Doomed Fanatic Has Final Reality Check in Syria.

'Narrated by Al-Miqdam ibn Ma'dikarib: Allah's Messenger said, "The martyr will receive six good things from Allah: he is forgiven at the first shedding of his blood; he is shown his abode in Paradise; he will be preserved from the punishment in the grave; on his head will be placed the 'crown of honour', a ruby of which is better than the world and what it contains; he will be married to seventy-two wives from amongst the 'hoor's of Paradise & is made intercessor for seventy of his relatives."' So it says in one of the most trusted compilations of ahadith in Islamic scripture, Jamiat Tirmidhi, number 3834.

Now, to such sceptical Westerners as you & me, this piece of holiness has about it the preposterous aspect of an ignoramus in the desert promising bliss to his credulous mercenaries: sweet cherry pie in the sky when you die. We wonder how on earth anyone could voluntarily go to certain death in this belief, as the suicide bomber does. It is, therefore, both satisfying & horrifying to see that many a human bomb does suffer a most profound reality check in the seconds before immolating themselves, as illustrated by this report from the Mirror yesterday (hat-tip to Mr Normal ن @PaulWilko657):

Sobbing suicide bomber told to think of Allah before he blows himself up in Syria Jafar al-Tayyar, from Uzbekistan sobs as fellow militants comfort him saying, "don't be afraid. When you are scared, remember Allah" Harrowing video footage has emerged of a reluctant teenage suicide bomber weeping in terror seconds before he blows himself up. A fellow jihadi can be heard trying to reassure Jafar al-Tayyar as he sits trembling in a vehicle packed with explosives. He says: "Jafar, my brother, don't be afraid. When you are scared, remember Allah." The young fanatic from Uzbekistan sobs: "I'm just scared I won't succeed." Read more: ISIS terrorists quit because they're not getting the luxury cars and women they were promised Then he drives the open-top armoured car into a besieged Syrian village and detonates its deadly cargo, sending a huge pall of smoke into the air. The haunting pictures shed a terrifying new light on claims suicide bombers go to their death willingly. The video begins with Tayyar being hugged by several militants loyal to the Uzbek-led Imam Bukhari Jamaat group which fights alongside al-Qaeda. Unable to grow a beard, the teenager appears far younger than his fellow jihadis who smile and pat him on the back. The cameraman prompts him to raise his right index finger in a gesture used by fighters to signify "Allah is the highest". Looking around him, the young terrorist appears to realise he is just moments from death and bursts into tears, sobbing as fellow militants insist he carry out the attack and do their best to reassure him. The clip then cuts to Tayyar driving off and blowing himself up, sending a huge mushroom cloud high into the air. After the explosion, other fighters storm the besieged villages Fua and Kafriyeh. Separate footage of the attack was filmed with a small drone flown by the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front with whom Imam Bukhari Jamaat are aligned.