WILAYAH NEWS VOICE OF THE GLOBAL AWAKENING
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On the First Anniversary of the Grand Funeral… We Will Remain Steadfast.
February 23, 2026
A Year Since the Passing of the Supreme Sayyid… Sheikh Qassem to Al-Ahed:
“I Lost a Refuge, a Leader, a Towering Mountain, and a Creative Mind”
By Fatima Salameh
A year has passed since the burial of the two martyred Sayyids. Many images from that solemn day remain etched in memory. February 23 was a day when the followers of the Sayyid symbolically offered their souls. They walked the path of the funeral undeterred by threats or intimidation. They turned their faces toward the blessed coffin, and as soon as its silhouette appeared, voices choked with emotion and hands were raised pledging allegiance to the path, as if hearts had left their chests to walk behind him. The scene was a renewed promise, not a farewell that fades.
“We remain faithful to the covenant,” the Sayyid’s nation renewed its pledge, and the funeral became a declaration of allegiance and a renewal of commitment to the continuity of the resistance, as affirmed by Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem.
On the first anniversary of the grand funeral, Sheikh Qassem recalls in an interview with Al-Ahed News the Master of the Martyrs of the Ummah, the martyred Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah — the towering mountain as he describes him — and his companion and confidant, the Hashemite Sayyid Hashem Safieddine, the support and pillar. In the atmosphere of commemorating the martyred leaders, whose anniversary occurred a few days ago, His Eminence returns to the beginnings, recalling their lives as if it were only yesterday. Decades have passed, yet the Sheikh still remembers them with longing and love. He speaks of them — having lived closely with them — and their exemplary qualities have carved images in memory that the passing years cannot erase; rather, they grow deeper and clearer.
From the Sheikh of Martyrs, Sheikh Ragheb Harb, son of the southern land as the Secretary likes to call him, to the Master of the Martyrs of the Islamic Resistance, Sayyid Abbas al-Moussawi — beloved by all — who revived the Bekaa region with his authentic missionary awareness, and ending with the pillar of the resistance, the martyred commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was loved by everyone who worked with him and was constantly developing methods and building capabilities, according to the Hezbollah Secretary-General.
From the memory of the martyrs to the people of the resistance, Sheikh Qassem sends, through Al-Ahed News, words of love and loyalty. He does not hide that after assuming responsibility, his love for the people grew even more — they are his family and the children of the path of resistance and martyrdom.
Below is the text of the interview:
Q: On the first anniversary of the grand funeral of the two martyred Sayyids, that scene appeared to be a moment combining the pain of loss with a renewed pledge. What remains most vivid in your memory from that day? And what political messages do you believe the massive turnout conveyed domestically and internationally?
A: When His Eminence, the supreme Sayyid Hassan (may he be pleased), was martyred on September 27, 2024, I discussed with His Eminence Sayyid Hashem (may he be pleased) the place of burial and the funeral we hoped to hold within days, in accordance with the recommendation to hasten burial. However, the intensity of the Israeli bombardment led us to agree to postpone the funeral until conditions calmed, perhaps for a week. Then came the shock of the martyrdom of Sayyid Hashem when the place of his presence in Mreijeh was bombed on October 4, 2024. At that time we did not know his fate due to the heavy Israeli airstrikes on the site to prevent the recovery of the body, and even when we retrieved the pure body, we were not thinking of a funeral because of the Israeli aggression. Thus the delay extended to the supreme martyr as well; security conditions did not allow a funeral or public gathering.
When we eventually set the date for the funeral, we felt that God had guided us to this timing and circumstances, as the delay allowed us to choose suitable locations for the two noble shrines and to organize a funeral befitting the two distinguished Sayyids, both domestically and internationally.
