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The Epic of Yasin
In early October of 1986, I was on leave in Mashhad. In Sajjad (a) Mosque, a ceremony was being held to commemorate the martyrs of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit of the 21st Imam Reza Division. When the cries of “Hossein Jaan” from the guys filled the air, people of the neighborhood also came along and began to beat their chests.
After the ceremony, when they were distributing fruit and tea, I took a glance at the people there. I was certain many of these guys would not be among us the next time I would come to the mosque again. In the meantime, the shocking news was spread by the officers of the Division and EOD Unit in the mosque: “All leaves are canceled. The day after tomorrow, in the morning, all of you have to gather at the rail station and be ready to go to the frontline. It’s a very serious and immediate matter, and no excuses are accepted.” The whisper started rolling among the guys that it must be an attack.
The day after, we said farewell to our families and completed our tasks in Mashhad. At night, when we went to Imam Reza’s (a) shrine to say goodbye to him, all of the guys had gathered there to hold the zarih of the shrine with tearful eyes and burning hearts, in order to make their wishes at Imam Reza’s (a) shrine; they begged for forgiveness, bliss, felicity in the hereafter, and to put it in one word, they begged for martyrdom – a shortcut toward God!
At the first light of dawn, I set off toward the railway station. On my way, I bid farewell to everything, our street, Shaheed Abbasi Boulevard, Ferdowsi Boulevard, Shohada Square, minarets of the shrine, and even the train station! We occupied a wagon of the train. The one or two days on the train just flew by. When we arrived in Ahvaz, we encountered relatively cool and humid weather. It rained heavily and mudflow swallowed the streets…
In early October of 1986, I was on leave in Mashhad. In Sajjad (a) Mosque, a ceremony was being held to commemorate the martyrs of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit of the 21st Imam Reza Division. When the cries of “Hossein Jaan” from the guys filled the air, people of the neighborhood also came along and began to beat their chests.
After the ceremony, when they were distributing fruit and tea, I took a glance at the people there. I was certain many of these guys would not be among us the next time I would come to the mosque again. In the meantime, the shocking news was spread by the officers of the Division and EOD Unit in the mosque: “All leaves are canceled. The day after tomorrow, in the morning, all of you have to gather at the rail station and be ready to go to the frontline. It’s a very serious and immediate matter, and no excuses are accepted.” The whisper started rolling among the guys that it must be an attack.
The day after, we said farewell to our families and completed our tasks in Mashhad. At night, when we went to Imam Reza’s (a) shrine to say goodbye to him, all of the guys had gathered there to hold the zarih of the shrine with tearful eyes and burning hearts, in order to make their wishes at Imam Reza’s (a) shrine; they begged for forgiveness, bliss, felicity in the hereafter, and to put it in one word, they begged for martyrdom – a shortcut toward God!
At the first light of dawn, I set off toward the railway station. On my way, I bid farewell to everything, our street, Shaheed Abbasi Boulevard, Ferdowsi Boulevard, Shohada Square, minarets of the shrine, and even the train station! We occupied a wagon of the train. The one or two days on the train just flew by. When we arrived in Ahvaz, we encountered relatively cool and humid weather. It rained heavily and mudflow swallowed the streets…