Definition Of Shaheed
In the light of Qur’an 3:169–170, a shaheed is, in the simplest terms, a person who is killed while standing sincerely for Allah’s cause — meaning for truth, justice, and moral responsibility — not for power, tribe, or personal interest. The Qur’an does not define a shaheed by the drama of their death or by later emotions attached to it, but by the intention and cause for which they gave their life, and the final confirmation of that status belongs to Allah alone. When the Qur’an says that martyrs are “alive” and “receiving provision from their Lord,” it does not mean physical life in this world; it refers to a special, honored form of barzakh life — a conscious, peaceful state after death in which they are cared for directly by Allah, free from fear and regret, and content with what they have been given. All believers have life after death, but the shaheed is distinguished by immediate honor, reassurance, and joy. From this Qur’anic perspective, figures like Imam Husayn (رضي الله عنه) are rightly regarded as shaheed: he stood against injustice and was killed unjustly, and therefore, according to the Qur’an, he is alive, honored, and at peace in the hereafter. Seen this way, perpetual mourning, self-harm, or ritualized grief does not arise from the Qur’an itself; such practices are expressions of historical pain and communal identity rather than divine instruction. This is also why scholars like Javed Ahmad Ghamidi tend to focus, when discussing Karbala, on its moral and ethical message — standing against tyranny and upholding justice — rather than emphasizing verses that describe the shaheed’s joyful state after death. The Qur’anic balance is to honor martyrs, learn from their stance, feel natural human grief without turning it into a permanent ritual, and trust that Allah has already granted them a far better state than anything our mourning could add.
Irfan bhai, but that is something inevitable, no? We have to remain prepared for death at anytime and no matter how much we love some one no one mourns anyone for so many centuries and on collective basis. If we ho by this logic than we should also mourn prophet muhammad or so many other sahabas who gave their life for God. The prophet or his family and every human being has to go one day.