The word "shahid" (martyr) means "witness", in the sense of
one who is a witness to the Truth of God as manifested in the Qur'an and in history.
It describes a type of person who has clearly understood the distinction between
truth and falsehood and who, by the example of his life and the manner of his death
becomes a criterion (furqan), a standard of judgement between right and wrong. By
fulfilling the principles of The Criterion (that is, the Holy Qur'an) in his life,
he becomes an example of principle put into practice, of ideology transformed into
reality. Both his life and his death witness to the Truth of the Qur'an as both are
a reflection of the principles found therein.
The heart of the word is in the act of witnessing. Yet man cannot be a witness
to Truth unless he has recognized, understood, and made it a part of himself, of
his personality and of his very being. So hand in hand with the concept of shahid
there is the unavoidable implication that one has achieved a "consciousness"
(taqwa) of God and what he has commanded. This consciousness then leads to an awareness
of existing conditions in the world and the will to change these conditions and bring
them in line with Truth.
It is a movement from inner realization of Truth to the outer fulfillment of it.
Without the first, there cannot be the second. A person cannot be a witness to a
process or event of which he has no understanding. The deeper the understanding,
the greater the value of the Witness becomes. And the greater the value of a thing,
the more keenly its loss is felt. Yet the paradox is that it is precisely those who
have the greatest worth (in the sense of knowledge, correct understanding, and correct
practice) who are the most acutely aware of their responsibility as Muslims...and
these are the ones who carry out their submission even to death.
There are few men in history who had a greater right to live, a greater worth
than Imam Husain (a.s.) yet it was he who made the sacrifice and fulfilled the duty
of witnessing to the truth in a time when the truth was being distorted and twisted
by a regime (the Umayaads) who wore Islam as a mask and used the Qur'an as a wrapping
to conceal their inner corruption.
The lesson taught by the martyrs of history is one of vital importance to the
ummah of today. The actions of a shahid are a microcosm of the principles found in
the Qur'an. It is the martyrs who bring these values into focus and who, through
their blood, revitalize a stagnant and fearful ummah. This is why the Qur'an bestows
upon the martyr such a high and noble standing within Islam and before God. They
have lost their lives, their physical bodies but have given fresh impetus to the
Truth of Islam and have themselves become a standard and ideal for future generations.
Irshaad Hussain
Martyrdom
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim