In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Martyrdom, transfer to a loftier world
If a path becomes a path of justice, then a human being must not be afraid of martyrdom in that path. When we have risen to our feet for the cause of Islam and for the implementation of the traditions of the Prophet and the establishment of justice, then we must not be afraid of giving martyrs, martyrdom; or of our offspring being martyred or we ourselves being martyred. This has been a feature of Islam from the beginning. The Prophet of Islam and our Imams were self-sacrificing from the beginning. They were blessed with martyrdom; their children were martyred. Hadrat `Ali ibn Husayn «1» (`a) asks his father whether they were of the rightful, to which he replies that we are the rightful. Then we are not afraid of death. Only that person must be afraid of death who believes there is nothing after death and everything is this animal life. One who clings to this animalistic belief that life is only the life of this world and there is nothing else to it, well, he must safeguard these few days that he is going to live and he must fear his departure from this world. But Muslims, those who believe in the Qur'an, who believe in Islam and who believe in the existence of another world and a loftier existence and regard the life of the world as an animal life; who believe that human life is in another world loftier than here, are not afraid anymore; they have no fear. A human being is transferred from this location to another location that is far better than here. Therefore, this fact has existed from the time of the advent of Islam also when the companions of the Messenger of God would welcome martyrdom and take the lead from each other for martyrdom. The companions of Hadrat `Ali, Imam Husayn- the Doyen of the Martyrs- welcomed martyrdom with open arms; they would take the lead. This was based on the unshakeable belief that martyrdom was not the total obliteration of a human being and that it was not the end. Martyrdom is the transference from this world to a more exalted world, to a more luminous world, where everything is better than here.
Therefore, now it is the duty of all of us to be the guardians of Islam, to be the soldiers of Islam; and in this period when various groups have infiltrated among the people and are making mischief and want to bring a halt to our movement or push it backward, all of us have a duty to strive hard to push forward this movement so that God willing, Islam become implanted the way it should be, and all the flaws be eliminated by means of Islam.
I pray to the Blessed and Almighty God for the health and happiness of you, the youth; and I thank you for this strength of will, for this strength of body and for the hardships that you suffer in the path of Islam. May God protect all of you and grant you the happiness of both the worlds.