I saw him murdered saying “Ya Allah!” What I am about to tell you has to be one of the most horrific things I have ever witnessed in my life.
[As part of the MuslimMatters x CAGE Dhul Hijjah Activism Drive: Close Guantanamo, we bring you a series, Guantanamo Memories, of stories from behind bars.]

When I was in Bagram, Afghanistan in 2002, US soldiers brought in a young Afghan taxi driver. He was just 22. His name was Dilawar (may Allah have mercy on him). He was brought in just four days before the end of Ramadan.
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For four days, he was chained to the ceiling by his wrists. I saw his body slump after being in this state for so long. But, instead of giving him the help he needed, the soldiers started punching and kicking his shackled and hooded body. Each time the US soldiers would beat him, he would cry: “Ya Allah!”
This amused them… So they took turns hitting him to hear him seeking Allah’s
help… until they killed him! When a doctor examined his body, she said she had seen similar injuries on people who had been run over by a bus.
Dilawar was killed while saying the name of Allah
, during Ramadan. This reminds me of the story of Haram ibn Milhan
; one of the seventy memorizers of the Quran sent by the Prophet
to teach others the word of God. He was treacherously speared in the back. As he was struck, he said:
“I won, by the Lord of the Ka’bah!”, because of his sincere belief that he had paid the price for Paradise.
May Allah
forgive and accept Dilawar in the highest levels of His gardens.
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Related Reading:
Dhul Hijjah Global Activism Drive: Close Guantanamo
Fatima Moinuddin
July 2, 2022 at 1:58 PM
There is indeed a Day of Judgement.
Without a shred of a doubt.