The Virtues of Martyrdom
by Imaam ul Haramain Usaamah Khayyat

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Taken from www.alminbar.net

First Khutbah
O Muslims! Achieving noble and lofty objectives
require enormous sacrifices in proportion. There can
be no doubt that the higher an objective is, the
greater its sacrifice must be. Therefore, if ones
ultimate objective is to please Allah and hope to be
granted Paradise, then defending Allah’s religion and
protecting His Book and sacred places ranks highest in
attempting to attain His pleasure.

Sacrifice comes in many shapes, forms and levels, it
can be performed through many different channels, but
there is no doubt that the sacrificing of one’s soul
for the sake of Allah in order to defeat His enemies
and support Islam is the very highest level. This is
of course Shahadah, or martyrdom. The Prophet
sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam exerted maximum effort to
instil the magnitude of Shahadah as well as the
concept of Jihad deep into the hearts of his
companions and his followers who were to come after
him. He sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam used two methods
in order to achieve this objective:

Firstly: By repeatedly declaring his deep love and
fervent wish for Shahadah. Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be
pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet sallAllahu
‘alaihi wa sallam said: “I swear by the One in Whose
Hands my soul is, I wish that I would fight for the
sake of Allah (i.e., Jihad ) and get martyred, then
return and fight again and get martyred, then return
and fight again and get martyred” (Bukhari & Muslim)
What a wonderful wish coming from the purest of
hearts! This is nothing except a reflection of deep
love and overwhelming desire; a desire to attain
Shahadah, which is one of the greatest paths to
Paradise.

Secondly: By explaining the virtues of Shahadah and
the ranks of the martyrs in Paradise as well as
descriptions of their bounties, such as in the Hadeeth
when Marwan said: “We asked ‘Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud, may
Allah be pleased with him, about the following verse:
(which translates as): “And never think of those who
have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead.
Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving
provision.” (Aal-‘Imran: 169).’He, may Allah be
pleased with him, replied: “We asked the Prophet
sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam about this verse and he
replied: “Their (i.e., the martyrs souls) will live
inside green birds that dwell in designated lamps
which hang on the throne of Allah, they will roam
freely in Paradise as they please, then return to
these lamps”” (Muslim).

A Shahid has six other benefits; Al-Miqdam Ibn Ma’di
Karib, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that
the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said:

“A martyr has six bounties: He will be forgiven with
the first drop of his blood that is spilt; He will see
his place in Paradise (at the time of death); He will
be saved from the ‘Great Horror’ (on the Day of
Judgment): A Crown of Dignity will be placed on his
head, which contains many corundums, each one being
more precious than this life and all that it contains;
He will have seventy two Women of Paradise; And, he
will be allowed to intercede for seventy of his family
members (who would have otherwise gone to hell).”
(Tirmidhi & Ibn Maajah).

The pain that a martyr feels at the time of death will
be reduced so greatly that he will only feel as if he
was stung by a mosquito. Abu Hurayrah narrated that
the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said:

“A martyr only feels from the effect of being killed
that which one would when being stung by a mosquito.”
(Tirmidhi, Nasa’i and others).

Moreover, the finest dwellings in Paradise are those
of the martyrs. Samurah Ibn Jundub, may Allah be
pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet sallAllahu
‘alaihi wa sallam said:

“Last night I was inspired (through a dream); I saw
two men come to me and take me up a tree (in Paradise)
then into a dwelling which was the best I have ever
seen; they informed me that it was the dwelling of the
martyrs.” (Bukhari).

Also, the angels spread their wings over the body of a
martyr as a form of honour, dignity and respect. Jabir
Ibn ‘Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him narrated:

“My father’s body was brought to the Prophet
sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam on the day of Uhud. The
disbelievers had mutilated it; I went to uncover his
face when some of my family members stopped me. Then
the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam heard a woman
crying, so he said:“Why are you crying? Do not cry,
the angels are continuing to shade him””.

Among all the dwellers of Paradise, only the martyrs
would wish to return to this life. This is due to the
immense rewards and respect that have been mentioned
in the previous Ahadith. Anas bin Malik, may Allah be
pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet sallAllahu
‘alaihi wa sallam said:

“Nobody who enters Paradise would ever wish to return
to this life again, even if he was to be given the
whole world and everything in it – except for a
martyr; for he would wish to return and get killed ten
times due to the honour that he received (in
Paradise).”

and in another narration:

“For what he finds as virtues of martyrdom.” (Bukhari
& Muslim).

