The Glorification of Death – Islam

Egyptian Clerics Encourage Martyrdom in Gaza: ‘We Must Love Death’; There Are Black-Eyed Virgins Ready For You’; We Must Teach Our Children to… Hate the Jews’

Following are excerpts from addresses by several Egyptian clerics on the subject of martyrdom and love of death. The programs aired on Al-Rahma TV and Al-Nas TV on January 2, 8, and 11, 2009.

Watch the video (with subtitles)

Read the transcript

Cleric #1:

“Why do we hate death?
We do not avoid or fear death. We avoid and fear only the Hellfire.”

Cleric #2:

Muslim Cleric glorifies martyrdom

“Allah absolves the martyr with the first drop of his blood. You do not feel the blows of the sword on your body, or the bombs, or the missiles from airplanes. Not at all.

Allah turns the sword blows and the bombs into angel kisses on the body of the martyr. The angels kiss you, man. Imagine an angel kissing you on the forehead, and if it is a little boy, the angels take him straight to Paradise.

What do we live for? We should be crying over us, the living. We congratulate the relatives of whoever died for the sake of Allah. We congratulate these (martyrs) themselves…”

(video cut)

“There are black-eyed virgins ready for you. The martyr gets at least two of the virgins of Paradise, and they embrace the martyr. Imagine a black-eyed virgin embracing the martyr. While people carry the body to be buried, a black-eyed virgin is embracing him. We’re talking black-eyed virgins, man!

All you guys who are looking for the women and girls of this world… True, a righteous woman is a good thing but the martyr gets something even more valuable – a black-eyed virgin. Do you know what a black-eyed virgin is? When she laughs, she overshadows the light of the sun and the moon. She has beautiful laughter. Sometimes you hear or see girls or women with beautiful laughter. Imagine – when a black-eyed virgin laughs, she overshadows the light of the sun and the moon. Who wants to get married? Who wants black-eyed virgins?”

(video cut)

“A black-eyed virgin, man. When she smiles, she overshadows the light of the sun and the moon. If she were to spit into a raging salty sea, like the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, or the Red Sea, the raging salty seas would turn into sweet water – just from her spit.”

(video cut)

“Immediately after that, the martyr is spared the torments of the grave. The grave… The grave… Even if there were no other torments, the grave would be enough. The grave… May God spare me and you. The martyr is spared these torments. Sorrow and pain is the lot of those who live.”

(video cut)

“Then he is married off to 72 virgins of Paradise. Allah Akbar – 72 virgins of Paradise. I have already described them to you. They greet him with singing, with beautiful words, such as: ‘Oh friend of Allah, I have never seen anyone as perfect and handsome as you.’ I wish our women would learn from the virgins of Paradise.”

Cleric #3

Muslim Cleric likes to count number of martyrs

“When I wake up in the morning, I check on the number of martyrs to know how much happiness there is in heaven and on earth. I do not wake up to see how many of us have been killed. No, I wake up to see how many bridegrooms have been wedded in the heavens, how many brides have been wedded in the heavens.

I do not wake up in the morning to see how many children have been killed. I wake up to see how many children will vouch for their relatives. I wake up in the morning to see how many children will remain children forever. I wake up in the morning to see how many children will carry jugs of water to the sink of the Messenger of Allah.

The blood of the martyrs shines light upon everything between heaven and earth. I want to know the number of martyrs and the number of wounded, in order to know how many liters of the blood of believers has been spilled, how many liters of blood have been spilled on the land of Gaza, increasing its purity, cleanliness, and honor.”

Cleric #4

Muslim Cleric, we must teach our children to hate

“Hating the enemies of Allah is very important. We must teach our children, our youngsters, our brothers, and all the Muslims to hate the accursed Zionist Jews. Why not? They teach their children to hate us. Our hatred of the Jews is based upon our faith. The Koran tells us to hate them, not to love them.”

(video cut)

“We must teach our children to obey Allah, to obey the Prophet Muhammad, and to hate the Jews, the Zionists, and what the Zionists are planning. We must raise them on the Koranic verses that call to fight and wage Jihad for the sake of Allah. We want to raise our children to love Jihad for the sake of Allah. We must teach our children that death for the sake of Allah is our most lofty goal.”

(video cut)

“We want to make our children love Jihad for the sake of Allah, to teach them what sacrifice is, what it means to love Jihad for the sake of Allah. We too, as fathers, must learn this.

The peak of my happiness as a father is to raise a martyr, and to sacrifice him in the battleground of Jihad for the sake of Allah. The peak of my happiness would be to do what the Prophet’s companions did. Every mother should raise her son, and nurse him – together with her milk – with the love of Jihad for the sake of Allah, with the love of Paradise.”

(video cut)

“What kind of honor, glory, and status can a mother wish for her son which is better than Paradise? Is there anything better than this? Is there anything better than Paradise? Is there anything better than martyrdom for the sake of Allah?

That is why we want to change the culture of our children’s education. Education should not be through love, spoiling, and pampering. True, these are nice things – I’m not saying you should slaughter your sons or tie them up. These are nice things [love, spoiling, and pampering], but it is even nicer to teach our children to hate the enemies.”