Haj Qasem Soleimani's eulogy for Hajj Imad Mughniyeh

Eulogy delivered by Martyr Haj Qasem Soleimani in memory of his friend and comrade Martyr Haj Imad Mughniyeh, at the February 2018 event in Tehran honoring the tenth anniversary of Haj Imad's martyrdom, and in the presence of Hajj Imad's family members and of leaders of IRGC, Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

I want to speak for the first time about a dear friend with whom I spent a significant period of my life, whose personality is unknown to the young fighters of the Resistance, including Sunnis, Shiites and Christians, and those who work in the right way.

After the death of Imam Khomeini, I did not see another character whose martyrdom caused as much sorrow in the Islamic world as Imad.

No attachment, even concern for his children, could affect the path of the martyr Imad Mughniyeh, although martyrs and revolutionaries are the most emotional people, but they have a heavier attachment to something greater, to a universal cause, they cannot be busy with their personal issues when they hear the cries of the oppressed for help.

Imad Mughniyeh was not only an expert in one field, but what made him defeat the enemy so many times was that Imad belonged to something higher. The secret of his persistence in the cause of the Resistance is based on this philosophy of belonging, and what made Imad Mughniyeh more prominent than the rest, what made him shine like a sun among the heroes of the struggle, was that he had a desire beyond this world, and no earthly matter concerned him, and this is one of the most important characteristics of Imad Mughniyeh, which has not been talked about much until now.

Any person can become an expert in any field, but simple professional mercenaries like the Blackwater forces trained in the United States are not saviors, and if they become experts in a professional technique, they will not be saviors, but destroyers.

It was Mughniyeh's faith that kept him strong, and I saw his heavy tears many times. Some say that men don't cry, but that's a lie. At a meeting we were in with some Resistance commanders, the television was broadcasting a film about Imam Reza (as), and when Imad saw the scene for the first time he cried so much that it upset us all.

Another characteristic of Imad Mughniyeh was his modesty: Imad founded Hezbollah before Hezbollah was founded. What do I mean? As you know, Hezbollah was officially founded in 1985, but its military wing, Islamic Jihad, which Imad led from the beginning until his martyrdom, was founded in 1982. When that year the leadership of the Palestinian Resistance was expelled from Lebanon and the Muslims of the country had no leaders to defend themselves against the Zionist attack and occupation, 19-year-old Imad Mughniyeh thought of protecting the personalities of Lebanon. But in all the years we spent together, I never saw him praise himself for being the creator of many victories.

During the 33-day war in July-August 2006 between Hezbollah and the Zionists, we would make a call to southern Lebanon and see that Imad was there, we would call Hezbollah headquarters in the Bekaa Valley, he was there, he was everywhere. Imad was everywhere close to the enemy to get to know him well.

When we conducted an inspection of a guerrilla unit in southern Lebanon during that war, even though everyone knew his name, no one had seen his face. Then, I remember, one of the Hezbollah fighters protested to a man with glasses, and said: "Who are you, who are you that you go from camp to camp, stay for half an hour, eat and leave? We have to wash the dishes, why don't you stay here and help us with that?" The man with glasses agreed and washed the dishes himself. Later they found out that he was Imad. The Hezbollah commander-in-chief washed the dishes of his soldiers, so that they would be clean and so that the morale of each unit would not decrease in the midst of war!

I don't know how many Lebanese will believe this, but the one who, at a time when the atmosphere of fear was consuming Lebanese society, stared at fear in the face and drove it away, was Imad Mughniyeh, who managed to transform Lebanese society from a society battered by the enemy into a wonderful place. He was a central force in all operations from 1982 to 2008, and no operation could have started without the presence of Imad Mughniyeh. He was someone who learned from the experiences of others, sat down with the Palestinians and the Iraqis, and created a special way of irregular warfare, so that many of the mujahideen are trained today in what they themselves call the Imad Mughniyeh school.

Imad was constantly preparing new surprises for the enemy: in the 33-day war, when Hezbollah fighters hit the Israeli corvette, the beloved Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced it on television throughout Lebanon and the world, saying: “Look towards the sea, you will see the Zionist ship burning!” And that was Imad Mughniyeh’s work.