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that these poignant
prophetic words had such a great impact on the hearts
of the pious chosen generation of the companions of
the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. It deeply
instilled the concepts of Shahadah into their hearts
along with the fervent wish of achieving this exalted
status, so they toiled continuously to achieve it.
There are a multitude of stories that demonstrate
this, for example: Anas bin Maalik, may Allah be
pleased with him, narrated:

“The Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam took off
with his companions and they beat the polytheists in
reaching Badr. When the polytheists arrived there, the
Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “None of
you should do anything until I proceed.” Then, when
the disbelievers came closer to them, the Prophet
sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “Rise to Paradise,
which is as wide as the distance between the heavens
and the earth.” ‘Umayr Ibn Al-Hamam, may Allah be
pleased with him, asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah, is it
really as wide than the heavens and earth?’ He
sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam replied: “Yes.” Thereupon
‘Umayr said: ‘Bakh Bakh.’ (an expression reflecting
astonishment). The Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa
sallam asked: “What made you say Bakh Bakh?” He said:
‘Nothing, except the desire to be of its dwellers.’
The Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “You
will be of its people.” Then ‘Umayr, may Allah be
pleased with him, took out some dates which he had in
his arrow pouch and started eating them, then he
stopped and said to himself: ‘Indeed it would a too
long a life for me if I were to live long enough to
finish eating these dates’ - then he threw them away
and fought until he was killed.”

Just look at how this companion viewed the few moments
needed for eating dates as being too long a time to
live! The words of people like these at the time of
their martyrdom were as powerful as earthquakes, so
much so that in some cases, words like these resulted
in their enemies embracing Islam such as in the
following narration:

Haraam Ibn Malhan, may Allah be pleased with him, was
one of a group of companions of the Prophet sallAllahu
‘alaihi wa sallam who had memorised the Qur’an and
were experts in it. The Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa
sallam dispatched seventy of this group to inform a
group of polytheist tribes about Islam and recite the
Qur’an to them. However the tribes of Ra’l and Dhikwan
from among these polytheist tribes betrayed and
slaughtered the whole group of companions near a well
called Ma’unah. As Haram, may Allah be pleased with
him, was being killed, he screamed in front of his
killer: “I swear by the Lord of Al-Ka’bah that I
won!”After this, his killer went about asking people
what these words meant (i.e., that Haram had won)
until he was told that what Haram, may Allah be
pleased with him, meant was that he had attained
martyrdom. Due to this, the killer embraced Islam.
This narration was mentioned in the book of Bukhari.

Some of the companions of the Prophet sallAllahu
‘alaihi wa sallam would smell the scent of Paradise
and it would make them unable to control their desire
to fight strongly and valiantly to the death. Anas Ibn
Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

“My uncle Anas Ibn An-Nadhr, may Allah be pleased
with him, missed the battle of Badr, so he said to the
Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam: ‘O messenger of
Allah, I missed the first battle that you fought
against the polytheists, but if Allah allows me to
participate in the next one, then He will see what I
can do.’ Then, after the day of the battle of Uhud
when the some Muslims retreated he went forth saying:
‘O Allah I seek your forgiveness for what they have
done (i.e., the Muslims for retreating) and I
disassociate myself from what those have done (i.e.,
the polytheists for killing the Muslims)’, as he
continued going forth, he came across Sa’d Ibn Mu’adh,
may Allah be pleased with him, and said: ‘O Sa’d! I
swear by the Lord of the tribe of An-Nadhr, it is
Paradise (i.e., the reward for martyrdom). I can smell
its fragrance close to Uhud.’” After the battle, Sa’d
Ibn Mu’adh told the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa
sallam: “I swear By Allah, on that day I could not
perform as he did.” Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be
pleased with him, continued: “(After the battle) we
found more than eighty gashes on his (i.e., Anas Ibn
An-Nadhr’s) body which were the result of swords,
arrows and spears. In fact, the polytheists had
mutilated his body so much that nobody could recognise
who it was, except his sister, who identified him from
his fingers.” (Bukhari & Muslim).

Here is another narration, one of a Bedouin whose
sincere wish for martyrdom was granted:

Shaddad Ibn Al-Haad, may Allah be pleased with him,
narrated: “A Bedouin came to the Prophet sallAllahu
‘alaihi wa sallam, accepted Islam and said:

‘I wish to migrate (to Madinah)’. So the Prophet
sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam asked some of his
companions to take care of him. Then after a battle,
the Muslims had gained some booty so the Prophet
sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam divided it and gave the
Bedouin’s share to some of his companions to look
after, as the Bedouin was still at the rearguard. When
the Bedouin returned, they gave him his share, so he
asked them: ‘What is this?’ they replied: ‘It is your
share from the booty which the Prophet sallAllahu
‘alaihi wa sallam gave us to hold on to for you.’ So
the Bedouin took the booty and went to the Prophet
sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam and asked: ‘What is
this?’ The Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam
replied: “Your share of the booty.” The Bedouin said:
‘This is not why I believe in you and follow you;
rather, I follow you so that I can get shot by an
arrow right here, (and then he pointed to his throat)
then die and enter Paradise.’ The Prophet sallAllahu
‘alaihi wa sallam said: “If you are sincere then Allah
will grant you your wish.”After a short while,
fighting resumed and the Bedouins body was brought to
the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam with an arrow
in his throat at exactly the spot where he had pointed
to the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. Thereupon
The Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “He was
sincere so Allah granted him his wish.” Then using his
own garment, the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam
shrouded the Bedouin, prayed the funeral prayer over
him and was heard by his companions to say during the
prayer: “O Allah! This is Your slave who migrated for
Your sake and was killed as a martyr – and I testify
to this”.

