Daily Notes of a Mother

Memories of Ashraf-al Sadat Sistani

Selected by Faezeh Sasanikhah
Translated by Ruhollah Golmoradi

2024-1-31

Saturday, January 24, 1987

They bring Javad's body in front of the house. His mother comes forward and says to lay him down and recite Ziarat Warith. His uncle recites Ziarat and then tells take him to the mosque which is in the middle of the street and pray the funeral prayer (Ṣalāt al-Janāzah) so that those who do not know what the funeral prayer is to learn it. Let history write how was the spirit of the martyr’s mothers, who were thinking of promoting religion next to the corpse of their child. Mrs. Baghshahi's family is of noble and fighting believers, and one of her brothers is one of the martyrs of 15 Khordad of 1342 (Juan 1963).

When Mrs. Baghshahi sees her child's body, she congratulates him.

When Bagshahi's nephew named Ghasem Golro died a martyr, he had got engaged. Four months after his martyrdom, the martyr's mother took half of the Mahr along with a gift for her wife and said, “You can get married now; I will also participate in your celebration and bring gifts.”

It happened in the same way.

The war is still raging and every day, more families are offering loved ones to Islam and the revolution. Now being the mother of one martyr has become almost common among Hezbollah families, now it is the turn of two, three or four martyrs. Among the families with two martyrs is “Sabbaghchi” family. Because “Mahdi” was a soldier and died a martyr, “Mohsen” was exempted from military service. On the day when Mohsen wanted to go to the front, in front of his house, he raised his head towards the sky and said, “Oh God! I am coming with an exemption, accept me!”

And he went and died a martyr.

After Mohsen's martyrdom, when we went to Meraj (place of martyrs in Behesth-e Zahra cemetery) with Ms. Sabbaghchi, she opened the coffin door herself and said, “Ms. Sistani! Look what they have done to my beautiful Mohsen!”

Even though he was burned, Mohsen had a smile on his face. The next day, Mrs. Sabbaghchi, at Mohsen's funeral, only said, “No one wearing a chador and thin socks is allowed to participate in Mohsen's funeral.”

Mr. Sabbaghchi himself—who is a revolutionary man and one of the trustees of the mosque—was talking and chanting all the time on top of the ambulance carrying the body.

It seems that Mohsen also knew about his martyrdom; because in the middle of the war and a few minutes before his martyrdom, he had untied his shoulder belt and put all his belongings aside and laid down toward the Qibla, and at the same time, he had been died a martyr by a cannon ball. His comrades had taken a picture of him in this position. Mrs. “Sasani” has also given two martyrs. When the second martyr was laid down, he smelled of perfume. The day we went to plot 53 to bury the second Sasani’s martyr, at the same time, three more martyrs were brought. There were two brothers, one of whom had died a martyr the year before and the third was their friend. The mother of those two martyrs said, “Brothers, go aside. I want to bury my children myself.”

She got help from the sisters and went into the grave, buried his children, then covered them, poured dirt, and stood between the two graves and prayed the thanksgiving prayer.

I write and you write so that future generations know what this generation did for Islam...

Today all the children have come to our house. I tell them, “When I die, after the shroud, put me in the uniform of IRGC, I want to pretend myself among those force of Imam Zaman (May God hasten his reappeance) in green uniforms!”

After some time, I would own two IRGC uniforms. One was brought by Mr. Pooladi and one by Mr. Reza Rahimi. I am at Mrs. Charmchi's house when I hear the news of martyrdom of “Hossein Vakili Qomi.” “Hossein” was the only male child in the family; the 16-year-old family man. His body was brought after seven months. Hossein's mother, despite having only one son, shows a lot of patience.

I wish I could visit God's archive and see my file!...

Source: Mosavat (Sistani) (1994/1373 SH), Ashraf al-Sadat, Beside Khayyen River; Daily Notes of a Mother. Tehran, Hozeh Honari Publications, p. 118.