The mujahidin are not only “the friends of Allah...

The mujahidin are not only “the friends of Allah,” they are “the distinctive friends of Allah.’’ In the hereafter, there will be degrees and grades, but no classes. Everyone having faith, good deeds and piety will have a grade. Everyone will be on one of the grades of faith, piety and good deeds. Everyone has ascended the stairs of perfection to a certain stage; and accordingly, a door of similar grade will open for him. That world is a heavenly manifestation of this world.

The door through which the martyrs will enter paradise is the door of the distinctive friends of Allah. The difference in the grades of purity and piety can also be inferred from the Qur’an: “There is no blame on those who believe and do good deeds for what they eat, as long as they are careful of their duty, believe and do good deeds, then again they are careful of their duty and believe, and they are careful of their duty and do good to others.

And Allah loves the good.” (Qur’an 5: 93) This verse has explained two very profound teachings of Islam. First: The stages and degrees of belief and piety. Second: The aim of life and rights of man. The verse wants to imply that the blessings of Allah are for human beings and human beings are for belief, piety and good deeds. The piety of the mujahidin is the purest and highest form of piety; the martyrs have sincerely sacrificed everything for the cause of Allah.

They have donned the dress of the purest type of piety. Then the Imam says: “Whoever abandons it. Allah covers him with the dress of disgrace and the clothes of distress. He is kicked with contempt and scorn, and his heart is veiled with screens (of neglect). Truth is taken away from him because of missing jihad.

He has to suffer ignominy and justice is denied to him.” The person who neglects jihad because of his indifference to it, (and not because of the situation in which he does not consider that time is right for jihad), will suffer the consequences mentioned in the above saying of Imam Ali.

There is another interesting hadith of the Prophet which says : “The one who has not fought (in the way of Allah) and has not even thought about it in his own mind, he shall die with a (hidden) type of hypocrisy.” It means that Islam cannot be separated from jihad or at the least from a wish to fight in the way of Allah. The true faith of a Muslim can be recognized by this standard, i.e., longing to fight in the way of Allah.