Mohammad Badawy – Martyrs Never Die
AI: Summary ©
The definition of death is not the end, but rather a process of destruction. The culture of the world is the state of the world, and the aestimate of the world is the amount of the culture. The importance of affirmations and faith in Islam is emphasized, as it is essential for achieving victory. The segment also highlights the importance of witnessing and proving the rule of Islam to avoid suffering and loss, and stressing the need for people to show their true values and strive for their beliefs to avoid disappointment and loss.
AI: Summary ©
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in
Surah Al-Imran, and don't you dare consider
those who are killed in the path of
Allah as dead.
And he says in Surah Al-Baqarah, don't
you dare say about those who are killed
in the path of Allah as dead.
And it sounds like a contradictory sentence.
How can we not say about those who
are killed as dead?
It's something that makes you scratch your head
and wonder.
And the Sahaba had the same question.
They said, we asked the Messenger of Allah
ﷺ about this.
أَمَا إِنَّا سَأَلْنَا عَن ذَٰلِكَ فَقَالَ صَلَى اللَّهَ
عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَرْوَاحُهُمْ كَطَيْرٍ خُضْرٍ تَسْرَحُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ
فِي أَيِّهَا شَاءَتْ He said ﷺ in response
to their inquiry, how can we not say
about those who are killed in the path
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as dead?
When we see their lifeless, mangled, destroyed bodies,
is not that the definition of death?
Has not what this Ummah been witnessing for
decades, from multiple wounds all over the world,
amplified in the last year in Palestine and
Sudan and many other places, is that not
the definition of what death is?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, look at
all of that, see it, and know that
it is not the end.
They said, we asked the Messenger of Allah
ﷺ about this verse, and he responded and
he said, their souls are in the hearts
of green birds, soaring throughout paradise as they
please.
ثُمَّ تَأْوِي إِلَىٰ قَنَادِيلَ مُعَلَّقَةٍ بِالْعَرْشِ And then
they come to perch in lanterns suspended underneath
the throne of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
فَبَيْنَمَا هُمْ كَذَلِكَ إِذَا اتَّلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّكَ اتَّلَعَىٰ
فَقَالَ سَلُونِ مَا شِئْتُمْ And when they are
in this state, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
He turns to them and He says, ask
whatever you please, make a wish.
And they respond to their Creator and they
say, رَبَّنَا مَاذَا نَسْأَلُكَ وَنَحْنُ نَسْرَحُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ
فِي أَيِّهَا شِئْنَا What more can we ask
for when you have brought us here to
paradise and we soar throughout it as we
please?
No more fear, no more anxiety, no more
suffering, no more pain.
What more can we ask for after you
brought us here?
This is their state.
And they see that their Creator Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala refuses no for an answer.
You must ask for something.
So then they ask Him subhanahu wa ta
'ala, نَسْأَلُكَ أَن تَرُدَّ أَرْوَاحَنَا فِي أَجْسَادِنَا إِلَى
الدُّنْيَا We ask you, O Allah, to return
our souls to our bodies, to send us
back to this world.
Why do they want to come back here?
Perhaps it is to say goodbye to their
loved ones.
Perhaps it is to build what has been
destroyed.
Perhaps you think it is to live a
life that they feel was cut short.
Allah is giving them any wish that they
please.
And they're asking to return to their bodies.
Put these souls back into our bodies.
Return us to this worldly life.
It's not for any of these reasons.
They say, O Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
return our souls to our bodies, حَتَّى نُقْتَلَ
فِي سَبِيلِكَ so that we can be killed
in your path one more time.
Give us the opportunity to sacrifice it all
for your sake one more time.
And when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sees
that they will not ask for anything else,
He said ﷺ, He leaves them be.
He said, don't you dare consider them as
dead.
Don't you dare say that they have died.
Because this is their state right now.
More alive than most people ever will be.
This is their state in real time right
now.
