Tradition

مَا الُْمجاهِدُ الشَّهِيْدُ فِى سَبِيْلِ اللّهِ بِأَعْظَمَ أَجْراً مِمَّنْ قَدَرَ فَعَفَّ

Imam ‘Ali (‘a) is narrated to have said: “The one who fights in the way of God and is martyred is not greater than the one who had the ability to sin but kept himself pure.”1

Brief Commentary

According to Islam, the greatest hastruggle is the struggleha that one performs against their own rebellious desires, and this is particularly true in a polluted social environment. Even when people are fighting against a dangerous enemy who seeks to destroy them, this fight will never be successful unless the defenders possess sincerity and unity. If the defenders are entangled in selfishness and disunity, they can never overcome their enemy.

It is for this same reason that Imam ‘Ali (‘a) has mentioned that those who fight against their desires and lusts and keep themselves pure in a corrupt environment are no less in rank than those who are martyred fighting in the way of God. In the Nahj al-Balaghah, it has even been mentioned that such people are placed in the ranks of the heavenly angels.

• 1. Narrated from the Nahj al-Balaghah, Words of Wisdom.