Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Ethical Discourses: Volume 2 Discourse 21: Modesty قَالَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ: مَا الْمُجَاهِدُ الشَّهِيدُ فِي سَـبِيلِ اللٌّهِ بِأَعْظَمِ أَجْراً مِمَّنْ قَدَرَ فَعَفَّ لَكَادَ الْعَفِيفُ أَنْ يَكُونَ مَلِكاً مِنَ الْمَلاَئِكَةِ. It has been narrated that the Commander of the Faithful, ‘Ali b.
Abi Talib (as) said, “The reward given to the Mujahid (soldier) who dies in the way of Allah is no less than the one who has the ability to perform a sin, however does not perform it. It is close (to being that) the person who has modesty is (actually) an Angel from amongst the Angels.”[^1] In Islam, the status of the martyrs (Shuhada) is something very high and there is no status greater than this.
In addition, the verses of the Qur`an present a visage of the martyrs which has not been presented for any other person: وَ لاَ تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ قُـتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللٌّهِ أَمْوَاتاً بَلْ أَحْـيَآءٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّـهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ “Do not consider those who have been killed in the way of Allah as being dead; rather, they are alive in the presence of their Lord receiving sustenance (from Him).”[^2] The one being addressed in this verse is the Prophet (S) and we see that the wording used in this verse has not been mentioned for any other person in the Qur`an!
The martyrs are also given great importance in the traditions. The late Shaykh Kulayni has narrated that the Prophet (S) has said: فَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي بِرِّ بِرٌّ حَتَّى يُقْتَلِ الرَّجُلُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللٌّهِ. فَإِذَا قُتِلَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللٌّهِ فَلَيْسَ فَوْقِهِ بِرٌّ. “Above every goodness is (another) goodness, until that time that a person is killed in the way of Allah.
So then when he is killed in the way of Allah, then there is no other goodness greater than this.”[^3] There is also a statement given by our master ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (as) in the letter he wrote to Malik al-Ashtar in which he stated: وَ أَنَا أَسْئَلُ اللٌّهَ بِسَعَةِ رَحْمَتِهِ وَ بِعَظِيمِ قُدْرَتِهِ أَنْ يَخْتِمَ لِي وَ لَكَ بِالسَّعَادَةِ وَ الشَّهَادَةِ.
“And I ask Allah by the great expanse of His Mercy and by the greatness of His power that he makes my and your end felicitious and (to be blessed with) martyrdom.” In addition, there are numerous other verses and traditions which show us the great status of the martyrs. We know that the meaning of martyrdom (Shahadat) is very wide. The standard meaning is that a person dies in the way of Allah (SwT) by being killed in the battlefield.