They are alive in the presence of their
Creator subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And we were taught that they were called
shaheed, shuhadat, witnesses.
What are they bearing witness to?
What do they testify to, I ask you?
Have you considered what do they bear witness
to?
Imam Nawawi rahimallah he says, as for them
being named as shuhadat, وَأَمَّا سَبَبُ تَسْمِيَتِهِ شَهِدًا
فَقَالَ النَّضْرُ إِبْن شُمَيل لِأَنَّهُ حَيٌّ فَإِنَّ أَرْوَاحَهُمْ
شَهِدَتْ وَحَضِرَتْ دَارَ السَّلَامِ وَأَرْوَاحُ غَيْرِهِمْ إِنَّمَا
تَشْهَدُهَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ They were called witnesses because
they are currently alive.
And they bear witness, they testify, they see
the abode of peace.
They testify to something that me and you
claim to believe with every fiber of our
being, that there is an abode of peace,
that there is an abode of pleasure and
rest, and that it is not here.
It is not in this worldly life.
They bear witness to that in real time.
And as for the souls of others, they
will only bear witness to it on the
Day of Judgment.
But they bear witness to it now.
So Allah SWT called them a shaheed.
He gave them this title, these martyrs, as
witnesses.
They bear witness to their home in Jannah.
He said ﷺ يُعْتَى الشَّهِدُ سِتَّ خِصَال عندَ
أَوَّلِ قَطْرَةٍ مِّنْ دَمِهِ يُكَفَّرُ عَنْهُ كُلَّ خَطِيئَةٍ
وَيَرَى مَقْعَدَهُ مِّنَ الْجَنَّةِ وَيُزَوَّجُ مِّنَ الْحُورِ الْعِينِ
وَيُؤَمَّنُ مِنَ الْفَزَعِ الْأَكْبَرِ وَمِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ وَيُحَلَّ
حُلَّةَ الْإِيمَانِ He said ﷺ that the martyr
is given six special gifts from their Creator
with the first drop of blood that spills
from their body.
Before their blood hits the ground, Allah SWT
gives them six special things.
The first of them is that every single
sin that they committed is forgiven.
And the second is that they see their
home in paradise before they exit this world.
And they are married off to the wives
of paradise.
And they are granted security on the day
of ultimate terror, the day of judgment.
And they are granted security and safety from
the punishment of the grave.
And they are adorned with adornments of true
faith.
Which is the second reason that they are
called jahid.
Because it is Allah SWT Himself and His
angels that testify, that bear witness to the
trueness of their faith.
Allah SWT tells us, وَلْيَعْلَمَ اللَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَيَتَّخِذَ
مِنْكُمْ شُهَدَاءٌ So Allah SWT can make it
known, can have it proven, those who had
true faith.
And He selects the martyrs from amongst you.
That they testify to the trueness of their
faith, to the very last breath.
When sticking to this faith cost them everything,
they did not falter.
And that's the third reason that they are
called shuhadat.
Because they testify to this concept, this principle,
that people like me and you claim, that
me and you may share online, may proudly
boast, but very few of us truly believe.
Very few of us truly strive towards and
believe in.
Which is, principles are worth more than blood.
The truest victory is not one of the
body.
It is the victory of true faith.
Adhering to this faith no matter what the
cost.
Staying true to our beliefs, even if it
means the end of our lives.
So many people can claim this.
They testify to its truth with their lives,
with their blood, with their bones.
They make it apparent what it means to
believe in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
To stick to that principle to the very
last moment.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us the
story of Ashab al-Ukhdud.
A city of people tried for their faith.
That when they believed in Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, they were taken one by one
to the precipice of a fire.
The edge of a ditch filled with flame.
And commanded to renounce their faith or die
a burning gruesome death.
And one by one they all refused.
And the entire city was obliterated.
Not a single remnant of faith left.
And yet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says
about them, That is the ultimate victory.
Don't think because none of them were left.
Because the elites refused their faith and succeeded
in putting it out temporarily.
