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It has many passages which indicate an authentic appreciation for and inchoate theory of martyrdom: “Say not of those who die in the path of God that they are dead. Nay rather they live” (2:154); “Count not those who were slain in God's way as dead, but rather living with their Lord, by Him provided, rejoicing in the bounty God has given them, and joyful in those who remain behind and have not joined them, because no fear shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow, joyful in blessing and bounty from God, and that God leaves not to waste the wage of the believers”. <ref>3:169–171; see also 9:20–22, 47:4, 61:11, and 3:157–158.</ref> These few verses illustrate that even though the word “martyr” may not be found explicitly in the Quran and martyrdom is represented through circumlocutions, nonetheless the virtue is emphatically and dramatically taught in the verses of the Holy Book. The Islamic ideal of martyrdom can be considered the logical adjunct to the overall Quranic view of death as illusory. This view is perhaps nowhere more succinctly represented in the Quran than at 62:6–7: “Say: ‘You of Jewry, if you assert that you are the friends of God, apart from other men, then do you long for death, if you speak truly.’ ” | It has many passages which indicate an authentic appreciation for and inchoate theory of martyrdom: “Say not of those who die in the path of God that they are dead. Nay rather they live” (2:154); “Count not those who were slain in God's way as dead, but rather living with their Lord, by Him provided, rejoicing in the bounty God has given them, and joyful in those who remain behind and have not joined them, because no fear shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow, joyful in blessing and bounty from God, and that God leaves not to waste the wage of the believers”. <ref>3:169–171; see also 9:20–22, 47:4, 61:11, and 3:157–158.</ref> These few verses illustrate that even though the word “martyr” may not be found explicitly in the Quran and martyrdom is represented through circumlocutions, nonetheless the virtue is emphatically and dramatically taught in the verses of the Holy Book. The Islamic ideal of martyrdom can be considered the logical adjunct to the overall Quranic view of death as illusory. This view is perhaps nowhere more succinctly represented in the Quran than at 62:6–7: “Say: ‘You of Jewry, if you assert that you are the friends of God, apart from other men, then do you long for death, if you speak truly.’ ” | ||
The doctrine of the Hereafter (al-akhirah) caused Muhammad much trouble with his early audiences, who stubbornly refused to accept the idea of life beyond the grave. In Islam, death is paradoxical—as in the famous statement of the Prophet: “Die before you die”—and that paradox supplies the energy for the strong belief in the spiritual station of martyrs. Islam thus deemed as “vainglory” the pre-Islamic Arab literary and cultural motif of fakhr (honor or pride in prowess on the field of tribal warfare) and replaced it with a glorification of the pious dedication to the struggle for the promotion of the Word of God. In the hadith collection of the ninth-century Persian compiler Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj we find the following statement by the prophet Muhammad: “Whosoever partakes of the battle from desire of glory or in order to show his courage, is no martyr; a martyr is only he who fights in order that Allah’s Word may be prevalent” (Wensinck, p. 95). Even though it remains to be seen whether or not the pre-Islamic phenomenon does not have a more positive relationship with the Islamic ideal of martyrdom, the change in ethos indicated here between the period of [https://www.britannica.com/topic/jahiliyah Jahiliyah] and the Islamic era is quite analogous to the change Christianity wrought in the pagan world. <ref>Lane Fox, 1989, p. 336.</ref> | The doctrine of the Hereafter (al-akhirah) caused Muhammad much trouble with his early audiences, who stubbornly refused to accept the idea of life beyond the grave. In Islam, death is paradoxical—as in the famous statement of the [[Prophet]]: “Die before you die”—and that paradox supplies the energy for the strong belief in the spiritual station of martyrs. Islam thus deemed as “vainglory” the pre-Islamic Arab literary and cultural motif of fakhr (honor or pride in prowess on the field of tribal warfare) and replaced it with a glorification of the pious dedication to the struggle for the promotion of the Word of God. In the hadith collection of the ninth-century Persian compiler Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj we find the following statement by the prophet Muhammad: “Whosoever partakes of the battle from desire of glory or in order to show his courage, is no martyr; a martyr is only he who fights in order that Allah’s Word may be prevalent” (Wensinck, p. 95). Even though it remains to be seen whether or not the pre-Islamic phenomenon does not have a more positive relationship with the Islamic ideal of martyrdom, the change in ethos indicated here between the period of [https://www.britannica.com/topic/jahiliyah Jahiliyah] and the Islamic era is quite analogous to the change Christianity wrought in the pagan world. <ref>Lane Fox, 1989, p. 336.</ref> | ||
Thus, as Wensinck has pointed out, martyrdom in Islam is intimately connected with the rewards of Paradise. This is clear in the hadith literature, which served as a basis for the final elaboration of the doctrine of martyrdom by the fuqahaʿ (legal scholars) of Islam. Indeed, the hadith literature is vastly more supportive of and unambiguous about martyrdom than is the Quran. There are countless explicit statements attributed to the Prophet which make it clear that those who die for Islam enjoy a special rank. | Thus, as Wensinck has pointed out, martyrdom in Islam is intimately connected with the rewards of Paradise. This is clear in the hadith literature, which served as a basis for the final elaboration of the doctrine of martyrdom by the fuqahaʿ (legal scholars) of Islam. Indeed, the hadith literature is vastly more supportive of and unambiguous about martyrdom than is the Quran. There are countless explicit statements attributed to the [[Prophet]] which make it clear that those who die for Islam enjoy a special rank. | ||
As a result, Muslims esteem martyrdom highly. Islamic respect for martyrdom can be ritualistic or devotional, as in the case of the [[taʿziya]] (consolation) commemorations in [[Shiʿa|Shi’ism]], or historical, as in the manner in which all Muslims idealize the formative struggle of the early band of Muslims under the leadership of Muhammad. It can also be existential: that is, Muslims may seek to become martyrs. All three responses to the ideal have existed throughout Islamic history (Cook). The ideal of martyrdom can be read into the very name of the religion: Islam means submission to the will of God. And the primary—not to say archetypal—act of submission is, according to the Islamic tradition, Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, and, presumably, his son's willingness to comply, thereby rendering that son (unidentified in the Quran ) a martyr, or more accurately, one who was willing to become a martyr. | As a result, Muslims esteem martyrdom highly. Islamic respect for martyrdom can be ritualistic or devotional, as in the case of the [[taʿziya]] (consolation) commemorations in [[Shiʿa|Shi’ism]], or historical, as in the manner in which all Muslims idealize the formative struggle of the early band of Muslims under the leadership of Muhammad. It can also be existential: that is, Muslims may seek to become martyrs. All three responses to the ideal have existed throughout Islamic history (Cook). The ideal of martyrdom can be read into the very name of the religion: Islam means submission to the will of God. And the primary—not to say archetypal—act of submission is, according to the Islamic tradition, Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, and, presumably, his son's willingness to comply, thereby rendering that son (unidentified in the Quran ) a martyr, or more accurately, one who was willing to become a martyr. | ||