Martyrs Do Not Die! Hajj ’Alaa 125’ Example

Zeinab Daher

[And do not say about those who are killed in the way of Allah, "They are dead." Rather, they are alive, but you perceive [it] not.] - Holy Quran, Surat al-Baqarah, verse 154.

As you enter his house, you have to notice how simple, humble and cozy it is. The house where Hajj Hatem Adib Hmedeh, better known as Alaa 125, raises his small family, sends you positive vibes due to the amicable atmosphere spread over its simple details.

Although the family is used to his absence [because he spends almost all his time at work, in the forefronts of the battlefield], they enjoy a unique relationship that is based on respect, love, appreciation and modesty.

The down-to-earth leader, who represents a model to all those who got to know him, favored resistance to having a very well paid job abroad as soon as he graduated with a degree in telecommunication engineering.

In this regard, his wife Mrs. Mariam Fakhreddine told us that as soon as he graduated in 1994, he was offered a job in his domain with a net monthly salary of 3000$, which he strictly rejected, as he finds the duty to resist the occupier at the first level of his priorities.

The man who loves and encourages education, also mastered in electronic engineering, and then continued studies in physics.

As much as he is dedicated to his job, Hajj Alaa devotes all his emotions to the family he belongs to. His wife stressed that whenever he can, he calls, asks about their needs, and expresses how much he misses and loves his two kids, namely his beloved Fatima.

Hajj Hatem Hmedeh does not care for any detail regarding the materialistic life. He can manage to live with any situation, no matter what simplicities or difficulties life would bring.

The pious man, his wife describes him, performs his religious duties with all the devotion of a real worshipper. His relationship with Allah almighty is way more important than the life people live.

The most important among his deeds is to fulfill all divine duties. He considers that when a person does not make any behavior that angers Allah, then he would have never made any single deed that harms his worshippers.

The husband supported his partner during her hard times of either failing or successful pregnancies. He was pleased whether Allah wanted to gift him with his daughter and son, or whether two previous pregnancies were destined to death.

When he comes home, he benefits from the time to give his wife a break from taking care of the children. He takes it upon himself to take care for them, teach them their lessons, take them out, play with them and compensate them with the short times he can spend there.

The father doesn't kiss his beloved 11 years old Fatima but on her hands. However, he lets his 8 years old Ali acquire much of his characteristics. Ali, his mom says, looks very like his dad. Referring to his behavior more than the physical shape, Mrs. Mariam stresses that he takes care of his sister as if a man is doing so.

When Ali learned that his father is martyred, he told everybody who was at their home not to cry: "Don't bother him, my father doesn't like to hear someone crying."

When she was 8 years old, Fatima sent her father a flower with a person she knew could deliver it. Three days later, the caring father called her: "Thank you my sweetheart, your flower has been delivered." Some three years later, the flower was still saved very well with the loving father. When he was martyred, it was found among his belongings.

Other than his military suit, Hajj Alaa just owns three shirts, a couple of trousers and a pair of shoes. "My military suit is my clothes," the martyr always says.

Whenever a problem happens to be, Martyr Leader Hajj Hatem Hmedeh depends on the divine intervention that facilitates solving it. His every time comment is that Allah hears and sees everything: "I am with you both, I hear and I see," Holy Quran, surat Taha, verse 46.

However, he so much believes in the sensed tangible evidence rather than a group of words said without any proof. His famous word, his wife says: "Words are illusions, truth is numbers."

Whether among his family members, companions or all the people who loved his soul, the martyred leader will ever be living in the minds, hearts, souls and entire lives of the people whom he admired, and who loved him truly in return.

Note: The verbs in this article describing the martyr's personality have been written in the simple present tense because as the title said "martyrs do not die", Hajj Alaa's deeds will never stop taking place because the soul will ever be more effective than the body.

Source: Al-Ahed News