I thank God Almighty for his bounty in turning his gaze upon my
family and choosing a martyr from among them, and for accepting me
and my family as members of the blessed and sacred group of martyrs’
families. I used to feel embarrassed in front of the martyrs’ fathers, mothers,
wives, and children when I visited them, and still do. Thank God for
having accepted me and my family as consolers to these martyrs’ families
—not only to those whose loved ones have been martyred, but also to
those whose loved ones’ bodies are still in enemy hands. I wish to tell
these families: there is now something in common between us in this
domain.

Generations of
our people might still have to carry the gun; we might lose a generation of
those who are armed with this kind of faith, love, willpower, resolve, and
companionship with death, because this generation has learned well from
its imam and leader, the Prince of the Faithful (…): “Ali bin Abi Taleb has
sought familiarity with death since he was an infant suckling at his mother’s
breast.”*® This phrase, thanks be to God, has now taken on a new significance
and a new value for me, unlike before. Imam Zein al-Abidin” (…) has
given us a slogan which I used to quote to you, a slogan we carried with us and went forth with. Today, when someone speaks to me about the
martyrdom of Sayyed Hadi, the descendent of the Hashemites,!” I tell him
what Zein al-Abidin has said: “Killing is for us a habit and our martyrdom
is God’s sign of love for us.”

From the book The Voice of Hezbollah