Al Ain: The UAE bid farewell to another fallen soldier in a heartfelt funeral service on Sunday, honouring his selfless sacrifice in the Yemen conflict.
Marking the 69th UAE martyr to be laid to rest, a gathering of shaikhs, citizens and worshippers performed funeral prayers for Emirati martyr Captain Hadif Humaid Al Shamsi, who died while performing his national duty during his participation in the Saudi-led Arab coalition Operation Restoring Hope in support of the legitimate government in Yemen.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, expressed his heartfelt condolences during a visit to the family’s mourning majlis in Al Zakher, Al Ain. Shaikh Mohammad prayed to Allah Almighty to rest the martyr’s soul in paradise and grant solace to his family.
Offering funeral prayers at the Martyrs Mosque in Al Ain were Shaikh Saif Bin Mohammad Al Nahyan, Shaikh Khalid Bin Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Shaikh Diab Bin Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and scores of other Emiratis and residents.
Approximately 5,000 people gathered at Al Shuhada’a Mosque in Al Ain to perform the funeral prayers following Al Dhuhur prayer.
He was later laid to rest at Al Mutawa cemetery in Al Ain.
Worshippers asked Allah Almighty to bestow His mercy and eternal peace on the martyrs’ soul, and to grant his family patience to bear their loss.
Cheerful, sincere, giving and loyal were some of the traits that mourning relative Hamad Al Shamsi yesterday attributed to his cousin Al Shamsi, a martyr who paid the ultimate sacrifice in Yemen.
Speaking to Gulf News of the martyr’s heroic sacrifice, Hamad said that, “Hadif and I were like brothers and our wives are sisters too. The last time I saw him was during Eid Al Adha. The last thing he told me was that he is delighted about going back to Yemen to fight for such a good cause.”
“He was such a wonderful person and I believe that anyone who had the pleasure to meet him is truly blessed. He performed every single prayer at the mosque. He was loving, helpful, always cheerful and was very easy to talk to.”
“The fact that he bid life farewell as a martyr means that he will hopefully be granted immediate access to paradise alongside the other brave role models of our nation, whom we couldn’t be more proud of,” the 45-year old Hamad, who works as an employee at the Ministry of Interior, said.
The martyr, who called Al Ain home, was married with three children: Mohammad, who is four years old; Humaid, who is about to turn three; and Mariam, who is four months old.
The martyr’s family was informed of the incident via a phone call shortly after it happened, Hamad said.
“It was very hard to grasp at first as we still had to process the fact that we had lost a faithful family member. However, we are still very proud to say that we once had a family member who sacrificed his life and died as a martyr for a brighter tomorrow,” he added.
With inputs from WAM
Maisoon Mubarak is a trainee at Gulf News.
