B U S I N E S S N A M E

Reflections
From the Glorious Qur’ān
I S S U E N O . 5 1 S T F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 9

Perspectives on Martyrdom
ِ َّ ِ‫َو ال َ َْت َس َ ََّب َّاَّل َين ُق ِتلُوا يف َسبيل‬
‫اَّلل‬ the story of Rabbi Akiva who was their Lord, receiving His bounties
martyred by the Romans, but instead and blessings.
‫أَ ْموا ًات ب َ ْل أَ ْحيا ٌء ِع ْندَ َر ه ِِّب ْم ُي ْرزَ ُقون‬ of accepting his fate as a martyr, he The first martyr of Islam was
ran and hid from the Romans for as Sumayya bint Khayyat the mother of
Think not of those who were slain in long as he could.
the way of Allah as dead; rather they ‘Ammar ibn Yasir. She was killed by
are alive and have provision with their In the Christian Bible, aside from the Abu Jahl who stabbed her with a
Lord. stories of the prophets, most of the spear. She was among the first
(Aale-‘Imran [3]:169) references to martyrdom are found in people to accept Islam.
the Book of Revelations. In earlier It is narrated that after the Muslims
times, Christians regarded all those
POINTS TO lost in the battle of Uhud, the hypo-
Martyrdom is defined as death that is who were persecuted for their faith to crites who were themselves unwill-
PONDER imposed because of a person’s adher- be martyrs regardless of whether they ing to participate in the war began
UPON ence to a religious faith or cause. All were killed or not. beating the “we told you so” drums
world religions and cultures have their and saying that if their words were
 What are the own spiritual heroes who died for a
heeded, all those Muslims would
conditions for noble cause while attesting their faith. not have been killed.
martyrdom?
The two essential conditions for mar- This verse was revealed to show the
 What are the
tyrdom are volition (the martyr must
fallacy of their position and the lofty
teachings of
freely chose to give up his life) and position of those who lay down
different world necessity (in order to further his their lives for the sake of Allah. They
religions about cause). In the book ‘Sacrificing the are alive - but not with the physical
martyrdom? Self’, Margaret Cormack quotes three worldly life, rather with the life of
“It is easy to kill and be killed; what is
other characteristics of martyrdom
hard is making one’s death count for Barzakh wherein the martyrs occupy
 What is meant namely: reflection of opposition and life” the highest positions in proximity to
by martyrs persecution, eagerness to die and the Allah.
being alive and expectation of reward beyond death. The first Christian martyr was Saint
not dead? Some exegetes comment that when
Socrates is recorded to be the first Stephen who was stoned to death for it is said that they are not dead but
preaching his faith. The Orthodox
martyr of the western world. He was alive, it means that their name and
killed by hemlock poison in 399 B.C. Christians were not permitted to seek
martyrdom except if they had no mission continues to live even after
for refusing to give up his insistence their death. However, the explicit-
that all human beings possessed souls choice. St. Gregory of Nazianzus is
ness of this verse portrays another
that knew the difference between quoted as having said: it is mere rash- meaning.
ness to seek death, but it is cowardly
right and wrong.
to refuse it. The fact is that the short transitory
In Judaism, martyrdom is equated life of this world cannot be the
with sanctifying the Divine Name In Sikhism (which is arguably a mixture reason of our existence. There is life
between the teachings of Hinduism
(Kiddush Ha-Shem). It is deemed after death, an everlasting life. And
obligatory for Jews to give up their life and Islam), martyrdom is taken very
seriously. One is expected to be brave achieving felicity in that life is
rather than violate the three com- greater than any happiness that one
mandments with regards to idolatry, and stand up against all forms of injus-
can come by in this world.
unchastity or murder. Any martyrdom tice without flinching, even if it means
giving up one’s life. The martyrs - those who give up
Please send your beyond this is seen as a kind of infanti-
comments and cide since unborn progeny are con- In Islam, a special status is accorded to everything, even their lives for the
suggestions to: demned to oblivion. the martyrs. In the above-mentioned sake of Allah - are acknowledged
verse of the Qur’an, Allah tells us not and elevated for their sacrifice. May
tridhaj@yahoo.co.uk Historically, Jews have never sought Allah bless all the martyrs and in-
out martyrdom. The Talmud narrates to think of those who are killed His
way as dead, rather they are alive with clude us among their ranks - Ameen.