“How many a small company has overcome a large company by the permission of Allāh. And Allāh is with the patient.”

— al-Baqarah:249

One such story which I thought would be relevant to bring to the forefront at this time is the story of the late Saiful Azam (رحمه الله). A legendary Bengali fighter pilot that participated in the 1967 six-day war against Israel. He astonishingly downed a total of four Israeli fighter jets in the span of just two days. Two were downed in Jordan and another two in Iraq. All this just after the entire Egyptian air force had been completely destroyed. He done this whilst flying an old 1949 British Hawker Hunter, a relic from WW2 whilst going up against French-made Israeli supersonic jets.

After the war Saiful Azam was awarded multiple awards and recognised for his amazing skills in aerial warfare by countries including Jordan, Iraq, Pakistan, Bangladesh and even the US who recognised him as one of 22 "Living Eagles". He of course became a hero in Palestine and after his death in 2020 many Palestinians paid tribute to him.

“Our brothers in Bangladesh and Pakistan were our partners in resistance and defending the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the holy site in Jerusalem."
- Osama al-Ashqar, Palestinian Historian

Today we can take inspiration from his story and learn the following:

1) Victory is not determined entirely by ones military might. Rather skill, experience, determination, strategy and ultimately the will of Allah can change the course of history. Everything happens with the permission of Allah. And Allah allowed a Bengali fighter pilot to down four Israeli jets in just two days. A great military achievement.

2) When we unite we become more capable. Although the Arab countries ultimately lost the 1967 war against Israel they were definitely better united than separate. The brief unity they achieved gave them a chance to taste a small victory at the hands of Saiful Azam and many others that participated.

3) Recalling history, especially historical events that are closely connected to particular Muslim ethnic groups, has the ability to arouse a desire for Islamic revival and resistance in that group. Telling such stories to the next generation is vital for us to preserve history and to also inspire them.

4) The issue of Palestine and Al-Aqsa has the ability to wake up and unite the entire Ummah. Muslims from all across the globe are ready and willing to assist with their wealth and lives for this cause.

Fun fact:

Today Israel has in its arsenal 241 fighter jets. If the Muslim Ummah could produce just 4 fighter pilots of the same calibre as Saiful Azam it would take them only 30 days to destroy Israel's entire fleet if they were to down Israeli jets at the rate of 2 per day as Saiful Azam did.

Although it is not in our immediate pipeline a docu-drama or more likely a film on the life of Saiful Azam from his birth in the 1940s up until his death in 2020 would be an important contribution to the library of Islamic content that we are hoping to produce.

May Allah have mercy on this legend of the skies. May his story inspire many more eagles in this Ummah from the Bengal and Indo-Pak region and beyond.

Inshā'Allāh we will be uploading a video on this subject on our YouTube channel soon. Do subscribe to stay updated: Subscribe to Islamic Ancestry YouTube Channel