If the feat of defying death and seeking martyrdom be...

If the feat of defying death and seeking martyrdom be divorced from the event of Ashura it will be nothing more than an insurrection against Umayyad rule by an extremely unequal military force. It would not have achieved its goals as expected by those who were advising Husayn (as) against his journey to Iraq, without realising his intention. The Imam (as) was seeing what they were not seeing and knew what they knew not. How Do People Face Death?

Death is an important matter with regard to how people organize their lives. With respect to this natural phenomenon which is a part of God’s inexorable norms, people fall into two groups: the overwhelming majority who are apprehensive of death and try to escape it, and the minority who challenge death and long for it. The fear of death and challenging death, play a significant role in organizing people’s lives and in determining their destiny.

If a nation is afraid of death oppressive rulers will not need much effort to subjugate and cow them down. Their lives become subservient to the despot and they gradually lose their innate nature and conscience, which form the basis of a decent life. However, a nation which has the power to face death without fear and proves it, cannot be made to bow down to the will of tyrants. It is impossible to rob such people of their will and goals.

We shall now dwell, to some extent, on these two situations (i.e. fear of death and challenging death): Fear of Death Fear of death deeply affects people’s lives and has wide-ranging effects in society with respect to activism and struggle, so this phenomenon deserves a closer study. By God’s will, we will discuss, in what follows, the causes of this phenomenon, its negative effects on society, and the useful educative ways to cure minds of this condition.

Causes Attachment to the world is among the most important causes of fear of death. If one lives in this world like all people and enjoys its good things but his heart does not get attached to it, death will not frighten him. We shall discuss this point presently, God willing. Another cause of fear of death is poor preparation for the hereafter, because of which one is afraid of embarking on a new phase of life that will be everlasting.

It is to this fact that the following Qur’anic verse alludes, while addressing the Jews, who believed that God preferred them over all other nations and that they were His friends to the exclusion of other people: "Say, ‘O Jews!