His Second Presence in the War

On the eighth day of Mehr we went to the war zone with the Deputy of Operations of the Army Forces. On the way, we stopped for a short time at the headquarters of the Hamedan army. It was time for the Noon Prayer. We met brother Borujerdi there. He was going to the war zone with forces from the army. Ibrahim was reciting the Call to Prayer, and the forces were getting ready for prayer. A wonderful spiritual state was excited in everyone who was present. Mohammad Borujerdi said, “Mr. Amir, where is this Ibrahim from?!” I said, “He is from our own neighborhood; close to Hefdah Shahrivar Street and Khorasan Square.” Brother Borujerdi continued, “What a voice he has. I have seen him one or two times in the war zone. He is a bold and courageous man.” Then he continued, “If you can, try to bring him to us in Kermanshah.” The group prayer was held and we moved on. It was the second time that we went to Sarpol Dhahab. Asghar Vesali had arranged the forces, and the region reached a stability and sustainability. Asghar was one of the very brave and valiant commanders. Ibrahim liked him very much. He always said, “I haven’t seen guerrilla troops which are so brave, valiant, and with as good a management as Asghar’s. Asghar has even brought his wife to the war zone; and, he visits all of the war zones with his own Paykan car which is more like an arsenal of ammunitions.” Asghar had the same feeling towards Ibrahim. One time when he wanted to go for reconnaissance and an operation, he told Ibrahim, “Be ready for us to go on a reconnaissance mission.” When Asghar came back from the reconnaissance he said, “I had fought in Lebanon before the revolution, and I was in Kurdistan during the whole time of the fighting in 1358 AHS. Although this young man hasn’t passed any military courses, he is both very experienced and understands military issues very well.” Because of this, he got help from Ibrahim in designing operations. In one attack they destroyed eight enemy tanks without any casualties and captured a number of the enemy forces. Asghar Vesali prepared one of the buildings of the Abudhar garrison for volunteers and combatants. By recording the names and specifications of the soldiers, and dividing them up, he was able to establish a good discipline in the city. Ibrahim and the other combatants started doing the Zoorkhaneh Rituals when the city was a little calmer. Every morning Ibrahim beat on a pan and chanted with his warm sound. Asghar stood in the middle of the exercise ring, and the 3g gun was the bar for the sport! The soldiers made sports equipment with the cannon shells and a few other weapons. One of the commanders said, “In those days many people who stayed in the city, the nurses of the hospital, and the soldiers came to the Zoorkhaneh sport place in the mornings.” Ibrahim chanted with his loud voice and Asghar stood in the middle. In this way they gave a spirit of life and hope. Indeed Ibrahim was an amazing man. Imam Sadeq (a) said, “For all good deeds that a servant does, a reward has been determined in the Quran; except for the Midnight Prayer! That is because it is so important that God hasn’t stated its reward, and He has said, “Their sides separate from the bed (and they leave their place of rest), and no one knows what I have stored for them as a reward for what they have done.”[1] During the short period in Sarpol Dhahab, Ibrahim woke up one or two hours before the Morning Prayer and left his sleeping place in order to check the soldiers. However, I was sure that he enjoyed being up at dawn and praying the Midnight Prayer. One time I saw Ibrahim when there was still one hour left to the Morning Prayer. He had prepared a container of water with difficulty and used it for making the major ablution and reciting the Midnight Prayer.

[1] Mizan al-Hikmah, tradition no. 3665.