Imad created opportunities out of hopes and disappointments. When the Zionist regime came to southern Lebanon in 1982, it displaced everyone and brought about a situation where the Lebanese army forces joined the Zionists and this was a very big danger, but Imad Mughniyeh used this opportunity and the weakness of the Phalangists' faith, who were pliant, and killed their main commanders and forced "Israel" to leave the South in 2000. He chased the enemy so much that the Zionists had to leave their installations behind and they couldn't even take their prisoners, and it was a scandalous escape for them.

When "Israel" came to southern Lebanon in 1982, it displaced everyone, but that year ended for the Zionists with a significant defeat, and that was the massive explosion of the headquarters of the officers of the Zionist regime in Tyre, where 75 officers of the notorious Zionist secret service Shin Bet were killed, and that was an operation that saved many people, because the Zionists were forced to leave both Beirut and Tyre, as well as Sidon, since they saw that it was inhospitable to them, they saw that if they stayed a little longer they would all turn into coffins. And this operation was organized by Imad.

Imad believed that in order to bring the enemy to his knees, we must revive all the resistance capabilities of the Islamic world. The person who connected the Palestinian groups to the resistance center and brought Yasser Arafat to Iran for the first time was Imad Mughniyeh. He strengthened Hamas and activated the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which allowed Gaza to become an indomitable fortress. Gaza and Lebanon today are the production points of constant concern for "Israel" and, as someone else has said, on every rocket fired from Palestine one can see the fingerprints of Imad Mughniyeh.

He was also active in Iraq and even today the enemy reluctantly praises him. Such reluctant praise the enemy had been forced to give to the personality of Imam Khomeini. For 25 years, Imad Mughniyeh thwarted all the enemy's plans, and many superpowers and their intelligence services were constantly working to capture him. American commandos, French, British, "Israeli", all now confess that they had attempted to capture him either on a plane or in houses where he occasionally stayed, but to no avail. When he took me to his headquarters, he showed me a window behind the curtain and said, "Yes, from here a group was always watching me. I dragged the enemy with me, but in the end I defeated him."

Imad had the complete trust of Sayyid Hassan Hassan Nasrallah, to whom he was completely loyal, and when he had an opinion contrary to Sayyid Hassan's, he would compromise with the Secretary-General. It was impossible for Sayyid to say something and for Imad not to act accordingly. When Sayyid could not sleep from anxiety, Imad Mughniyeh would not leave the house, he would sit next to him to calm him down, because he believed that Sayyid had saved Lebanon. Indeed, today even the Christians of Lebanon recognize Sayyid Hassan as their savior, while the Sunnis do not separate themselves from Hezbollah, they have forged the strongest ties with it.

With the martyrdom of Imad Mughniyeh, I remembered Malik Ashtar (ra), because it is said about him that his martyrdom made one world mourn and made another world happy: the Islamic world mourned him but the enemy was filled with joy. But the important thing is that Islam has a productive force, it is true that Imad Mughniyeh was a unique character in his kind, but Islam has always educated and presented great personalities and this way is a way to bring the best to the world. Our cause does not end with the death of a person, even the greatest leader. We vow to walk in the path of our great heroes and to celebrate their victories.

I was in Beirut the day Imad was martyred, so when I heard the news of his death, I immediately went to Sayyid Hassan and told him the sad news. He replied: “The loss of Hajj Imad is more painful to me than the destruction of an entire brigade.” Anyone who observed Imad - may Allah (swt) bless his soul - and who paid attention to his influence in the Islamic world, and who saw him defending the oppressed everywhere, would understand the words of Sayyid Hassan: the fall of this lofty mountain was indeed a greater loss to the Resistance than the destruction of an entire brigade.

Among you now are people who were present at Imad’s funeral and remember and can recount the events that took place when his wife stood by his side, over the coffin, bidding him farewell. Abu Tariq is here today, who saw it all with her own eyes. Umm Jihad [mother of the martyr Jihad Mughniyeh] stood by her husband’s dead body and said. "To Paradise, O Abu jihad! We will meet there. You departed from this world in an enviable position. You left us orphans and widows. O hero of Islam, O you who influenced the people and fought injustice. You took the path of no return." Recalling the funeral, Abu Tariq once said: "The eyes of all of us filled with tears and they began to fall on the face of the deceased. His wife began to dry the tears from his face, and then I came and dried the rest."

