Any history to the current flag used by ISIL? [closed]

Question

I know the current flag used by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is black with white letters stating: "There is no God but Allah" and in the middle of a white circle in black letters the words: "Allah Messenger and Mohammad"... The handwriting reminds me of the style of seal which was pretended to be used by the Prophet Mohammad!

On the other hand Islam is often related to the color green!

^{Yascine - Public Domain}

Has this flag ever been used by any Muslim groups before?

Does it have any proven historical background?

Answer 1

The flag is known as the Black Standard of Muhammad. There are many variants of the flag, and as far as I can tell the variant used by ISIS is original, but other variants have been used by many groups before.

The flag can either be a pure black flag, or it may have the Shahada ("There is no god but Allah. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.") printed on it in white.

• A pure black flag was used by the Abassid Caliphate from the 8th century through the 16th, the Hotaki Empire in the 18th century, and Afghanistan in the late 19th century.

^{PaD - Public Domain}

• An inverted Black Standard is used by the Taliban.

^{Lexicon - Public Domain}

• Several different variants have been used by modern Islamist and jihadist groups, including al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab, and the Islamic Courts Union.

^{Lexicon - Public Domain}

• And a variant of the flag is used by ISIL.

^{Yascine - Public Domain}