February 03, 2025
Nasser Kandil
• The Arab and Islamic worlds have rarely seen figures who left a sweeping impact on millions, as Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has – except perhaps for Gamal Abdel Nasser and Imam Khomeini. These leaders possessed a magnetic presence that captivated hearts and minds, and their oratory had an unparalleled ability to draw in the masses and shape history with a single speech. Their passing left a vast void, a lingering sense of sorrow and disillusionment.
• Despite the absence of a powerful Nasserist movement that could shape policy and continue his path, the idea of Arab unity – whether through pan-Arab identity or the integration of two or more Arab nations – remains a persistent answer to the fragmentation and weakness plaguing the Arab world. In an era of global power blocs, many still look to Nasser as an inspiration, seeking to revive unity projects in new forms as a response to the question: How can Arabs regain influence in today’s world?
• Imam Khomeini’s legacy endures decades after his passing because the state he founded through revolution grew in his absence. His successor remained steadfast in his path, and Iran’s intellectual, political, and military institutions carried forward his vision, forging an independent and resilient nation that became an undeniable regional and global force. His symbolic role as the architect of a peaceful mass revolution that toppled a regime as powerful as the Shah’s continues to inspire those who believe in popular uprisings. His experience stands as a defining moment in reintroducing Islam as a civilisation-building force in modern politics – one rooted in political independence, cultural identity, and an open yet principled ideological framework.
• From the early days of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s leadership to the moment of his martyrdom, one truth remained constant: Palestine. While Palestinian resistance factions played a vital role, it was Sayyed Nasrallah’s perseverance that revived Palestine as a central issue in Arab discourse, rebuilding a global Arab and Islamic movement around it. When the cause was marginalised, buried under efforts to liquidate it, and nearly faded into oblivion, Sayyed Nasrallah’s steadfast advocacy reconnected regional stability and sovereignty to Palestine’s fate. His unmatched eloquence, depth, and power of persuasion – touching both hearts and minds – transformed resistance into not only a strategic option but a cultural and intellectual principle. He skillfully leveraged Lebanon’s resistance victories to reinforce Palestine as a unifying cause, linking the future of the Arab and Islamic worlds to its liberation.
• Sayyed Nasrallah succeeded twice in making the demise of Israel a tangible reality. First, he shattered the prevailing despair that had led an overwhelming majority in the Arab and Islamic worlds to believe the Palestinian cause was lost. By channeling the victories of Lebanon’s resistance, he implanted doubts within the minds of Israeli settlers about their state’s very survival. The existential crisis gripping the entity today is, in no small part, a product of his influence – he crafted and amplified it among Israelis themselves. His second success came in fostering a massive Arab and Islamic movement that not only believes in Israel’s eventual disappearance but sees it as an achievable goal.
• When Sayyed Nasrallah opened the northern front in support of Gaza and set its objective – to prevent the resistance’s defeat – he knew it would be accomplished, as had been the case in all his battles and wars. But in this war, more than any before, he understood it was his war. The war for Palestine, one that might never come again. And because he had always longed for martyrdom – especially as a martyr for Palestine – he saw this as his chance. He disregarded all calls to leave locations he knew were targeted, remaining in the line of fire until he achieved his ultimate aspiration. Yet, unlike others before him, he left behind an institution that proved itself unbreakable. Politically, militarily, and organisationally, the resistance performed at an extraordinary level, securing a decisive outcome: Hamas emerged victorious, and, as he had promised, the settlers of northern Palestine have not returned.
• Sayyed Nasrallah left behind a movement imbued with a rare depth of knowledge, cultivated over decades of tireless dedication. His speeches became a wellspring of political and strategic wisdom, empowering even the most ordinary people – elders, youth, and impoverished communities – to grasp the complexities of war, politics, and strategy. One need only listen to the voices in the marches of return to hear his words, his logic, and his formulations echoed seamlessly, absorbed and articulated with striking clarity. This vast reservoir of knowledge, once inaccessible to the poor and uneducated, was made available through his relentless commitment to teaching them the principles of resistance and struggle.
• The greatness of Sayyed Nasrallah lies in the fact that he was the Sayyed of Palestine. He bequeathed Palestine an immense Arab and Islamic movement that firmly believes in the legitimacy of resistance and the reality of Israel’s demise. He left behind a wise, courageous, and capable resistance – one that learned from him the arts of war and politics, the craft of negotiations and strategic patience, the value of time, and the precision of timing. We mourn his loss even as we celebrate that he achieved his wish, and we are confident that the resistance remains strong, its weapons secure, and its people steadfast. The flood of loyalty that will surge on the day of his funeral is, in truth, another flood for Palestine.
