Remembering Our Shaheeds

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
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وَلَا تَقُولُوا۟ لِمَن يُقْتَلُ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ أَمْوَٰتٌۢ ۚ بَلْ أَحْيَآءٌۭ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا تَشْعُرُونَ
“And say not of those who are slain [on a course] to Him, for Allah’s cause, ‘they are dead’.  Nay, they are alive but you perceive it not.”
[The Qurʾān 2:154]

We express our condolences to all the peace and justice seekers of the world on this 3rd anniversary of the martyrdoms of Shaheed Sardar Solaymani and Shaheed Abu Mahdi Muhandis, whose legacies continue to live on in the continued battle against arrogance and in the struggle to bring peace to the Muslim nations and beyond. On January 3rd, 2020, U.S. drone strikes assassinated them in which they reached the status of martyrdom. 

During his services as the general of the Al-Quds Force in the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, Shaheed Solaymani, along with his second-in-command Shaheed al Muhandis of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), led the axis of resistance defending Muslim countries, particularly Iraq and Syria against ISIS, the U.S.-Israeli funded militias. Because of their sacrifices, along with their valiant soldiers, they brought an end to the enemy’s plots.

Many Muslim nations commemorate the day of their martyrdom with ceremonies, lectures, walks, and prayers. Nearly 100,000 visitors from 70 different cities in Iran, along with other countries are headed to the city of Kerman, where Shaheed Soleymani is buried. Thousands of Iraqi Muslims have gathered near Baghdad airport for their commemoration.

What can we learn from these two shaheeds? It is the same lessons Imam Hussain (as) taught us at Karbala. They knew their purpose on earth and lived in complete and total service to their Lord by sacrificing everything to defend Islam. To quote Shaheed Soleymani himself: “Until the time one is not a living martyr, one cannot become a martyr. The condition to become a martyr is to be a martyr. If you see someone who gives off the fragrance of a martyr from his words, his behavior, his manners… know that he will become a martyr.”
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Reflecting on the verse from the Qur'an mentioned above, while the intention was to kill them and what they stood for, their martyrdom has actually brought new life to the resistance fronts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and more. Palestinians have named Shaheed Soleymani as ‘Shaheed Quds’. Millions of men and women, young and old, have renewed their allegiance to these Shaheeds and confirmed their commitment to continue their work for all of us to have a better tomorrow.

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Your Brother,
Abolfazl Bahram Nahidian