365th Night of Memory – 2

Compiled by: Leila Rostami
Translated by: M.B. Khoshnevisan

2025-2-12

The 365^th show of Night of Memory entitled "Waiting" was held in Andisheh Hall of the Art Center of the Islamic Revolution on the 4^th of Bahman 1403 (January 23, 2025). Several combatants of the Martyrdom Battalion of "The 27^th Division of Mohammad Rasoullollah (SAWA)" narrated their memoirs.  The wives and mothers of the martyrs attended the show. Mr. Ahmad Karimi, Mrs. Maryam Rahimi (the wife of martyr Ali Asghar Abdolhossein Zadeh), Dr. Mohammad Bolookat and Saeed Lavasani recounted their memoirs during the show. The mother of martyr Mohammad Javad Haj Abolqassem Sarraf (Javad Sarraf) a commander of the Martyrdom Battalion was also honored in this show. Davood Salehi hosted the show.

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The second narrator of the show was Mrs. Maryam Rahimi (the wife of martyr Ali Asghar Abdolhossein Zadeh). At the beginning of his words, she said, “I got familiar with martyr Ali Asghar Abdolhossein Zadeh through my brother. We had gone to one of the mothers of the martyrs to get an injection when Ali Asghar and I met. They proposed on first of Azar 1365 (November 22, 1986), and we got married on 27^th of Azar (December 18). At that time, I used to go to the mosque. Asghar's mother used to stand in the front row of the congregational prayer. One day, my friends and I stood in the front row of the prayer. Asghar's mother put our prayer rug in the back row. For this reason, the next night, I took a safety pin with me and pinned Asghar's mother's veil to her prayer rug from the back. After the proposal, Asghar's mother saw me and said, "Asghar, this girl has been naughty! Asghar, if she comes, she will bother us!!" Fate was for us to get married.
Ten nights after our marriage, we saw an ambulance come to our alley and stop at the window. Asghar's mother and I ran to the alley. They brought Asghar from the Sahamiyeh Hospital in Qom. His leg was injured. We were very happy. That night was a memorable night for me. After that, he came and went several times. Each time was a memory for me. After 5-6 months, I slept under that window every night, maybe that ambulance would come and turn on the red light that had illuminated our house again. Asghar's mother and I slept under that window for 8 years, but the ambulance never came. Wherever they gave the address that a body had arrived that could not be identified, Asghar's mother and I would go, but Asghar was not there. After eight years, they brought a body like these bodies of unknown martyrs.
The narrator continued by opening the bag that she had brought with her for the first years of their marriage. Asghar's letters and will were inside the bag. Mrs. Rahimi said: Asghar wrote in all his letters that he would entrust you to Fatima Zahra (SA). The same thing happened. I have not lost faith in Asghar's prayers yet. Because of the six months I spent with Asghar, I have still remembered him for years. He always told me: When our wedding anniversary comes, I will bring you a Tyrooz perfume. Inside the bag that they returned, there was a Tyrooz perfume. I still swear by Asghar's life. I thank God that thanks to Asghar's prayers, God gave me a wife and after all those years, I got married. I am grateful to Asghar.
In continuation of her memoirs, she read the last letter of martyr Ali Asghar Abdolhossein Zadeh: “I hope that you, more precious than my life, are well. If you have asked how I am, I am well. You, my dear wife, have always been and will always be dear to me. God willing, I will come and this waiting will end. I will take you to Shiraz, I will take you to Mashhad, I will take you to Isfahan." Of course, I have gone on all these trips with him in my dreams”.
At the end, she said, "The waiting is very difficult. Every time a captive came, Asghar's mother and I would go and ask if he had seen Asghar. We would go happily, but we would hold each other's hands and return home with heavy and broken hearts. After 38 years, we are still waiting for Asghar. The eyes of the Asghar's mother were exenterated; because she would wake up and cry for Asghar every morning. She would recite rowzeh (recitation of the martyrs’ suffering) in Azeri for her new son-in-law.

To be continued ...