The Palestinian Arab Poet Martyr Abdul Rahim Mahmoud 1913 - 1948

The Palestinian Arab Poet Martyr Abdul Rahim Mahmoud 1913 - 1948

Translated to English by: Adib S. Kawar

The Palestinian Arab martyr poet was born in 3ainata town in the vicinity of Toul Karm in the year 1913.
This patriotic poet continues to be highly respected and appreciated by Palestinians and other Arab generations, because he embodied Arab resistance to Zionist and western colonialism.

Our poet got his secondary education in An-Najah school in Nablus (Now An-Najah University) up till 1936 when the great Palestinian revolution against British occupation of Palestine and Zionist colonization erupted. Abdul Rahim left school to join the resistance, but he continued writing his patriotic poems calling upon his people to join the resistance for achieving its rights and independence. In between 1939 and 1942 he joined the Iraqi military academy to graduate as an officer. Then the Iraqi government requested him to teach first in Baghdad then in Basrah where he joined the Rashid Ali Al-Kilani revolution against British colonialism. Then he returned to Palestine where he kept fighting against occupation and colonialism in the political, literary and military domains.

After the passing of the UN Resolution of partitioning of Palestine Arab resistance intensified; so the poet decided to join the resistance till the last breath for the Liberation of his homeland; he left to Beirut in January 1948, then to Damascus where he had intensive military training and joined Al-Inaz Army, then returned to Palestine, and in Bal3a area he fought in the Bayader Al-Aladas battle in a detachment of Hiteen battalion, he also took part in the Ras El-Ain battle, and in April 1948 he was appointed as a liaison officer in Toul Karem, then an assistant to the commander of a battalion in Nazareth… and at last he bravely fought in Ashajarah battle and on 13 July 1948 he fell martyr at the age of 35 years old.. He was buried in Nazareth and was survived by his wife two sons, Atayeb and Talal and his daughter Raqiah, aged between one and four years.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians and other Arabs memorize his patriotic poems; which has a perspective vision for the painful future of Palestine after his martyrdom.
All his poems were gathered and published complete several times.

His poetry:

It is his love for his land Palestine in particular and the rest of the Arab homeland that he embodied in his poetry with his struggle that was crowned by his martyrdom, as if he was expecting his fate during his armed struggle resistance to Zionist occupation of Palestine. We are not sure that it was easier for him fall martyr rather then see his beloved Palestine occupied, or he would have rather continued his greater and longer resistance.

During the great Palestinian revolution 1936 – 1939 Abdul Rahim Mahmoud's patriotic poetry was echoing in the skies and the Arab land, and he chanted  fervent warbling that were memorized by Palestinian students starting with 1930, that was normal when even young Palestinian and other Arab children were feeling the dangers Zionist colonialism supported by British occupation on their and their country's future.