Meeting with the mother of the martyr defender of the shrine; Qadir Sarlak

A House Colored with Sacrifice

Compiled by: Oral History Website
Translated by: Fazel Shirzad

2025-2-4

Stepping into a house that smells of sacrifice and courage is not something that can be easily described. In this house, every wall has a story of courage and as if time had stopped. Our meeting with the mother of martyr Sarlak was a meaningful and emotional moment. A patient and steadfast woman welcomed us with a smile that revealed a deep longing for her martyred son. A simple house but full of souvenirs of the martyr, including his photos in combat uniform and memories that were placed in small and large frames.

Qadir Sarlak was born on September 4 of 1984 and was martyred on November 4, 2016 in the Aleppo region of Syria (Tal Azzan). Qadir, the second child and first son of the family, is among the first martyrs to defend the shrine. He had many responsibilities listed on his resume, but his family was unaware of them. He did not like to be asked about his work. The first lieutenant of the IRGC, Qadir Sarlak, served for several years as the commander of the Imam Hussein (pbuh) Battalion of the Shahid Mahallati Corps.

His mother said: when Qadir was accepted to university, he would work longer hours. I would stay up until midnight for him to come. His job was part-time. I once told him not to work so much, and he said that since I was going to university, I should work more so that this money would be halal. One day his father was talking on the phone. He wanted to write down the phone number, but he did not have a pen at hand. When he saw that Qadir had three pens in his bag, he became upset. Qadir said that these were for his workplace and did not allow him to use them for personal use.

Mrs. Sarlak said about the town of Razavieh: This area is a martyr-raising area. If you have seen the beginning of the town, there is a signboard full of pictures of martyrs. During the war, the children were small. They would announce over the loudspeaker that a martyr would be brought today. I would hold the children’s hands and attend the funerals of the martyrs.

Next to the martyr’s photo, there was a photo of his brother Davood on the wall of the house. Davood was two years younger than Qadir. It was Ashura 2009. Qadir and Davood, who were at the resistance base, were informed that the mourning tents in Palestine Square had been attacked. They went to the scene of the incident with the children of the mosque. The mother, while constantly wiping her tears with a handkerchief, said: “We were at the morning ceremony. We returned in the evening. That same day of Ashura, when Qadir and Davood went to confront the seditionists, they had been attacked. When they came home, I saw Davood’s color had turned pale. I asked where Qadir was. Qadir greeted and came. His hand was broken. He said: “We were about to get everyone into the parking lot when my hand hit the door. I saw about 80 people standing over Davood in the parking lot.” The mother continued: "I don't know what substances they poisoned Davood with or how. They contaminated his blood with an undetectable microbe. We went to different doctors. No one could figure out what microbe made Davood sick. They wanted to give him the title of martyr, but we were afraid that if he was called a martyr, we would also lose Qadir. We said Davood was a martyr and God would elevate his status in the next world."

The mother spoke in a calm and pleasant voice about the childhood days of her two sons and their love for the Ahl al-Bayt: "Since childhood, they had a spirit full of faith and love for the Quran and Ashura." Qadir and Davood were 9 and 7 years old when they set up a small group next to the house with my wife's mother's black veil; the same group that still exists and is now run by Qadir's friends and their children. Although we later moved here from that house in the lower alley, the house next door where the group was formed was donated by Qadir and still stands in the name of the Imam Hussein (pbuh) Group. In that small group, they taught their friends the surahs of the Quran and the pilgrimage to Ashura. When they were younger, they would gather elementary school children at home and bring a young man who had just become a student to the group to teach them how to pray and perform ablution. Then they worked in their father's polishing shop and used their own wages to buy small gifts for the children of the delegation, such as shavings and so on. Once, they called me from the Basij and asked how old Davood was? I said 7 years old; but apparently he himself had said he was 10 years old so that he could participate in Basij activities. When Davood came home that night, he said with concern and excitement: "Why did you say he was 7 years old? Now they are going to kick me out of the Basij!" The mother continued: Qadir's missions had increased, but as was his habit, he did not say anything. Every time he went on a mission, he would say he was going to Garmsar. We spoke on the phone two days before his martyrdom. In response to "Where are you, Mom? When are you coming?!" he simply said: "God willing... Trust in God..." She spoke from the moment they heard the news of Qadir's martyrdom. A heavy silence reigned in the air, but the mother continued with a special firmness: “Qadir went so that the sanctity of the Ahl al-Bayt would remain; that is what makes me proud.”

She said: We heard the news of his martyrdom later than anyone else. Because at that time, martyrdoms in Syria were not announced. Our phone and internet had been cut off the day before. Friends and acquaintances had learned about Qadir’s martyrdom on the internet. I didn’t even know that he had gone to Syria. My acquaintances came one by one. But they didn’t say anything. In the end, they said that he had voluntarily gone to Syria to defend the shrine of Hazrat Zainab (pbuh) and fight terrorist groups and was martyred.

The martyr’s mother spoke proudly of her children Reyhaneh, Qadir, Davood, and the family’s twins; Peyman and Marjan. She said that Peyman is her only unmarried child who sometimes comes to her. He is not in Iran much because of his job in futsal and playing in France. Marjan also lives on the first floor of the same building with his wife and child.

The mother continued, with a bitterness she tried to hide: "Although Qadir and Davood are gone, when I think about the success of Peyman and my two daughters' lives and see them finding their own path, my heart aches. Both of my sons went to university and were married, but they had no children. Now I have adopted a spiritual child for them. This story shows the strength of a mother who, while enduring the distance, still has hope for her children's future and proudly remembers the path Qadir chose." Tala Sarlak continued with memories of her husband, Abdul Hussein Sarlak: "Our fathers were cousins. My husband was a kind and responsible man who steadfastly bore the heavy burden of longing after Qadir's martyrdom. We had gone to Mashhad for the birthday of Imam Reza (pbuh). But fate decreed that a few months after Qadir's martyrdom, his father would also pass away while traveling to Mashhad. The house where the family lives today is run with the income from his father's shop; A cleaning shop where every corner smells of his efforts and hardships. The mother added calmly: “Life continues with the memory and blessings of the Almighty and the efforts made by his father. Although there are difficulties, God has always been with us.”

The graves of the two brothers and their father are in the “Gulzar Martyrs of the Ten Imams” in Pakdasht.