The Miracle of the Call to Prayer

We were in the Anar heights. It was morning. The medic dressed Ibrahim’s neck wound. I was busy dividing the forces and answering the wireless. Suddenly one of the soldiers ran up to me hurriedly and said, “Sir, Sir! A few of the Iraqis have raised their hands and are coming towards this side!” I asked in surprise, “Where are they?!” We went together to one of the trenches which was overlooking the hill. About twenty people were coming towards us from the opposite hill holding a white cloth. I immediately said, “Soldiers, be ready with your weapons. This may be a trick!” Shortly afterwards, eighteen Iraqis one of whom was the commanding officer surrendered themselves. I was happy that we had taken Iraqis captive in this region. I thought to myself that it was certainly the effective attack of our forces and their shooting which caused the Iraqis to become frightened and to surrender themselves. Then I brought the Iraqi officer into the trench. I called one of the soldiers who new Arabic. Like an interrogator I asked him, “What is your name? State your rank and duties!” He introduced himself and said, “I am a Major and am the Commander of the forces who were on the hill and surrounding it. We are from the precautionary forces of Basra who were sent to this area.” I asked “How many forces are on the hill?” He said, “Now, none!!” My eyes showed my surprise and I said, “None?!” He responded, “We came and took ourselves captive. I sent the rest of the forces back. The hill is empty now!” I looked at him in surprise and asked again, “Why?!” He said, “Because they didn’t want to surrender.” My wonder increased and I said, “What do you mean?!” Instead of answering me, the Iraqi Commander asked, “Ayna al-Muadhin?!”[1]This sentence didn’t need translating. I said in surprise, “Muadhin?!”[2] Tears had gathered in his eyes. He started talking with a lump in his throat, and the translator translated quickly, “They had told us that you are magicians and fire-worshipers. They had told us that we are attacking Iran and fighting Iranians for Islam. Believe me, we are all Shi’a. When we witnessed that the Iraqi Commanders drink alcohol and don’t pray, we doubted very much about fighting with you. This morning when I heard the voice of your soldier who was calling for prayer in a loud voice, my whole body trembled. When he recited the name of the Commander of the Faithful (Imam Ali (a)) I told myself, ‘You are fighting with your own brothers. What if this is like the story of Karbala…’” His crying did not allow him to talk. After a few minutes he continued, “That is why I decided to be taken captive and not to make the burden of my sins any heavier. Sir, I ordered that no one should shoot. When the sun rose, I collected my forces and said, ‘I want to surrender to the Iranians. Whoever wishes to, come with me.’ The people who have come with me are my friends who think like me. The rest of my forces went back. I brought the soldier who shot the person who recited the Call to Prayer too. If you order me to do so, I will kill him. Now please tell me if the person who recited the Call to Prayer is still alive, or not?!” I listened to the Iraqi commander’s words in confusion. I couldn’t say anything. After a brief silence I said, “Yes, he is alive.” We left the trench together. We went to Ibrahim who was sleeping in one of the trenches. All of the eighteen Iraqis came and kissed Ibrahim’s hand and left. The last person fell down next to Ibrahim’s feet and cried. He said, “Forgive me. I am the one who shot you.” I had a lump in my throat too and a strange feeling. I wasn’t paying attention to the operation or the forces anymore. I wanted to send the Iraqi captives to the back when the Iraqi Commander called me and said, “Look at that side. A commando battalion and a few tanks are trying to come forward from there.” Then he continued, “Go and get the hill sooner.” I quickly sent a few of the Andarzgu forces towards the hill. By freeing that height, the cleaning of the Anar region was completed. The commando battalion attacked, but since we were well prepared most of its forces were destroyed and their attack was unsuccessful. Because of the Mohammad Rasul Allah (s) Operation in Marivan over the next days, the pressure of the Iraqi’s military over Gilan Gharb was reduced. Overall the Matla al-Fajr Operation achieved many of its goals. Many regions of our dear country were freed. However, Commanders like Gholamali Pichak, Jamal Tajik, Hasan Balash, and others returned to God in this operation. A few days later Ibrahim rejoined the group after a full recovery. The same day it was announced, “In the Matla al-Fajr Operation