Which testimony could ever be more honourable, sincere
and truthful than this great one given by the Prophet
sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam?

There are abundant examples from the lives of the
companions of Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam
which illustrate their burning desire to achieve
martyrdom – and what a noble objective this is!

Also, in our time, many of the shining stars from the
righteous of the Muslim nation have joined the caravan
of martyrdom. These are the people whose blood
testifies to their heroism and immense sacrifice; they
are the martyrs of Bosnia, Kosova, Chechnya and before
them Afghanistan, as well as many other Muslim lands.

Today we Muslims and indeed the entire world can
witness the greatness of martyrdom being illustrated
in the uprising of Palestine in general and Al-Aqsa In
particular. This kind of stance, which revives the
magnitude and virtues of martyrdom in the heart of the
Muslim nation, is exactly what we need at this time.
It is vital that the Muslims exert every effort to
spread the love for achieving martyrdom just like the
pious early generations of Muslims did. We must
continue on the same road that they were on, which is
that of our Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam and
indeed all the prophets before him, in order to
support our religion and defeat our enemies.

O Muslims around the world! Support your brothers in
Al-Aqsa as this is obligatory upon all of you. Do not
forsake them, listen to the saying of your Prophet
sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam:

“Any Muslim who forsakes his fellow Muslim at a time
when his honour and sanctity are being attacked will
have Allah forsaking him at the time when needs His
support the most. Any Muslim who supports his fellow
Muslim at a time when his honour and sanctity are
being attacked will have Allah supporting him at the
time when needs His support the most.” (Ahmad & Abu
Dawud).

O people of knowledge and leaders of influence! Revive
the importance of martyrdom and reawaken the spirit of
seeking it. Instil the virtues of it in the hearts and
minds by all methods possible, whether that is
written, audio, video or otherwise. Our country has
set an example in supporting this and donating
generously in its cause from all different sections of
its community; scholars, officials, men, women,
elderly and children alike have not held back in this,
which is cause for delight to the believers and
enragement for the Jews as well as those who support
and protect them. Likewise, in all other Muslim
countries, the Muslims have supported their
Palestinian brethren. May Allah reward everyone for
all that they have sacrificed in support of their
brothers in faith. We ask Allah that this convoy of
support will continue and increase. We must increase
in this and therefore rush towards Paradise which is
greater than the heavens and earth. Allah says what
translates as“Indeed, Allah has purchased from the
believers their lives and their properties [in
exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight
in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed.
[It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah
and the Gospel and the Qur’aan. And who is truer to
his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in your
transaction which you have contracted. And it is that
which is the great attainment.” (At-Tawbah: 111).

Second Khutbah
Slaves of Allah! The biased Western Media has always
described the struggle of our persevering brothers in
Al-Aqsa against Jewish aggression as acts of terrorism
and violence. They have recently started another
campaign against this resistance and are using all
their available means to put an end to it.

Slaves of Allah! The Jews are described in the Book of
Allah as those who distort words and facts and quote
them out of context and this is exactly what they and
their supporters from the tyrant regimes all over the
world are currently doing. They use false terminology
to misguide, confuse and deceive. What your brothers
are committing in Al-Aqsa are not acts of mindless
violence, but rather it is a blessed uprising to
resist and curtail the Jewish oppression and
aggression: this is a legal right which all religions,
ideologies and international laws recognise. Nobody
could deny this fact except the ignorant, arrogant or
evildoers.

Suppose we were to agree, for the sake of argument,
that this uprising is nothing but mindless and random
violence, then we must ask ourselves: who was the one
who initiated this? Was it not one of their leaders
when he broke in to Al-Aqsa with his soldiers who shot
live bullets at a congregation of worshippers while
they were in prayer? The truth is so clear! How can
people regard the victim and the murderer as the same?
How can the oppressor and the oppressed be equal? The
truth is clear, but the Jews are deceivers. Allah says
that which translates as: “They [think to] deceive
Allah and those who believe, but they deceive not
except themselves and perceive [it] not.” (An-Nisaa’:
142)’.

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Summary
1. Noble objectives require enormoussacrifices.

2. Sacrificing one’s soul is the ultimatesacrifice.

3. The status of the martyr and the virtues ofmartyrdom.

4. Examples of martyrs from among the
companions of the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.

5. Examples of contemporary martyrs.

6. A call to support the Muslims in Palestine
and a stern warning against forsaking them.

7. The deceitful Western Media and its twisting of facts.