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The Many Miracles of Bint Jbeil's Martyrs Tree
Abu Mohammad Tells His Story
Abu Mohammad Tells His Story
Interviewed by Mohammad Hussein Bazzi[1]
[1]
Translated by Arwa Mahmoud
After Bint Jbeil's Martyrs Tree witnessed the miraculous growth of 43 green leaves from its dead stem, numbered exactly after the names of the martyrs whose names had been carved on small blocks of wood pinned to its branches, it became a visiting site. Thousands of visitors flooded everyday from different parts of the world. From ministers, deputies, judges, mayors, Muslim and Christian religious scholars, to academics and agricultural scientists of different specializations (whose signatures have filled the guestbook), everyone seemed to be perplexed.
The tree has attracted journalists both inside and outside Lebanon. Russian and Chinese television were both there to report about the "miraculous" tree. And many have started to ask about the man behind that tree, the person who actually crafted this piece of decoration; who he is, how he crafted it, and what his own story of the tree is.
Hajj Soliman Daoud (Abu Mohammad) is a retired 60 year-old man who used to work with the army. He was born in Yuhmur Shqeif, Nabatiyah, in 1947. For 25 years he had been carving Quranic verses on wood and crafting wooden pieces for decoration in his workshop, situated in his hometown.
Due to the confusion everyone was in over the type of tree, when it was cut, where it was found, and how it reached Bint Jbeil, it was important to talk to Abu Mohammad, the man behind the tree. On Tuesday, August 14, 2007, Mohammad Hussein Bazzi conducted an interview with him in Bint Jbeil's Martyrs Hall, where the tree is now displayed.
In memory of Lebanon's divine victory on August 14, 2006, and in the midst of these hundreds of people flooding in to see the tree, could you give us an idea about the history of this tree, how you crafted it, and how it finally reached Bint Jbeil?
I carved and crafted thousands of trees of different kinds over the past 25 years. This specific piece was not intentionally picked; it came among a group of trees I had cut randomly.
Each six months I used to bring between 300 and 500 trees, yet this specific tree caught my attention as I began to sort the group in which it came. I noticed that it was shaped after the Arabic writing of the word Allah. Since it was a big tree, I placed it aside on asphalt. Months later when the youth in Bint Jbeil called me to tell me that green leaves have started growing out of its branches, I could not believe my ears.
I normally work with Al Hoda shop in Bint Jbeil, they take carved wooden pieces from me to sell. Hajja Fatma Bazzi called me one day and asked me to prepare a decoration tree commemorating the martyrs, and she gave me 43 names. When I inspected the pieces that I had I realized that an ordinary tree would not work. So I immediately recalled the tree I had found among the group I collected. It seemed to be perfectly catered for the number of martyrs I was given. It just seemed like the perfect piece for that purpose.
When was that?
That was about two months ago. Then I immediately began to prepare the tree and I painted it.
When did you cut that tree? What type was it?
The tree was cut about six months before the start of the summer war in 2006. That is about one year and 8 months ago. It is a poplar tree.
Where did you cut it from?
It was among a group of trees I had cut from a field in the Zahrani region. What surprised me when I found that tree in the group was that there usually are no poplar trees in Zahrani. I was even more surprised that this did not catch my attention as I cut it. Reflecting on all of this, I was puzzled. Yet now that I've seen what happened to the tree, I understand that it was a divine plan from the very beginning.
This tree kept catching my attention even as I cast it aside on the asphalt. I had placed it there to wait for it to dry, since it was impossible to work on it while it was fresh. It continued to perplex me all the time as it lay there, especially that not even its weight was the normal weight a poplar tree should have; it was much lighter.
You said that there was a "divine plan". Do you mean that the tree was displaying a series of miracles?
Yes! Even as I began working on it and preparing it for paints, an unusual pleasant smell kept coming out of it. I even asked members of my family if any of them was using any house scents, they all said they weren't. We were all surprised with this, especially that this specific scent was new to me, and I know all types of natural scents.
So what happened after that?
I continued to work on the tree and I placed it on a wooden base using a big setscrew and 5 nails, 12cm long each. I then left it for 24 hours to allow for the paint on the nails to dry.
