In the name of Allah (s.w.t)

This book is in memory of those candles of the path of Allah (s.w.t) who sacrificed their lives in the way of Allah and by extinguishing their candles of life they gave the lessons of life, eternity and freedom to people like us.

“If you have to die, then die like Chamran”. These are the words of the leader of martyrs, Imam Khomeini (r.a). Death is a reality which cannot be denied by any- one. The question which the Imam (r.a) has raised is more about life then about death. This great person, Mustafa Chamran, was martyred as a result of his fruitful and crusading life in the way of Allah (s.w.t). The respected scholar of the book that is in your hand, Hujjatul Islam Syed Jawad Naqvi, has delivered several dis- courses on the subject of martyrdom and in fact has taught us the way of living. As he says, it is not the piercing of a piece of metalon a body of a person that gives him the esteemed status of martyr. Rather, it is the struggle of the person in his life on the path of Allah (s.w.t) which makes him eligible to be hunted by the enemies who could not tolerate his existence and thus desire to pierce his body with bullets.

Martyrdom is the result and outcome of the struggle of a person on the right path, but unfortunately those who have been listening to the name of the Doyen of Mar- tyrs (a.s) right from their cradle and consider it as a matter of prestige to be the followers of Hussain ibn Ali (a.s) are not desirous and longing for this type of death.

The book that is in your hands is not a book about the merits and rewards that a martyr recieves from Allah (s.w.t). It is about the life and the kind of struggle that a person has to undergo to be qualified to achieve this status. This book is a collection of several discourses delivered by the respected scholar on this subject on several occasions specifically related to a specific event of martyrdom of in- nocent Shia Muslims in Pakistan and some discourses delivered on the graves of some martyrs. This book has been organized and given a flow for the readers to understand the subject from its basics which is the role of the human being in a society.

A person who is only concerned about himself, his personal life, feeding his chil- dren, earning money, gaining materialistic status and is not concerned about the society, the evils of the society and effects of these evils on his self and ultimate goal of his creation is far away from achieving this prestigious death. This book is a mirror which reflects the kind of life we are living and the kind of life Islam as a religion expects us to live, as a follower of Hussain ibn Ali (a.s) and commemora- tor of the event of Karbala.

This book is a gem, which at certain places would send shivers across the spine of the readers when they realize in the light of Qur’an and character of Ahlulbayt (a.s) what should be our role and responsibilities towards the society.

This book has been a difficult task for me to translate in the sense that the depth which the respected scholar has taken this subject into was very difficult to be expressed in English. I have tried my best to maintain the same lucidity in the content which the scholar has maintained in his speeches. I hope that this book is not just a one-time reading material, but a precious resource for generations to come. It is a lamp of guidance for distressed communities who are victim of tyranny, oppression and are struggling to find the path of salvation.

The least I could do was to organize these marvelous speeches on this subject into a English book form for the international audience and now it is my duty and as well the duty of others to ensure that this book gets in the hands of as many deserving believing brothers and sisters as possible across the globe.

It is once again an opportunity (Tawfeeq) of Allah (s.w.t) for a meager person like me to translate the matter related to these sacred beings, who are the martyrs of Islam, who are the responders to the call of Hussain ibn Ali (a.s) on the eve of Ashura. I pray to Allah (s.w.t) to grant me with more such opportunities to be of service to this great religion pioneered by great leaders.

We pray for all that after reading this book, we also develop in our hearts a long- ing desire to follow the path of these great martyrs and our bodies should also be soaked in our own blood at the time of leaving this world.

-Syed A V Rizvi