Yet Allah brought them face-to-face with their enemy without prior arrangement. So he—may Allah be pleased with him—stayed behind, for they had not been commanded to go out for combat; the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had merely said, “Whoever wishes to set out with us may do so.” Accordingly, some went out while others remained behind. But when he—may Allah be pleased with him—missed that expedition, the Battle of Badr, he declared, “If Allah lets me witness another scene—that is, a battle in His cause—He will surely see what I will do.” Later he advanced, strove, grappled, and fought until he was killed. They found on his body more than eighty, or even ninety-odd, wounds—all in one corpse—showing that he had plunged deep into the enemy ranks. No one could recognize him except his sister, who knew him only by his fingertips. While fighting he kept saying, “O Allah, I apologise to You for what these have done,” meaning his companions who had retreated at the Battle of Uḥud, “and I declare my disavowal to You of what those have done,” meaning the idolaters.

Stories such as these plainly show that Allah chose for His Prophet ﷺ the finest of all people, fulfilling his ﷺ statement, “The best people are those of my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them….”

We ask Allah to grant us and you the ranks of the martyrs and to gather us together with them in the Gardens of Bliss.

1322 – Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever sincerely seeks martyrdom will be granted it, even if he never attains it.” Related by Muslim.