The Leader of the Resistance and Its Shield: Triumphant in his martyrdom 

Latifa Al-Husseini

The absence of martyred leader Sayyed Mustafa Badreddine feels strange. He was exceptional and his star did not fade after his departure. His friends, companions, family, students, and fighting groups are all attached to his legacy and what he earned during his years of struggle.

This military commander of the Islamic Resistance was devoted to the Husseini path. Even though years have passed since his martyrdom, the image of Sayyed Zulfikar hasn’t left the minds of his loved ones and those who knew him from the time of his youth. 

Sayyed Nawaf Al-Mousawi may have been the closest person to him. When you ask him about his comrade in heaven, he recalls the experiences they went through together.

Al-Mousawi has plenty of stories about the martyred leader. However, he believes that the names of martyred leader Hajj Imad Mughniyeh and Sayyed Mustafa Badreddine are inseparable, and you can’t talk about one without talking about the other. 

As such, Al-Mousawi believes that the news about the assassination of Hajj Radwan had the same effect as that of Sayyed Zulfikar. The presence of both was reassuring. They were a shield and a sword.

He found in Sayyed Mustafa an amiable companion. Both shared a common revolutionary approach to which they belonged very early on in life.

"I was 15 years old in Ghobeiri High School, which was adjacent to his family's home, but the first long meeting between us took place on Laylat al-Qadr. That was the very first time we marked it together," said Al-Mousawi.

Sayyed’s chivalry 

To Al-Moussawi, Sayyed Mustafa’s name means brotherhood, nobility, sincerity, and loyalty. Here, he recalls an incident that took place after the “Israeli” invasion of Beirut in 1982.

"At that time, Amin Gemayel's forces deployed in the southern suburbs. Our capabilities were non-existent. I was returning with two brothers from the Imam Al-Reda Mosque in Bir Al-Abd after reciting Dua Kumayl,” he recalled.

“When we arrived at the Imam Al-Hussein Mosque, we met with our comrades there before a patrol consisting of four vehicles arrived. The two young men were arrested, and I managed to escape. I went directly to Sayyed Mustafa's house in Ghobeiry, and he told me, ‘Let's go.’ We set off in his father's car, armed with a Kalashnikov. He was focused on the intelligence patrol and wanted to clash with them to free the two detainees, regardless of the patrol’s size.”

According to Hezbollah's former MP, any oppressed person who sought the help of Sayyed Mustafa got it, and this is what distinguished him from any other figure. Rescuing the distressed is an attribute that accompanied him throughout his life.

Al- Mousawi quotes the martyred leader who insisted on referring to the martyrs by their actual names. He used to say, "Introduce Hajj Imad Mughniyeh by his name."

The media man

Sayyed Mustafa laid the groundwork for the media during his work for the resistance throughout the period of his jihad. Al-Mousawi stated that the martyred leader realized early on the importance of the media and its impact on the military war.

That is why he effectively employed media and psychological tools during the years of confrontation with the Zionists and the Takfiris. He also forged relationships with journalists to preserve the legacy of resistance.

This was evident through his two biggest achievements – the Ansariya Operation, which led to the breaching of the broadcast of “Israeli” spy planes, and the operation to liquidate Erez Gerstein, the commander of the Liaison Unit in southern Lebanon during the occupation. 

The brains are the crown of jihad

The war of brains is the crown of Sayyed Mustafa's jihad. Al-Mousawi drew attention to this component that marked the latter’s career.

He explains that the great commander evaluated every military operation based on the performance of the Zionists and how the “Israelis” dealt with it. He took measures to contain the precautions the enemy supposedly took against the resistance groups. He also focused on the need to take advantage of the capabilities and ambushes that the enemy carried out, especially in terms of using explosives and ensuring the complete destruction of “Israeli” vehicles. 

The great commander, according to al-Mousawi, came up with a military concept that has become a "constitution" that he never deviated from - never make the same mistakes twice, fight fiercely without incurring human losses as much as possible, and return with all the mujahideen alive.

Accordingly, he overcame all challenges and difficulties. In Syria, he was a lion that did not fear the enemy. He was not afraid to travel long distances and be stationed behind Takfiri lines, and he personally carried out most of the tasks.

Sayyed Mustafa confided to Al-Mousawi that the resistance’s first achievement in Syria was exposing all the Takfiri groups, including their compositions, places of deployment, and movement.

This enabled the martyred leader to recover one of the captive brothers from the heart of the fighting as soon as he knew where he was. He carried out a security operation in the Takfiri depth and detained a number of them. These prisoners were swapped for the captured resistance fighter. 

Sayyed Mustafa has always stressed the importance of gathering extensive data so that losses are accurate, while combining security and military action to record significant achievements for the resistance.

Nearing the end

Seven years after losing his companion, Al-Mousawi recalls his

last meeting with Sayyed Mustafa.

“I met him shortly before his martyrdom. At that time, I went on a mission to Syria assigned to me by His Eminence the Secretary General of Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,” Al-Mousawi said.

“I stayed up with him [Sayyed Zulfiqar], and he felt that his death was near. He told me, ‘I know, since I walked this path, that I will be martyred in the end. Today, I know that all the elements are available, and I feel that they are close. The mission for which I came to Syria has been accomplished.’”

A hero and an amiable person, this is how Al-Mousawi saw Sayyed Mustafa. It is true that separation is difficult, but this exceptional figure does not leave him at all junctures. The path of jihad is long, and the battle does not know retreat; it is either victory or martyrdom, as Mustafa Badreddine once said.