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wa-la-qad kuntum tamannawna l-mawta min qabli ʾan talqawhu fa-qad raʾaytumūhu wa-ʾantum tanẓurūna
Certainly you were longing for death before you had encountered it. Then certainly, you saw it, as you were looking on.
— Ali Quli Qarai
3Āl ʿImrānآل عمرانVerse 143 of 200
The Family of Imran3. Āl ʿImrānآل عمران
Āl ‘Imrān
Family of Imran
MedinanVerse 143 of 200
Surah 'Ali-Imran, Verse 143
143. "And really you were longing for death before you met it (the holy struggle); but (now that) you have seen it, you look (at it)!"
In the occasion of revelation of this verse, it has been said that after the Battle of Badr when the Muslims won the war and some believers were slain, too, some of the remaining persons wished that they had also been slain in the Battle of Badr in the path of Allah. But, in the following year, when the Battle of 'Uhud took place, they ran away from it. These people are criticized and scorned in this verse.
Explanation
1. Be not deceived by your wishes, and do not trust on any empty motto or on anyone who claims it.
2. It is in practice and in the field of action that human beings are tried. In the supplication of the martyrs of Karbala, we recite:
"We wish we had been with you and had been killed as you."
Have we ever thought that how much do we do practically in action?