After this I began to smooth it and I painted it with some chemicals to seal it from the air to prevent future decay. After 4 hours I added a sealer with a thinner. Hours later I painted it with lacquer combined with a thinner. Finally I sprayed it with polyurethane, which is an extremely poisonous substance, ready to kill any plant in an hour. Then I began to nail small wooden boards with the names of the martyrs carved on them. They were exactly 43.
I recall that when I finished the tree and placed it in the car to move it to Bint Jbeil, the trunk lid softened and took the shape of an arch. When I lifted the tree I found myself lifting it with one hand! It was a series of unusual incidents from the start!
Do you remember the time of day?
It was around noon. I had Haj Samir Saad and Hajj Abdurrahman Bazzi with me. We took it to Al Hoda shop, then it was moved to this hall.
When did you receive the news that the tree started growing leaves? What was your reaction to that?
They called me at 1 AM and they asked me about the type of the tree. They told me that the tree started to grow leaves. In the beginning I thought they were complaining, or that they wanted to give it back. But then when I gathered my senses I realized what miracle we had on our hands.
In our side conversation before this interview you told me that a man visited you while you were working on the tree and recited Surat Al Fatiha in the Quran. What is the story of this man?
Yes. As I was working on the tree where my workshop was, a car stopped and a well-built bearded man with an aura of respect and prestige around him stepped out of it. There were three women wearing the hijab and a small child with him. He greeted me and asked me if I was crafting the tree for 45 martyrs. I answered that they were 43. So he said let us recite Surat Al Fatiha 43 times. Then he began to recite it allowed with a melancholic voice along with the women and the child. I then found myself reciting with them without even knowing it.
I do not understand until today how that man reached my workshop, where my house also is. It is not on the main road. Those who come to it only to because they intend to; it is not a place seen by passersby.
I did not ask him where he came from or what he wanted. I could not even speak then. I felt out of this world. After he finished reciting he greeted me and left.
What about the dream you spoke to me about?
That dream was before I started working on the tree. A man came to me and said "you will start working on a tree that will have a big effect."
When was that dream?
That was about 15 days before I received the request to work on the tree.
Did it ever happen before that you experienced such incidents while working on any other trees?
I worked on more than 1000 trees with approximately the same size for different places. Some of the trees were even placed in humid storage, yet none of them experienced what happened to the Martyrs Tree.
Have you ever heard of a similar incident happening elsewhere, inside or outside Lebanon?
No, never. And I don't thing this will ever happen. The substances that were placed on the tree are enough to dry it and kill it, so how can it ever live again? If anyone wanted to verify what happened, they can bring any fresh tree and I can add the same paints and spray it and they can see what happens then.
Back to the man who visited you while you were working on the tree, how did you feel after that incident?
I was frightened, and I kept asking myself how he came, and where he came from, or how he even knew I was working on a tree commemorating the martyrs of Bint Jbeil. How he left, who he was, and how come I never asked him, or even invite him over for tea??
How do you explain the substance that began to drip out of the tree stem in the first few days of the incident? I personally tasted it along with Sheikh Shafik Jaradi, the head of Maarif Hikamiyah Research Institute, and it had a special sweet taste to it that stayed with me all day. Do you have a special explanation to it or did you ever experience something like that before?
No, never. I've never even heard of something like that. This is beyond human comprehension. I have been working in this craft for more than 25 years. What can I say? This is simply a miracle!
Today, August 14, marks what Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah called "Divine Victory." Yet there are some opponents inside and outside Lebanon who undermine this victory. What would you, Abu Mohammad, the man who witnessed a whole series of unusual incidents and saw the miracles of the tree, say to them?
The word "Divine Victory" speaks for itself. Those who doubt that can look at the resistance fighters in Bint Jbeil, Yuhmur or any of the other places that witnessed the fighting. Our martyrs are alive with their Creator. And they are our light.
Do you have a final word to say to the fighters in Bint Jbeil?
Bint Jbeil's fighters are a volcano that gives light and an example for the coming generations. Without resistance there is no dignity, and without dignity there is no use for life.
What would you like to say to the families of the martyrs of Bint Jbeil for which you have crafted this tree?
I can only use the words of my Lord: "And think not of those who are killed in Allah's way as dead; nay, they are alive. With their Lord they have provision." (Al Imraan: 169)
With these final words our interview with Abu Mohammad ended, and the story of the tree ended, or did it?
Director of Dar Al Amir publishing house and chairman of Bint Jbeil Association for Philanthropy and Culture.
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