On October 13, 2012, the Arab Lawyers Union honored the family of Hanadi Jaradat, the female suicide bomber who carried out the Maxim Restaurant suicide bombing in Haifa on October 4, 2003. On the occasion of the ninth anniversary of her death, representatives of the union visited her family in Jenin and presented them with a shield in her honor. The delegation members expressed "the union's pride in [Jaradat's] action in defense of Palestine and the ummah."
Ayman Abu Aysha, a member of the union's Palestine Committee, said that the committee had made the decision to honor Jaradat in Cairo on September 8, 2012. The committee chairman and union assistant secretary-general, attorney Sayyed Al-Ghani, said that Jaradat has received the highest honor that the union bestows on lawyers in the Arab homeland.[1]
The following are Jaradat's "last will and testament," which were posted on the Islamic Jihad website and published by MEMRI in August 2004,[2] followed by a MEMRI TV clip from an Iranian TV program extolling Jaradat, which aired in November 2004. [3]
Hanadi Jaradat's Last Will And Testament
"The last will and testament of the martyr Hanadi [Jaradat], before she set off to carry out the Haifa operation:
"In the name of Allah the Merciful and Compassionate, prayer and peace be upon the master of mankind, our master Muhammad, may Allah pray for him and give him peace: The Exalted One said [in the Koran]: 'Do not consider those who died for the cause of Allah as dead, rather as alive, at their Lord sustained' [Koran 3:169]. Verily, Allah's words are true.
"Dear family, whom the Lord of the world will reward as He promised us all in His Holy Book [with the words], 'Give glad tidings to those who persevere' [Koran 2:155]. Indeed, Allah promised Paradise to those who persevere in all that He has brought upon them – and what a good dwelling Paradise is.
"Therefore, reckon my sacrifice in anticipation of the reward of Allah, praised and exalted be He, to you in the Hereafter. I should not be too valuable to sacrifice myself for the religion of Allah. I have always believed in what is said in the Holy Koran, and I have been yearning for the rivers of Paradise, and I have been yearning to see the glorious light of Allah's face. I have been yearning for all this ever since Allah bestowed guidance upon me.
"My loved ones, for whom I wish to vouchsafe [for entering Paradise] on the great Day of Judgment, I have chosen this way of my own full will, and I have striven greatly for this, until Allah bestowed martyrdom upon me, Allah willing. Martyrdom is not [given] to everyone on earth; rather, it is for those who are honored by Allah. Will you then be grieved because Allah honored me with it? Will you repay Allah with [thoughts] which He will not like, nor will I like? Reckon my sacrifice in anticipation of Allah's reward for you in the Hereafter, and say, 'There is no power or might save by Allah. We belong to Allah, and it is to Him that we return.'
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"All of us are destined to die, and no one lives forever on this earth. However, he who is intelligent responds to Allah's call. This is only a land of jihad, and we live in it for jihad, so that perhaps we will be able to remove the injustice under which we have been living in recent years.
"I know that I shall not bring back Palestine. I fully know this. However, I know that this is my duty to Allah. Believing in the principles of my faith, I respond to the call. I now inform you that, Allah willing, I shall find what Allah has promised to me and to all those who take this path – gardens which Allah promised us, in which we will live forever, Allah willing.
"Having believed in this, how do you think I can accept all the passing worldly temptations? How can I go on living on this earth when my spirit has become attached to an Omnipotent King? My entire aspiration has become to see the glorious light of Allah. It is His land and it is His religion, but they want to extinguish His light. We all know this.
"It is therefore my duty to the religion of Allah – and my obligation to Him – to defend it. I have nothing before me other than this body, which I am going to turn into slivers that will tear out the heart of everyone who has tried to uproot us from our country. Everyone who sows death for us will receive death, even though it be a small part [of what they deserve].
"We are still weak in the estimation of the powerful one. But we have our faith. Our belief makes us renew our covenant with our Lord and our land. Our war against them is a war of faith and existence, and not of borders. You know this well.
"My dear beloved father, please honor my desire and reckon my sacrifice in anticipation of Allah's reward for you in the Hereafter. Whoever helped me to reach Paradise shall be rewarded by my vouchsafing for him [to enter Paradise]. Make me always reassured and proud of the father whose daughter I am, before my Lord and all mankind. I pray thee, dear father, by Allah's glory, give me rest in my grave, and do naught but reckon my sacrifice in anticipation of Allah's reward for you in the Hereafter. For Allah giveth and Allah taketh away, and we belong to Allah and to Him we all return.
"Dear mother, I wish to Allah that you will persevere, my mother, for I love you because you have always been endlessly giving. Allah willing, you shall continue to be this way. Reckon my sacrifice in anticipation of Allah's reward for you in the Hereafter. I am going to be with Fadi, Salih, and 'Abd Al-Rahim and all those whom Allah has chosen to be near Him. Reckon us all as sacrifices in anticipation of Allah's reward for you in the Hereafter, and say, Allah, redeem me from my plight and reward me for my plight and give me good recompense for it.
"I ask everyone to forgive me for whatever I may have done [to offend them]. For my part, I have already forgiven everyone, and I ask of you the following: Pay 50 dinars to a dress shop in Jarash, pay 100 dinars to so-and-so in Qabatiya, and give 10 dinars [to charity] for my soul [as atonement], for I have forgotten a debt of a few piasters in Jordan and I do not remember it. And pray always for me for Allah's mercy and forgiveness and contentment. May you always be content with me, my parents, and au revoir in the gardens of Paradise.
"Allah said, 'Therefore let those fight in the way of Allah, who sell this world's life for the Hereafter; and whoever fights in the way of Allah, then be he slain or be he victorious, We shall grant him a mighty reward' [Koran 4:74]."
Excerpts From Iranian TV Show Extolling Hanadi Jaradat
The following are excerpts from a TV show that aired on Iranian TV in 2004, extolling six female Palestinian suicide bombers and focusing on Hanadi Jaradat:
"Hanadi set the reading of the verdict in Haifa. Before the morning prayer, she wore her head scarf and wrapped her neck with a belt of gunpowder, of pain. Hanadi, is this the light of martyrdom, gleaming from your eyes, or the henna from the blood of Palestine? Hanadi calls to her brothers, 'Marry me as a bride to Jerusalem, to Al-Aqsa and to Jenin.' Oh the sixth of the black mares (i.e., female suicide bombers), your veil has become flags that make us proud at the gates of our capitals.
"Come hither, many of the Arabs are dormant. Are you a mare, an eagle, or a wave rising from the high seas? Oh virgin, come hither and run wild toward the ruling center. This is Hanadi calling upon us: 'Hurry to the aid of Jerusalem and make the final preparations for the wedding.' She set the reading of the verdict in Haifa. Oh the sixth of the black mares.
"This is Wafaa (Idris), who returned from Jerusalem to Ramallah, and Darin (Abu-'Aysha), who carved her will with a knife. Ayyat (Al-Akhras) of Jerusalem will bring the signs of victory, and she is welcomed by Ilham (Al-Dusuqi). A river is flowing in Jenin and behind and above the wall, 'Andalib (Taqatqa) spreads her wings like an eagle, and the sun of my country starts to rise after Hanadi through the arches of Palestine."
[1] Al-Ayyam (PA), October 14, 2012. At the time of her death, Jaradat was studying law and was due to qualify as a lawyer in a few weeks.
[2] See MEMRI JTTM Report No. 766 The Will of Hanadi Jaradat, August 19, 2004.
[3] See MEMRI TV Clip No. 377 Iranian TV Show Extols Palestinian Female Suicide Bombers, November 8, 2004.