Don't think that that means that they lost,
that they did not make progress, that they
did not achieve the ultimate victory.
This concept was so important to our Creator.
That when a young mother is brought to
the precipice of this fire, and child after
child is thrown in in front of her
very eyes, until they come to the last
suckling infant between her arms, she hesitates.
Not because of uncertainty or doubt that me
and you may feel.
But out of a natural fear.
That every mother would feel over their child,
their infant.
As we've seen so many mothers all over
the world.
But in that moment's hesitation, Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala inspires the infant to speak.
To say, يَا أُمَّهِ اصْبِرِ فَإِنَّكِ عَلَى الْحَقِّ
Oh my dear mother, be patient.
Because you are upon the truth.
اِمْضِي بِسْمِ اللَّهِ Go forth in the name
of your Creator.
This isn't a loss.
And it's not a coincidence that Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala says, He is over all
of this.
A shaheed, a witness.
They were called shaheed, because they bear witness
that principles, that faith, that trueness to our
Creator and the purpose for which He created
us, outweighs everything else.
That it is so easy to claim that.
To share it in a post.
To say it on a microphone.
But to truly believe in it.
To live for the sake of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
Is the truest test.
This is something else that a shaheed bears
witness to.
That dying for the sake of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala is not about a moment's
bravery.
It's not about an instant's decision.
It is the conclusion of a lifetime of
living for the sake of your Creator.
Because it was His Messenger ﷺ that taught
us, من سأل الله الشهادة بصدق Whoever yearns
for this martyrdom, yearns to die for the
sake of their Creator, asks for it sincerely.
بَلَّغْهُ اللَّهُ مَنَازِلَ الشُّهَدَاءُ وَإِنْ مَاتَ عَلَى فِرَشِهِ
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala raised their ranks
to the ranks of the martyrs.
Give them access to their titles and their
reward.
Even if they die on their bed.
The shaheed bears witness that it is so
much harder to live for the sake of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and conclude it
with dying for His sake than we perceive,
than the way that we live our lives
currently.
He bears witness that when He had nothing
in His arms, nothing to give, He still
strove for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala and did His absolute best to
fulfill this purpose, to die upon this principle.
While the world is filled with billions of
Muslims who have so much more in their
hands, least of all us here in America,
the most pampered, luxurious, comfortable, amenity-filled society
not in the world, in human history.
What do we give for the sake of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?
What does my life and yours testify to?
What am I a shaheed over?
If you looked at my day in and
day out, living in the country and being
a citizen of the country, that's the number
one funder and propagator and armor of the
destruction of my brothers and sisters worldwide.
What does my life testify to?
What upliftment, what aid, what victory do I
strive to provide for them with the comfort
and the luxury and the wealth that Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala allowed me and He
allowed no one else with the responsibility that
He put in my arms, on my shoulders,
because of where I am.
What will I say to Him on the
Day of Judgment?
What did my life bear witness to in
its entirety?
Because the ummah is so done with our
lip service, with everything that we have, with
where we are.
When they stand in front of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala on the Day of Judgment
and say we had absolute nothing and we
still gave everything, the last thing that we
want to be is standing on the other
side and saying we had everything and we
gave nothing.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala raise the
ranks of the martyrs.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala uplift their
cause.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us
a means of granting them victory.
Allah
subhanahu
wa ta'ala has tasked Himself that whoever
goes out in the cause of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, striving against injustice, striving to
uplift the deen of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala, and nothing causes him to strive except
belief in Me, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
says, and trust in My messengers, then it
is My duty that he will not return
except with reward or spoils, or that I
will enter him into Paradise.
The martyr never loses.
The martyr never dies.
Because the foolish person may see all of
this and say, what did they achieve?
What progress did they make?
What did they positively influence in their journey
so far besides death and destruction and sadness?
These are the questions and the conclusions of
a blind heart.