According to Islamic tradition, Imam Ali (as) heard a woman say on the day Malik al-Ashtar (ra) was martyred: "You were better than a thousand, than thousands of men, you were more courageous than a lion!" Imam Ali (as) asked, "Who is she?" They told him that she was the mother of Malik. So he turned to her and said, "You have spoken the truth. Abu Ibrahim (Malik's kunya) was indeed as you described him." Our tradition also says that men approached Imam Ali (as) and said to him, "The women of the Al-Ashtar family have gathered in the house of Malik and are weeping and lamenting his death. You are the Caliph, the leader of the faithful, what do you have to say about this?" Imam (as) replied, "There is nothing wrong with the women of the Al-Ashtar family shedding their tears for Malik, as long as they do not put sand on their heads." Whatever Imam (as) said about Malik, we say about Imad, our beloved Hajj Radwan as his fighters called him, or Abu Jihad as his family called him. May God bless Hajj Radwan, for he too was as his mother described him, and there is nothing wrong with the women of his family shedding their tears for Hajj Radwan, as long as they do not put sand on their heads.

From Beirut, I remember, we called Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to ask if it would be enough to bury Imad in a coffin. The Leader said that if his body has changed or emits a smell, then there is nothing wrong with burying him in a coffin. He said that it was obvious that the body must have changed by now and would emit a smell, so out of respect for the deceased, it is better to bury him in a coffin. I was afraid that on this fifth day, his body would change and become hard, but God willing, it had not been deformed. His body was received at Beirut Airport by a crowd of people and then transferred to the Martyrs' Cemetery in Dahiya, the neighborhood where Imad had fought his great battles while he was alive. A large procession of Lebanese of all religious denominations and Hezbollah fighters followed. Sayyid Hassan prayed for the deceased and then gave a brilliant speech, in which he said: “The news of his martyrdom affected my soul more than the news that a strong line of defense had fallen on the front of the holy war.” May God have mercy on Imad’s soul and allow us to meet him again in the Garden of Paradise. We pray to God – the Almighty and the All-Merciful – to protect his soul in Paradise, in the hearts of the green birds that fly wherever they wish.

Imad’s greatest hope, which teased him in his dreams and never left his mind, was that God would seal his life in this world with martyrdom. Imad fought, supported, prepared, trained and toured the world, inciting the faithful to resist oppression, to unite and struggle. And as a martyr he left this world ten years ago. He left us behind, to continue on the path of struggle that he had begun. And it is not appropriate to say that Imad died. To those who use this word, we reply, “Imad did not die,” because the Quran says, “And do not say of those who are killed in the way of Allah, ‘They are dead.’ Nay, they are alive, but you perceive it not.” [Quran 2:154] How can he, whose tapes are heard all over the world, die? How can he, who participated in the revival of holy war and the rebirth of true Islam, die? How can he, whose name is associated with the holiest of all Islamic struggles on Earth, die? Yes, the struggle of Palestine, of which the entire Islamic nation is proud! How can he, who left a beautiful and lasting memory in the hearts and souls of people, die? How will you die when your memories fill our lives and shake us from the depths of our hearts? Your voice, roaring on the cassettes, is enough to shake the world of our enemies and make their heartstrings tremble with it. He does not die for whom positions remain in this world: positions in which great people, callers to Islam and scholars shrink before them.

He who has wandered the world striving for the noblest of causes does not die. Causes that touched his heart and filled his chest with fire. A fire that he spread to others with passionate words that came from the heart and therefore reached hearts - by the permission of the Knower of the Unseen. He was not a writer with a captivating style, but his words had a magic that captivated hearts. He was not a scholar with extensive knowledge of fiqh, but he knew well what could benefit people. He was not a horseman who rides horses in the fields, but horsemen stand dwarfed before his unparalleled courage. What can I say about his bravery? Or the stances he took in the face of enemies? How many times have I heard him say, "By Allah, I fear no one in life except Allah."

