Muḥammad

سَيَهْدِيهِمْ وَيُصْلِحُ بَالَهُمْ

وَيُدْخِلُهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ عَرَّفَهَا لَهُمْ

5. He will guide them and set right their state.

6. And will soon admit them to [high stations in] Paradise which He has made known to them.

Divine Guidance is permanent even after death and martyrdom. Martyrdom for God’s Cause leads to all sins and faults to be forgiven and states to be set aright. The Verses in question add three further bounties. Firstly,

“He will guide them”

which indicates Guidance toward high stations, great deliverance, and Paradise as Divine Reward. Secondly,

“He will set right their state,”

i.e., He bestows peace of mind and spirituality upon them, sets them in harmony with Divine angels, and invites them to His Feast through His Mercy. The last bounty is that He

“will soon admit them to [high stations in] Paradise which He has made known to them.”

Some exegets maintain that God not only expresses the qualities of the Garden of Paradise but also specifies the attributes and signs of their palaces in Paradise such that upon being admitted to Paradise, they immediately depart for their palaces.⁸ Some exegets take ‘arafaha from ‘arf (“fragrance, perfume”) saying that God admits to Paradise throughout which the guests may enjoy the sweet smell. Some also hold that taking into consideration the Verse:

“Think not of those who are killed in the Way of Allah as dead. Nay, they are alive, with their Lord, and they have provision” ⁹ ,

it becomes evident that:

“set right their state”

is on a par with everlasting life through which martyrs are prepared to stand in the presence of Allah with the veils and coverings removed.¹⁰ It would be appropriate to make mention of a number of traditions concerning martyrs. According to a Prophetic tradition:

“There is a better deed above another ending in martyrdom in the Way of Allah, above which no better deed is imaginable.” ¹¹

According to a tradition narrated on the authority of Imam Baqir(as):

“There is no single drop dearer to God except for the drop of the blood shed in His Way or the drop of tears shed at night for His awe. There is no step dearer to God but the one taken for helping blood relatives or the one taken to participate in the holy war for God’s Cause.” ¹²

The discussion may be concluded with a tradition narrated on the authority of Imam ‘Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (as). Quoting his forefathers from the Messenger of God (S) he says:

“The first one to enter Paradise is the martyr.”

Footnotes

1. 8. Majma’ al-Bayan, vol. 9, p. 98.
2. 9. 3:169
3. 10. al-Mizan, vol. 18, p. 244.
4. 11. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 100, p.15.
5. 12. Ibid, p. 14.