which was carried out with the holy code of “Ya Mahdi Adrikni (a.j.)” over fourteen of the special Iraqi Military Battalions were destroyed. Iraq’s casualties included: close to two thousand who died or were injured, and two hundred people who were taken captive. Two enemy airplanes were also shot down due to the good shooting of our forces.” Five years had passed since the events of the Matla al-Fajr Operation. We were involved in the Karbala 5 Operation in Shalamcheh in the winter of 1365 AHS. We had a part of the responsibility for the coordination of the Army and its intelligence operations. I went to the Badr Army Headquarters to coordinate and talk with their forces. It was decided that the Battalions of this army, whom all spoke Arabic, and the Iraqis who were in opposition to Saddam, be sent for the next stage of the operation. After talking with the Commanders of the Army and the Commanders of the Battalions, I made the necessary arrangements and got ready to go. I saw one of the soldiers of the Badr Army staring at me from far away and coming forward! I was ready to start out when that Basiji soldier reached me and said hello. I responded to his greeting. He asked me without introduction and with an Arabic accent, “Weren’t you in Gilan Gharb?!” I said in surprise, “Yes.” I thought he was from the west of the country. Then he said, “Do you remember Matla al-Fajr? The Anar heights. The last hill!” I thought a little bit and said, “Ok?” He said, “Do you remember the eighteen Iraqis who were captured?!” I asked in surprise, “Yes, who are you?!” He answered happily, “I am one of them!!” My surprise increased. I asked, “What are you doing here?!” He said, “All eighteen of us are in this Battalion. We were released under the guarantee of Ayatollah Hakim. He knew us well. It was decided that we should come to the front and fight with the Ba’thists!”I said, “Good job! Where is your Commander?” He said, “He has a responsibility in the Battalion too. We are moving towards the front right now.” I said, “Write down the name of the Battalion and your names on this paper. I am in a hurry now. I will come here after the operation and see all of you at length then.” While he was writing down the names of the soldiers he asked, “What was the name of the man who recited the Call to Prayer?!” I told him, “Ibrahim, Ibrahim Hadi.” He said, “All of us have been searching for information about him during this time. We have asked our own commanders to make sure that they find him. We would really like to see that holy man one more time.” I was silent. I had a lump in my throat. He raised his head and looked at me. I said, “God willing you will see each other in Heaven!” He became very sad. He wrote down their names, the name of the Battalion, and gave it to me. I quickly said goodbye and moved on. This unexpected encounter was very interesting for me. The operation finished in Esfand 1365 AHS. Many soldiers went on leave. One day I found that paper which the Iraqi captive, the Basiji soldier of the Badr Army, had written in my things. I went to see the soldiers of the Badr Army. I asked one of the army officers about the Battalion which was named on the paper. The officer responded, “This Battalion has been disbanded.” I said, “I want to see its soldiers.” The officer continued, “The Battalion which you are talking about, along with their Army Commander, resisted in the face of one of the heavy counter attacks of Iraq in Shalamcheh. There were heavy casualties from the Iraqi’s attack, but they didn’t retreat.” Then he was silent for a few seconds and continued, “No one came back alive from that Battalion!” I said, “These eighteen people were Iraqi captives. Their names are here. I have come to see them.” He came forward. He took the names from me and gave the paper to another person. After a few minutes that person came back and said, “All of these people were martyred!” I didn’t have anything else to say. I sat down and was thinking. I told myself, “What did Ibrahim do with his Call to Prayer? A hill was freed. An operation was victorious. Eighteen people went from deep in Hell to Heaven; like Horr[3] did.” Then I remembered my words to that Iraqi soldier, “God willing you will see each other in Heaven.” Tears flowed unwontedly from my eyes. Then I said goodbye and left. I had no doubt that Ibrahim knew where to recite the Call to Prayer to shake the heart of the enemy and guide those who still had faith in their hearts!

[1] Ayna Al-Moadhen: Where is the person who recited the Call to Prayer?

[2] The person who recited the Call to Prayer?

[3] Horr: One of the famous people in Karbala who repented and joined Imam Husayn’s (a) army.