He possessed a sincere heart and a pure nature, not in the least tainted by greed for worldly pleasures, nor tainted by the perverse nature of society. My opinion of him is that he had a nature as pure as that of a three-year-old child, a soul burning with the enthusiasm of a twenty-year-old, and a generosity that did not turn anyone away, whether they were in need or not - he gave to everyone, as does one who is not afraid of poverty. He possessed a rare sense of trial, untainted by despair. He was only forty-six years old when he was martyred. I have never known anyone like him. His loss weighed heavily on our souls. It was as if my right hand had been cut off.

Hajj Radwan cannot be forgotten. And how can we forget him when his memories disturb our minds day and night? When they revive our dying souls? When they light a fire in our hearts against our enemies, who were also his enemies? Imad is unforgettable because his qualities, his achievements, and his mark on our struggle are indelible. His words resonate, and will continue to resonate, in our ears. Always seeking martyrdom, Imad passed away to Allah and left behind his sons: Mustafa, Fuad, the martyr Jihad, and their sisters, Fatima, Zainab, and Zahra who are here with us today. He also left behind his wife, Umm Jihad. We pray that God will protect these young people in the faith of their father. We pray that God will allow us to be reunited with Imad and Jihad as martyrs in the Garden of Paradise. Imam Ali (as) said, when his righteous companion and disciple, Uthman ibn Maz'un (ra), died, “I see his fate in front of me. He was the first of the Emigrants of Mecca to die in Medina." And when he reminisced about his martyred companions during the Fitna, he said: "First Malik al-Ashtar was martyred, then Muhammad, the son of Abu Bakr, and I found that the best among us were leaving this world one by one. But death is not a sign that we are becoming fewer here on earth, but that we are becoming more numerous in Heaven. Whoever seeks martyrdom sincerely, Allah (swt) will rank him among the martyrs, even if he dies in his bed.”

Speaking of Imad's courage and bravery, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah himself has already testified to what he saw. He was not the only one who saw it, because we saw the same thing. For Imad, there was no obstacle insurmountable. He traveled the entire Earth, East and West, urging and inciting Muslims to join the struggle, and he did this while knowing that he was being hunted by the best secret services in the world. He collected all the money and jewels he could, to support the noblest struggle of our time, the struggle of the Palestinians, with sincerity, passion and love. He tied himself to this path, and he got martyred taking his enthusiasm with him. This lofty mountain is no longer among us. The bright star has set. But God, I have never met anyone like him before, nor have I ever cried for anyone as I cried for him. Our only consolation for his loss is that we believe he is in a better place than us, and we pray to God to make us like him. We pray to God to forgive us all and grant us Martyrdom in His path. We pray to God to grant what Imad was fighting for – the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem. It is coming, God willing. We pray to God to make our feet firm so that they do not falter, and to seal our lives with Martyrdom and to meet Imad and the other martyrs in Paradise.

I remember that during the battle of Ait al-Shaab, in the 33-day war in Lebanon in 2006, I was with Imad at the bottom of a valley between two mountains. We managed to reach the top of one of the hills with the intention of attacking the Zionists. If we had left them alone, the Zionists would have dug trenches, making the situation difficult. I radioed Imad and told him that we should attack the Zionists now, but Imad refused and asked us to stay in our position. As the tide of the battle turned, the Zionists began to gain the upper hand and a Hezbollah fighter was wounded, Imad called us to immediately withdraw to the rear position which was better fortified. We finally managed to reach Imad after a tiring march, under constant enemy artillery and air bombardment. The enemy bombardment was still continuous and it was then that Imad decided to order a daring counterattack. This surprised the enemy and brought victory to the battle. To understand what this is about, Ait al-Shaab is less than a kilometer away from the Lebanese border with occupied Palestine. Imad with the then meager means and armament of Hezbollah could defeat the Zionists right next to their own border!

The enemy knows this, but must consider it seriously, that the punishment for the blood of Imad Mughniyeh is not the launching of some missiles and the killing of a person, the punishment for this blood is the destruction of the child-killing Zionist regime. And the enemy knows that this is a certainty and it is the promise of God that will surely be fulfilled. We never forget the enemy and we do not sleep at night without thinking about the enemy, and the enemy is always in front of our eyes.