Interviewed by Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV channel, Sheikh Omar Nofal, a judge in Gaza’s Shari’a appeals court extolled the six virtues of martyrdom, asking: “How can anyone cling to this world after hearing all of these great rewards?” Nofal said that Jihad is “an individual duty incumbent upon the entire nation.” The interview aired on July 22.
Following are excerpts:
Sheikh Omar Nofal: The martyr gets six rewards. First, he is absolved with the first drop of his blood. The moment the martyr’s blood is shed, all his sins are absolved by Allah.
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When he is martyred, he sees his seat in Paradise, and he is dressed in the clothes of faith. He is a unique and special person, different from the rest of the people, by the grace of Allah. In addition, he is married to 72 virgins of Paradise. This is means that he is granted, in Paradise, some of the things he wished for in life, but they are magnified to a degree that the human mind cannot comprehend. In addition, he is crowned with the crown of honor. The beads, or the links, in the crown of honor, are better than the whole world and all that is in it.
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The martyr can vouch for 70 of his relatives. The martyr can intercede on behalf of his entire family. When he hears about …
Host: And he is married to 72 …
Omar Nofal: Yes. How can anyone cling to this world after hearing all of these great rewards? You can see that our young people have renounced life in this world, and hastened [to become martyrs]. This is one of the secrets behind the fact that the Palestinian people have emerged victorious in all battles. You can see that when the rockets are raining down, our young people march toward martyrdom. On the other hand, as soon as our enemies hear the sirens. … I’m talking about sirens and even balloons, not about rockets. When they hear the sirens, all of them—the police, the civil defense and the soldiers—throw themselves to the ground or have a panic attack.
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The highest level of martyrdom is when a person purifies his intentions, sets out to fight for the sake of Allah and to sacrifice his life and his property, and is killed while facing the fight, not while in retreat. This is the highest level of martyrdom for the sake of Allah.
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Regarding the situation in Palestine I say that jihad is an individual duty incumbent upon the entire nation. Nobody is allowed to forsake this jihad.
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