On Friday, when several Shia Muslims were busy praying inside the Imam Hussain mosque in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, two volunteer security guards stopped a suicide bomber from entering the mosque and killing devotees inside.
Mohammed Hassan Ali bin Isa and Abdul-Jalil al-Arbash had volunteered to provide security for the mosque. Eye witnesses claim the suicide bomber was dressed as a woman and had tried to enter the premises of the place of worship through the closed women’s section before he went to the main gate. The two friends suspected foul play and chased the bomber away, before he blew himself up in the car parking lot of the mosque. Abdul-Jalil was reportedly 25 and had recently returned from studying at university in the US, getting married just days ago. Abdul-Jalil was a Kansas college student who planned to go back to America after his marriage to Wichita State University, where the electrical engineering major was an honor roll student. The blast also killed Jalil’s brother, Mohammed, and their cousin.
Following his heroic act and tragic death, Twitter was flooded with tributes for the young man who had saved scores of Shia Muslims from being killed. Here are a number of tweets for the brave young men, doing the rounds on the micro blogging site:-
RIP Mohammed Hassan Ali bin Isa and Abdul-Jalil al-Arbash. Thank you for giving your life in the name of humanity.
— Erin Summers (@Erin_Summers_) May 30, 2015
Mohammed Hassan Ali bin Isa and Abdul-Jalil al-Arbash, Thank you. And Rest in Peace. — gbolahan (@Gbolly_AB) May 30, 2015
PRT – Mohammed Hassan Ali bin Isa and Abdul-Jalil al-Arbash – Martyred today saving many from a murderous #ISIS suicide bomber.. #Saudi
— Jason McArdle (@jsnmcardle) May 29, 2015
RIP Mohammed Hassan Ali bin Isa and Abdul-Jalil al-Arbash, showing the world and ISIS what Islam is really about, massive respect❤️ — Dom Snow (@Son_0f_Poseidon) May 29, 2015
Shaheed Abid Al Jaleel who stopped the target killer in #Dammam at the gate of the mosque Recite a Fatiha. pic.twitter.com/L8GGQZLwKy
— The Contenders (@Contenders313) May 29, 2015
Father of a martyr appreciating Allah after the martyrdom of his son n suicide attack targeted Shia mosque n #Dammam pic.twitter.com/zEO6utFSro — أثير القطيف Qudaih# (@Qatifeed) May 29, 2015
The young brave boy Abdul-Jalil Juma martyred who stopped the bomber from entering the mosque today sacrificing his own life. #Dammam #SaudiArabia <3 <3 <3 RIP Al-Fatiyah
Posted by Haider Moqawama on Friday, May 29, 2015
IS claimed responsibility for the attack, similar to a bombing that the banned group had carried out on 22nd May, killing as many as 21 people at Qatif.