common use as a battle cry in Islamic extremism and Islamic terrorism.
Video Takbir
Usage
This phrase is recited by Muslims in many different situations. For example, when they are very happy, to express approval, to prevent a Muslim from becoming prideful by reminding them that Allah is their source of success, or as a battle cry, during times of extreme stress. The phrase is not found in the Quran, which does not refer to God as akbar, but uses the name Al-Kabir (The Great) or Kabir (Great), commonly translated as "Most Great" (13:9, 31:30, 22:62, 34:23, 40:12, 4:34).
In prayer
The phrase is said during each stage of both obligatory prayers (performed five times a day), and supererogatory prayers (performed at will). The Muslim call to prayer (adhan) by the muezzin and to commence prayer (iqama) also contains the phrase.
In times of distress
The phrase is sometimes used during distress.
Just before a Garuda Airbus A300B-4 crashed into the jungle near Medan, Indonesia, the pilot screamed "Aaaaaaah! All?hu akbar" into his radio. According to a radio communication transcript, the pilot's conversation with the air controller had been in English, but his last words were this Arabic phrase as the plane crashed on September 26, 1997, killing all 234 people aboard in Indonesia's deadliest crash. It was suspected that the crash may have been due to either disorientation or engine failure caused by local dense smog resulting from forest fires.
In times of joy and gratitude
When Reshma Begum was discovered alive 17 days after the 2013 Savar building collapse in Bangladesh which killed 1129 people, crowds jubilantly cried "Allahu akbar" to express their joy and gratitude that she had survived.
As a multi-purpose phrase, it is sometimes used by Arab football commentators as an expression of amazement.
Following births and deaths
The phrase is used after the birth of a child as a means of praising God.
In the hadith, Muhammad is reported to have spoken the Takb?r after a funeral.
During the Eid Festival and the Hajj
During the festival of Eid al-Adha and the days preceding it, Muslims recite the Takb?r. This is particularly the case on the Day of Arafa.
Maps Takbir
In warfare and politics
In history
It has been used historically as a battle cry during war. It was first used in war by Muhammad in the Battle of Badr, the first battle in Islam.
Iranian usage
During the Iranian revolution of 1979, it was shouted from rooftops in Iran during the evenings as a form of protest. This practice returned in the aftermath of the 2009 Iranian presidential election, to protest the election results. Many people shouted it from 22:00-22:30 every night, after the 2009 Iranian election to protest the result.
In Syrian and Iraqi insurgency
In videos released during the course of the Syrian Civil War, Free Syrian Army, Al-Nusra Front, other rebel and Islamist groups and ISIL forces are heard shouting "Takbir" and "All?hu akbar" in the background while fighting. Even more "secular" groups such as the Free Syrian Army - Operation Southern Storm have been heard yelling the phrase before the firing of heavy weapons.
In the course of the Iraqi insurgency, Islamist fighters are seen and heard shouting "Takbir" and "All?hu akbar".
Jihadist and the Islamic extremist videos have also shown its fighters making Takbir with a pointing finger up.
Jihadist usage
The phrase is well known in the West for its common use as a battle cry in Islamist protests, Islamic extremism, and Islamic terrorism.
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, the FBI released a letter reportedly handwritten by the hijackers and found in three separate locations on the day of the attacks--at Dulles International Airport, at the Pennsylvania crash site, and in hijacker Mohamed Atta's suitcase. It included a checklist of final reminders for the 9/11 hijackers. An excerpt reads: "When the confrontation begins, strike like champions who do not want to go back to this world. Shout, 'All?hu akbar,' because this strikes fear in the hearts of the non-believers." Also, in the cockpit voice recorders found at the crash site of Flight 93, the hijackers are heard reciting the Takb?r repeatedly as the plane plummets toward the ground and the passengers attempt to retake control of the plane.
When in March 2002 Maryam Mohammad Yousif Farhat of Hamas, popularized as "Umm Nidal" (and subsequently elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council), learned that her 17-year-old son had died during a suicide attack in which he killed five teenagers, she celebrated by proclaiming "All?hu akbar" and giving out boxes of halva and chocolates. Imam Samudra, who was sentenced to death for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, chanted the phrase upon hearing his sentence.
