The Mujahideen of Chechen

Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov asked us, "Do you know how many soldiers we had, with which we defeated Russia?" He continued, "The whole army of Chechen Mujahideen were not more than 4000 in all of Chechnya. Only 837 Mujahideen were in Grozny, the capital, and the Russian army surrounding the capital was 120,000 soldiers. 837 Chechen Mujahideen were able to defeat 120,000 Russian Soldiers. 120,000!"
He asked if we knew how. "Allah said in the Holy Qur'an that with the Support of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, however small a group you are, you will defeat thousands and thousands of unbelieving people," he answered. The President continued, "Do you know why we were so successful, defeating this Russian Army with only a few soldiers? Islam came to us in Chechnya and Daghestan and Russia and Tataristan and Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, all these countries by the Sufis. And Islam was preserved under Communism from one generation to another for so many years by Tasawwuf. Do you know how it was preserved? By Zikrullah and Salawat on Prophet, salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam. We are Qadiris and Naqshbandis in Chechnya. Before we ever go out to a battle we sit in a circle and recite Qasidatul Burda and al-Modariyya.""We used to recite all together, LOUD—you hear it as if it is One Voice, and then we make Salawat on Prophet, salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and then Zikr, and then we go and fight, with the Baraka of these Salawat on Prophet, salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and this Zikrullah."

—Excerpt of an article from 1999 in "The Muslim Magazine"