Allah Most High and Exalted indicated the essence and fundamentals of these [the commendable aims at Uhud] in surah Al ‘Imran, when He introduced the story by His words: { And when you set out in early morning, leaving those of your household to set up the Believers in their stations to fight } [verse 121]. … One of these is that martyrdom, in His sight, is one of the highest ranks of His associates, and martyrs are distinctively His, those of His servants who have been brought nearest. There is nothing beyond the status of righteous devotion except martyrdom. And He (may He be exalted) loves to take martyrs from among His servants, whose blood is shed out of love for Him and His gratification, preferring His pleasure and fondness over their own selves. And there is no way to attain this status except by the decreeing of causes that lead to it arising from the onslaught of the enemy.