Allah Almighty says the following for martyrs: "And say not of those who are slain in the way of Allah: 'They are dead.' Nay, they are living." In another verse, He says, "Every soul shall have taste of Death." So, what is the ruling for martyrs?

Allah Almighty says the following for martyrs: "And say not of those who are slain in the way of Allah: 'They are dead.' Nay, they are living." In another verse, He says, "Every soul shall have taste of Death." So, what is the ruling for martyrs?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Martyrs also pass from the world of life to the realm of grave, the realm which is called barzakh when they die. For, their spirits leave their body as well and corpses are buried in the soil. In this sense, they die, too. However, they are not aware that they are dead.

Martyrs wander around freely in the realm of grave.They do not know that they are dead. They think as if they are living the world life. They only know that they are living a much perfect life. For this reason, the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) says, “Martyrs do not feel the agony of death.”

So the meaning of the expression of the Qur'an, "And say not of those who are slain in the way of Allah: 'They are dead." is this. That is, they are not aware that they are dead; they think that they are alive and living.

For example, think of two persons. They are together in a very beautiful garden in their dreams. One of them knows that he is dreaming. The other is not aware that he is dreaming. Which one takes more pleasure? Definitely, the one who does not know that it is a dream. The person who is aware that it is a dream thinks, “If I wake up, all this enjoyment will disappear.”While the other man experiences true pleasure and delight.

So the pleasure of people who die without being martyred is deficient because they are aware that they are dead.However, the pleasure and enjoyment of martyrs are perfect since they are not aware that they are dead. This is stated in the Qur'an.

The spirits of people who die as believers and who are not tormented in the grave wander around freely. Thus, they can go to many places. They can be present in many places. It is possible that they are around us. Is is even said that Hazrat Hamza (May Allah be pleased with him) – the lord of the martyrs – has helped so many people. (see Nursi, The Letters, The First Letter)

Death is not non-existence. It is a door to a much better realm. A seed under the soil is dead in appearance, perishes and disappears. However, in reality, it passes to a much better realm of life. It passes from the life of a seed to the life of a tree.

Similarly, a dead person is buried in the soil in appearance and perishes but in reality, he reaches a much better life in the realm of barzakh and grave.

The body and spirit is like a lamp and electricity. When the lamp is broken, the electricity does not disappear; it continues to exist. Though we do not see it, we believe that the electricity still exists. Similarly, with death, the spirit leaves the body. However, it continues to exist. Almighty Allah gives the spirit a much better garment which is suitable to it and let it live in the realm of grave.

For this reason, the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) informed us about the existence of grave life and how it will be in the following hadith;

"The grave is either a garden from the gardens of Paradise, or a ditch from the ditches of Hell."

Humans that come from the realm of spirits to the wombs are born in this world. They meet here. Similarly, with death, the people in this world are born in the realm of barzakh and wander around there. We send off those who go from this realm. Similarly, there are people in the realm of grave who welcome those that go from this world. Inshallah - Allah willing, all of our beloved ones primarily the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) will welcome us there as long as we are real slaves of Allah.

Just like we welcome a new born baby here, so too will we be welcomed by our friends inshallah - Allah willing - when we go to the realm of barzakh.

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