Dawood, from Britain. Killed during a battle against Croatian Forces in Bosnia in 1993. Aged 29. 1st hand account. Present on In the Hearts of Green Birds Born and brought up as a Christian in Britain, he started his job in a Computer Company. One morning he came to work wearing Islamic dress. Upon being asked why he was wearing this dress he informed his work colleagues that he had converted to Islam. One week later he was fired from his job and went to Bosnia with two other brothers. Four months later, his brothers were returning to Britain for a few months and they asked him to come with them. He refused, saying,
What is there for me to do in the land of disbelievers?
He was a very calm and quiet brother, funny at the same time. He loved guarding his brothers on the mountain in snow and cold weather. A very fast learner of Islam and the Arabic language, he loved to keep all the Sunnahs of the Messenger of Allah (SAW). He used to sleep on his right-hand side in a crouched position, he used pray all night and fast most days. Commander Abul-Harith (RA) said about him,
All of us knew that Dawood would be the next Shaheed from amongst us, as he was getting higher and higher and higher in his Iman and Taqwa.
The night before the Operation, Dawood had a dream, in which he saw himself running in a place with large palaces on either side. He asked,
Who do these palaces belong to?
It was said to him,
These are the houses of the Shuhadaa.
He asked,
Where is the house of Abu Ibrahim?
(the Turkish brother from Britain who was shot dead by the French United Nations near Sarajevo Airport). The voice said to him,
The house of Abu Ibrahim is over there.
And so in the dream Dawood began to run towards the house of his friend, Abu Ibrahim, and then suddenly he fell down and woke from his sleep. The following morning there was a large operation against the Croats. During this operation, while he was running, he was killed by a single shot to the heart. He fell down and his body rolled down to the Croat bunkers below. After three months his body was returned to the Mujahideen. It was as new, it was bleeding and smelling of musk. His body was found crouched on its right-hand side, just how he used to lie down to sleep.
(Story courtsy of WWW.AZZAM.COM)