One of the identity-giving components of any civilization is the values that affect all dimensions and aspects of that civilization, especially its effective dispositions. Preserving these values and keeping them alive depends on the efforts and sacrifices made by the personalities about which the beneficiaries and even the future role players of that civilization may not be aware of, but this lack of awareness does not cause the reality to disappear or justify neglecting it. For instance, the establishment of the Islamic State in Medina, which is considered the seed of the first Islamic civilization, was the outcome of the sacrifices made by the martyrs who stood up for their faith and ideals in the battles of Badr, Uhud, Hudaybiya, Ahzab (The Battle of the Trench), Hunayn, and Tabuk and the conquest of Mecca, in order to stabilize civilization making values in society and to strengthen the foundations of Islamic civilization.
However, after the second century AH, very few Muslims even knew the names of those martyrs. Did they even know the names of other martyrs apart from the names of a few prominent ones such as Hamza Sayyid al-Shohda and Jafar bin Abi Talib? Or did they have correct knowledge about the life, social behavior, and struggle of those prominent martyrs? Undoubtedly, the answer is negative, but does this lack of awareness destroy the reality of the contribution of those mujahid leaders in establishing the values that led to the flourishing of Islamic civilization? Again, the answer is no.
The martyrs of the last one or two centuries in the Islamic world are like this. Maybe no one knows them or the knowledge of the Islamic Ummah about them is very little, but none of this destroys the external and objective reality of the contribution of these martyrs in establishing the constructive values of the New Islamic Civilization.
The honored martyr and the shining star of Resistance, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, who is undoubtedly one of the most popular figures in the Arab world and the Islamic world in the contemporary era – whether others know it or not, whether others accept it or not, whether others say it or remain silent about it, whether others want it or not, whether others have enough analysis and knowledge about his fateful actions or not – had a very important contribution in establishing the values that the New Islamic Civilization can only stand and grow on their basis.
This noble martyr and his companions, who, as stated in the 121st sermon of Nahj al-Balaghah, “engaged in jihad and became enamored with it like she-camels leaping towards their young) had a decisive role in the battle of Islam with the remnants of Western civilization, i.e. the evil and usurper Israeli regime, were able to institutionalize such fundamental values as belief in God in the scene of action, self-confidence, and self-sacrifice.
By the same token, this eminent martyr – just as Imam Ali (AS) described Malik al-Ashtar “his death was one of the calamities of the age…” and… “if we consider him a mountain, he was an unparalleled mountain, and if we consider him a rock, he was a hard and stable rock…” – institutionalized values such as steadfastness in the path of the goals of the Islamic Ummah.
Those who deal with history know very well that no period of history has been free of great sufferings, far from bitter defeats, and sweet victories. However, short-term judgment about failures and successes is misleading and it is rather long-term judgment, that shows which side was victorious in the Battle of Ahzab “When they came at you from above and below you, and when the eyes rolled [with fear] and the hearts leaped to the throats…” (Surah Al-Ahzab, Verse 10). And, similarly, it is the long-term results that show who were the winners of the battlefield on the 10th of Muharram in 61 AD.
History has shown that the fate of mankind is not written at the moment of these bitter events. If it were not for this, the history of the struggle between right and wrong would have ended with the martyrdom of Imam Husayn (AS). The other aspect of martyrdom is its life-giving aspect. If one aspect of martyrdom is the disappearance of martyrs from among the people, the other aspect of it is what is referred to in the Qur’anic verses: “Do not call those who were slain in Allah’s way ‘dead.’ No, they are living, but you are not aware” (Al-Baqarah, 154) and “Do not suppose those who were slain in the way of Allah to be dead; no, they are living and provided for near their Lord” (Aal-e Imran, 169), i.e. breathing a new spirit into the body of the society, revealing the hidden values, and ensuring the continuation of the right path towards the goal. The history of mankind and the history of Islam have presented us with numerous examples in this regard. Just as legends play an identity-giving role in the legendary and semi-legendary history of nations, the heroes of the Islamic nation, such as Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, are also the legend-like who grant identity to the New Islamic civilization.
According to God’s promise, the bitterness of the martyrdom of Sayyid od Resistance will not last long, and the taste of the wretched and evil Israeli Zionists will be filled with the poison of their own filthy behavior sooner than they think, and the eternal curse of God, God’s angels, God’s saints, God’s good servants, and all righteous people will drive them to the “ash heap of history”. It is the responsibility of writers, researchers, and artists to try in every possible way to keep alive the path paved by the Sayyid of Resistance.
Our hearts are in pain from the fatal wound of the martyrdom of the Sayyid of Resistance, and the great sadness sitting in our hearts is flowing from our eyes, but more hopeful than ever, we look to the future, we do not allow weakness in our hearts, and we do not weaken our steps.
We believe that at the time of the “trial of faith” and during the campaign of “serious shaking” (taken from Surah Al-Ahzab, verse 11) and even at a time when the whispers of “imagining vain thoughts” hurt our ears we should “Remember the grace of God upon us” against and believe in divine support (see Surah Al-Ahzab, Verse 9).
By: Dr. Mohsen Alviri, Faculty Member of the Baqir al-Olum University of Qom