These are questions and conclusions of somebody whose
business, whose home is still stocked with products
that directly fund and influence the death and
destruction of their brothers and sisters worldwide.
These are the questions and the conclusions of
somebody weighed down by the anchors of this
world whose entire life testifies to something completely
different than the shaheed.
And then He said, salallahu alayhi wa sallam,
وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَوْلَا أَنَّ رِجَالًا مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
لَا تَطِيبُ أَنفُسُهُمْ أَن يَتَخَلَّفُ عَنِّي وَلَا أَجِدُ
مَا أَحْمِلُهُمْ عَلَيْهِ مَا تَخَلَّفْتُ عَنْ سَرِيَّةٍ تَغْزُوا
فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ If it was up to
me, if there were not people behind in
Medina that needed me, men and women that
I have to assume leadership for, and I
do not have the means of bringing them
with me, I would have never stayed behind
from a single expedition that exits for the
sake of Allah SWT striving for His sake.
Then He said ﷺ, وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَوَدِتُ
أَنْ أُقْتَلَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ If it was
up to me, I would have loved nothing
more than to strive for the sake of
my Creator until I am killed in that
path.
I would have been resurrected and then killed,
and then resurrected and then killed, and then
resurrected and then killed.
He said ﷺ, if it was up to
me, I would have four lives that I
give for the sake of Allah SWT, one
after the other, one after the other, one
after the other.
Many of us hear this and cringe, and
shrink.
How can you say this out loud?
But it was our Messenger ﷺ that said,
it is my dream to give it all
up for the sake of Allah SWT, to
prove my belief in these principles, to prove
my conviction even if it cost me my
blood.
But he said ﷺ, I recognize that Allah
SWT put me somewhere else.
He gave me a different role.
And that returns us to the question, what
does your life testify to?
Your existence, your amenities, your comfort.
Where Allah SWT put you, what does that
testify to?
For many people it's not boycotting, it's not
protesting, it's not voting, it's not sharing, it's
not activism.
So what is it?
What do our lives testify to being here?
With the entire ummah watching, waiting in flames.
Because if at the end of this all,
my life and yours, testifies to a 9
to 5, where I simply evolve past a
new car, a bigger size home, more luxuries,
more amenities, more comfort.
That's the complete opposite to what the shaheed
testified to.
We owe the ummah so much more than
that.
We need to wake up and go to
sleep every single day with three questions on
our mind.
Did I improve in my deen, my religious
commitment to my creator, on a personal level?
Did I find out more about the plight
of my brothers and sisters in Palestine, in
Sudan, in Yemen, in Turkmenistan, in the many
open wounds that this ummah is suffering from?
Did I find out more about that context,
more about that history, more about what's happening
on the ground?
And three, did I do anything different today?
Did I donate, did I protest, did I
boycott, did I vote, did I organize?
Because if any of these three questions is
met with a no, any day of our
lives, the shaheed testifies to our cowardice.
He bears witness to our utter failure.
He bears witness to the lopsided view that
we approached our religion and our purpose and
our commitment to our creator and the rest
of the ummah.
I won't say don't let them die in
vain because they are not.
They've already achieved their rewards.
In fact, they're not even dead.
Martyrs never die.
But for me and for you, there's no
way that we can live normal days, normal
lives, have normal celebrations without the ummah taking
the lion's share of our wealth and our
effort and our thoughts and our emotions.
They're so far past taking our spare time
and our spare change and our spare emotion,
specifically us here in the United States.
I pray that Allah SWT uplifts the shuhada,
that He accepts them, that He uplifts their
causes, that He uplifts their ranks, that He
makes us a means of granting them aid
and victory, that He makes us a means
of uplifting their suffering, that He forgives our
shortcomings, that He guides us to the resilience
and the fortitude to serve His ummah at
whatever cost.
I say this and ask forgiveness of Allah
for you and me.
May Allah bless our Master Muhammad and his
companions.
Peace and blessings be upon him.