Ayatollah Khamenei

Martyrdom is the best bargain with God: Imam Khamenei

The following is the full text of a speech delivered on February 5, 2018, by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with the officials in charge of commemorating Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq Saduq and the 372 martyrs of Golpayegan.


In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful,

 

As the gentlemen in the meeting pointed out, the city and area of Golpayegan is an area which cultivates many scholars. In the past 150 years, great scholars have emerged from this city. In the present time, too, there are some great scholars from Golpayegan in Islamic seminaries. However, the color and quality of martyrdom is something beyond these things.

 

Thankfully, as the gentlemen pointed out, the city of Golpayegan has had outstanding martyrs, including the late Shahid Saduq. I have not met him, personally, but the characteristics that you've mentioned are outstanding characteristics: first, the characteristic of serving the people, second the characteristic of facing and confronting the Taghuti [tyrannical] apparatus, and most importantly, the characteristic of martyrdom on the path to God. He lost his life on this path and he was martyred: this is a valuable and magnificent deed. I hope that God will raise his position and associate him with his saints, with the martyrs of the early Islamic era and with the martyrs of Karbala (blessing be upon them).

 

Other men who were martyred in the arena of fighting against the enemy –whether during the Sacred Defense Era or in other areas – all enjoy the lofty position of martyrdom. On the issue of martyrdom, what is important is that one becomes ready to sacrifice his life on the path to God. All our self-sacrificing soldiers who were prepared to lay down their lives enjoyed this virtue, but sometimes, Allah the Exalted particularly favors some individuals by rewarding them– with martyrdom – in cash." So, the value of such individuals increases several times because they receive the rewards of such jihad in cash: "Allah has purchased of the believers their persons and their goods. For theirs in return is the garden of Paradise. They fight for His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the Gospel, and the Qur'an… [The Holy Quran, 9: 111]." In other words, Allah the Exalted accepted the commodity of martyrs – their lives and their persons – and has rewarded them directly with Paradise in exchange. --This is the best deal and the best profit.

 

Our life is a resource which will be lost, in any case, whether we want it or not. There is no person who can preserve this life which is their most valuable resource. It exists for a while, and then it will be taken from us. This outcome happens in various ways: a person gets into an accident, for example, in the desert or on the streets, and they die like so. Another person dies of some disease, but another person bargains with God. They trade this perishable life with God. Before the Revolution, I used to frequently add that martyrdom is a merchant-style of death. It is a calculated death. A person who is martyred on the path of God is actually making the best kind of calculation. --This is because our life is not something eternal.

 

According to a common saying in Farsi, "Spilt oil should be donated to an Imamzadeh [an Imam's child] as an offering." Well, our lives are like spilled oil because they cannot be preserved. If one offers this to an Imamzadeh (as), this is a valuable and clever act. Our martyrs had the intelligence to trade this perishable life with Allah the Exalted. Allah the Exalted speaks to them in this tone: "Allah has purchased of the believers their persons." Dear God, who are we that you want to purchase our lives? This life belongs to you: it is yours, and we have no power over it.

 

Notice that Allah the Exalted places a very high value on mujahids who struggle on the path of God: "…Allah has purchased of the believers their persons and their goods. For theirs in return is the garden of Paradise. They fight in His cause, and slay and are slain [The Holy Quran, 9: 111]." --This is what sacrifice is. Allah the Exalted has chosen this path for our martyrs: we should attach great value to this.

 

You, who are defending, supporting, respecting and venerating this dear clergy-martyr – Shahid Saduq – and the other martyrs of your city should know that this is an exceptional task. I hope that Allah the Exalted will reward you, God willing. I hope that, like its past, the future of Golpayegan will be imbued with knowledge, spirituality, and self-sacrifice.

 

Greetings are upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings

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  • Martyrdom

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