Ammar: Sayyed’s Secretary and the Fighters’ Companion

By Latifa Husseiny

The catastrophe of September 27, 2024 was unbearably heavy. Every detail still wounds— the names, the comrades, the places, and the memories that linger. On that day, the name of jihadi commander Hajj Muhammad Khair al-Din—known as Hajj Hassan—emerged into the light.

Among his brothers-in-arms he was no stranger, but for the public, it was the first time his role became known.

He was the secretary to the Sayyed of the Nation’s Martyrs, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and since 2008, he had served as the director general of the Jihadi Council. Known as Ammar in the field of educational mobilization and as Abu Mahdi within his family, he carried many responsibilities: secretary of Beirut operations, then central operations, then chief of staff and director of the office of the great jihadi leader Hajj Imad Mughniyeh when the latter became the Sayyed’s first jihadi deputy. He also worked alongside the jihadi leader Sayyed Mustafa Badr al-Din—Sayyed Zulfiqar— and helped plan some of the resistance’s most daring operations, including the Ansariya operation. In time, he became the vital link between Sayyed and Hezbollah’s military body. He chose a path lined with hardship and sacrifice, all for Islam and the foremost cause of the Muslims, until he finally departed as a martyr.

In an interview with the Al-Ahed news website, Hajjah Fadia Khair al-Din speaks about her husband Hajj Muhammad—Hajj Muhammad, or Hajj Hassan as the Sayyed called him—recalling the qualities of a man who devoted his entire life, youth and old age, to raising the voice of truth and confronting arrogance.

First, we lost Sayyed

According to Hajjah Fadia, the loss of Sayyed overshadowed everything else. “We saw the strike with our own eyes. We read that the target was the resistance’s central command room, but we never imagined this scenario. We even ruled out the possibility of Sayyed being martyred. As the hours passed, the children began asking me whether the Hajj could be among the martyrs. I told them to prepare themselves for it, but urged them to pray and plead that Sayyed be safe — that others, even my husband, could be his sacrifice,” she said.

“On the second day, when Sayyed’s martyrdom was announced, I knew at once that the Hajj had also fallen. The shock of losing Sayyed consumed us—we cried for him first. Then came the news of the Hajj’s martyrdom, and we wept again.”

“The pain is immense,” she added, “but God steadied our hearts. We did not break, even as we cried. We knew we had no choice but to stand firm and shoulder our responsibility.” She continued, “We saw the Hajj’s body in Beirut on the second day. We spent a night with him before the funeral and burial. It was a lonely farewell, especially as so many other commanders were buried at the same time: Hajj Ali Karki—Abu al-Fadl; Hajj Samir Deeb—Hajj Jihad; Hajj Ibrahim Jazini—Hajj Nabil; and Sheikh Nabil Qaouq.”

Hajjah Fadia remembers her husband’s virtues: reserved to the extreme, tender, generous, hospitable, always helping others quietly and without recognition, dutiful to his parents, indifferent to worldly possessions, chaste, and remarkably patient. In sum, the words of Imam Ali apply perfectly to him: “I once had a brother in God whose greatness in my eyes came from how little this world mattered to him. He was free from the rule of his stomach—he did not crave what he lacked, nor did he hoard when he had plenty. He was silent most of the time.” His constant advice to his family and children was: “Do not grieve over what has passed, and do not rejoice over what has come. We are but guests in this world.”

A powerful presence at home

The Hajj’s presence in his home was strong and deeply felt. He followed the details of his children’s lives closely, especially their schooling. According to Hajjah Fadia, he trained his family to live with security awareness, ensuring that neither his identity nor that of his children was revealed. This spared them many security precautions. He had not carried a cell phone since 2000 and refused to use one, banning even photographs of himself. He remained this way until his martyrdom, when his role was finally revealed—stunning neighbors and acquaintances who had never suspected his stature.

Sayyed’s shadow and soulmate

The Hajj loved Sayyed deeply. He became his companion and his shadow, sharing his concerns, his sorrows, and the burdens he carried. He looked after Sayyed’s children despite Sayyed’s many responsibilities. Those who knew him closely saw in him the manners and reasoning of Sayyed himself. He dedicated his life to serving him, offering everything he could—even his own home, which hosted many important meetings.

Final days, renewed will

The final days remain engraved in the family’s memory. On Monday, September 23, the day the war broke out, they met for the last time in the morning. Afterward, he kept checking through the internal network to see if the family had reached their safe location. He also reassured himself about his relatives before disappearing off the radar.

Remarkably, says Hajjah Fadia, three months before the war, he had renewed his will, sensing the nearness of death as the security situation worsened. He even considered writing his name on his hands, preparing for martyrdom at any sudden moment of treachery from the enemy—something he confided to her.

The jihad of Hajj Muhammad Khair al-Din was truly a hidden charity. He fought, gave, and devoted his life to defending the oppressed, to upholding the path of Islam, and to Palestine. In the end, he sealed his journey as a sincere, steadfast, and righteous martyr.