In the video of Nick Berg being beheaded in Iraq in 2004, the perpetrators can be heard shouting "All?hu akbar". And in the 2007 Fort Dix attack plot, a group of radical Islamists who were convicted of plotting an attack on the Fort Dix military base in New Jersey had videotaped themselves shooting weapons and shouting "All?hu akbar". In 2008, Aafia Siddiqui is alleged to have fired at US interrogators while yelling "All?hu akbar".
During the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, witnesses reported that gunman Nidal Malik Hasan shouted "All?hu akbar" before opening fire, killing 13 people and wounding 30 others. Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad smiled and said "All?hu akbar" after receiving a life sentence in 2010 for his attempted bombing.
During the incident aboard American Airlines Flight 1561 in 2011, the person attempting to bash his way into the cockpit was heard shouting "All?hu akbar". Mohammed Merah recorded himself shouting "Allahu akbar" as he killed three French paratroopers in the 2012 Midi-Pyrénées shootings. In the 2014 Jerusalem synagogue attack witnesses reported that the perpetrators screamed "All?hu akbar" as they axed and shot at the worshippers. The killers in the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris shouted "All?hu akbar" during their attack. During the November 2015 Paris attacks, witnesses reported hearing gunmen shouting "All?hu akbar" before opening fire in the Bataclan theatre, killing 89 people.
When Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov was assassinated on 19 December 2016 at Ankara, the capital of Turkey, after shooting the ambassador the shooter shouted "All?hu akbar" and "Do not forget Aleppo", referring to Russia helping the Syrian government conquer the eastern part of the city of Aleppo only a few days prior to the assassination.
Following the 2017 Barcelona attacks, the mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, has said that anyone shouting "All?hu akbar" in St Mark's Square will be shot by snipers within a few paces.
On flags
The phrase All?hu akbar is written on the center of the flag of Iraq, 22 times along the borders of the central white stripe on the flag of Iran, and beneath the Shahada in the flag of Afghanistan in white script on the central red background as determined by the 2004 draft constitution.
- Iraq
During the Persian Gulf war in January 1991, Saddam Hussein held a meeting with top military commanders, where it was decided to add the words All?hu akbar (described as the Islamic battle cry) to Iraq's flag to boost his secular regime's religious credentials, casting himself as the leader of an Islamic army. Hussein described the flag as "the banner of jihad and monotheism".
In 2004, Iraq's U.S.-picked Governing Council approved a new flag for Iraq that abandoned symbols of Hussein's regime, such as the words All?hu akbar. In January 2008, however, Iraq's parliament passed a law to change the flag by leaving in the phrase, but changing the calligraphy of the words All?hu akbar, which had been a copy of Hussein's handwriting, to a Kufic script.
- Iran
The phrase All?hu akbar is written on the Iranian flag, as called for by Article 18 of Iran's constitution. The phrase appears 22 times on the flag.
- Afghanistan
The Afghan constitution that came into force on January 4, 2004, required that All?hu akbar be inscribed on Afghanistan's national flag.
- 1930s Waziristan (Pakistan) resistance movement
A resistance movement that fought British rule in Waziristan, Pakistan, in the 1930s used a red flag bearing All?hu akbar in white letters.
- Pashtunistan
One of the variants of the flag of Pashtunistan features the Takbir on it.
See also
- Alhamdulillah
- Alláh-u-Abhá
- Deo optimo maximo
- Dhikr
- Hallel
- Hallelujah
- Glossary of Islam
- Quran
- ?abr
- Tawhid
Notes
References
- Rohi Baalbaki (1995). Al-Mawrid (7th ed.). Beirut: Dar El-Ilm Lilmalayin. ISBN 9953-9023-1-3.
- F. Steingass Ph.D., University of Munich (1870). Persian-English Dictionary, Including the Arabic words and phrases to be met with in literature. Beirut: Librairie Du Liban.
External links
- Essay on takbir at Slate
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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