Muhammad-Hussain Yusef-Elahi was the Deputy of the Intelligence and Operations Unit of the 41st Tharallah (as) Division of Kerman during the Iran-Iraq War. He was martyred in Operation Valfajr 8.

Muhammad-Hussain Yusef-Elahi was born on March 16, 1961, in Kerman. His father was a teacher and his mother a homemaker.⁠[1] After completing primary and middle school, he entered Shahpour High School in 1975 to study the natural sciences.⁠[2] In the meantime, he became familiar with the ideas of Morteza Motahhari and Ali Shariati and gradually engaged in revolutionary activities. As demonstrations intensified on the eve of the Islamic Revolution’s victory, he was one of the organizers of student movements in Kerman and played a role in the closure of schools.⁠[3] In 1978, during the fortieth-day memorial ceremony for the martyrs of Shuhada Square (Tehran) and the anniversary of the demise of Ayatollah Seyyed Mostafa Khomeini at the Grand Mosque of Kerman, Yousef-Elahi was injured in the head by agents of the Pahlavi regime.⁠[4]

Muhammad-Hussain Yusef-Elahi entered military service in 1980 and afterward voluntarily joined the war by serving with the 41st Tharallah (as) Division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).⁠[5] After Operation Ramazan, he became a member of the division’s Intelligence and Operations Unit of which he was later appointed deputy.⁠[6]

He served in the Intelligence and Operations Unit in various operations including Valfajr 1 (April 10, 1983),⁠[7] Valfajr 3 (July 25, 1983),⁠[8] Valfajr 4 (October 19, 1983),⁠[9] Kheibar (February 22, 1984),⁠[10] Badr (March 10, 1985),⁠[11] and Valfajr 8 (February 9, 1986),⁠[12] and took part in reconnaissance missions in the operational areas of Hoor al-Azim,⁠[13] southern Majnoon Island,⁠[14] the Shotormil Heights,⁠[15] and Mehran⁠[16] on the southern and western fronts.

During Operation Kheibar, Yousef-Elahi was injured in the eyes, leg, and lungs as a result of a chemical attack by the enemy and was sent first to Germany and then to France for treatment.⁠[17] Until his martyrdom, he was wounded three more times in the throat and leg.⁠[18]

In Operation Valfajr 8 (February 9, 1986), he suffered chemical exposure for the second time,⁠[19] and after being hospitalized at Labafi-Nejad Hospital in Tehran, he was martyred on February 16, 1986, due to the severity of his injuries.⁠[20] After the funeral, he was laid to rest in the Martyrs’ Cemetery of Kerman. In his will, we read: “As long as you follow the Supreme Leader, you will remain Muslim, faithful, and victorious; otherwise, any path you take other than this will only serve the enemy”.⁠[21]

What has made Muhammad-Hussain Yusef-Elahi widely known among the public is his spiritual character. He was known as the mystic of the battlefields. His friends and companions have shared many vivid memories and remarkable stories about him. For instance, it is said that he was aware of the manner of his martyrdom. It is also reported that during the preparation of the burial place of Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani, the collapse of the grave wall revealed Yusef‑Elahi’s body, which had remained intact after 34 years.⁠[22]

Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani wrote in the introduction to the book Nakhl-e Sookhteh (The Burnt Palm): “If someone reads this book and their love for Yusef-Elahi surpasses mine, I will die of grief. Bury me beside this martyr”. In the end, Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani was buried next to the grave of Muhammad-Hussain Yusef-Elahi.⁠[23]

Among the works published about Muhammad-Hussain Yousef-Elahi are Nakhl-e Sookhteh (The Burnt Palm) and Hussain; Pesar-e Gholamhussain (Hussain; Son of Gholamhussain) by Mobasher Publications, and Hussain Aqa Yeki Boud (There Was Only One Hussain) by Mashhoor Publications. The documentaries Biqarar (Eager) and Hussain; Pesar-e Gholamhussain (Hussain; Son of Gholamhussain) have also been produced about him. The handwritten notes of Muhammad-Hussain Yusef-Elahi are included in the book Nakhl-e Sookhteh (The Burnt Palm).