Dignified Death of Noble Men: From Socrates to Imam Hussein
Socrates was a philosopher in ancient Greece who was born in 470 BC and was sentenced to death at the age of 70 in 399 BC. He was killed by drinking poison hemlock. He had been accused of disbelief in Greek gods and wrongly accused of corrupting the youth.
One thousand years after the death of Socrates, another character entered the world whose conduct was like that of Socrates. Hussein ibn Ali (AS) was a great figure who was born in 626 AD in Medina. He considered his mission to be countering false gods of the time, namely the Ummayids, and raising awareness and guiding people. He, who was the grandson and true follower of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), sacrificed his life on the path of God in order to free people from ignorance and bafflement.
A comparison of what Socrates and Imam Hussein (AS) said and did shows similarities between their thoughts and actions.
Preferring Dignified Death to Life of Humiliation
It is known that Imam Hussein (AS) chose death with dignity over living with the oppressors. He said, “I do not see death but happiness, and life with oppressors but Hell.”
During his trial, Socrates said, “I did not think then that I ought to stoop to servility because I was in danger, and I do not regret now the way in which I pleaded my case; I would much rather die as the result of this defense than live as the result of the other sort.”
Imam Hussein (AS) also said about why he did not fear death, “It is not befitting for someone such as me to fear death. How easy is the death which comes in the way of reviving the truth and attaining honor!”
Socrates has the same attitude. He tells the court in Athens: “You are mistaken, my friend, if you think that a man who is worth anything ought to spend his time weighing up the prospects of life and death. He has only one thing to consider in performing any action; that is, whether he is acting rightly or wrongly, like a good man or a bad one.”
Life After Death
Another similarity in the words of Socrates and Imam Hussein (AS) is in their views on life after death.
Imam Hussein (AS) said in this regard: “Death is but a bridge which takes you from the difficulties towards the vast paradise and eternal blessings. Who does not like to leave a prison and enter a palace?”
In view of Socrates, too, death is like leaving a place and entering another place. He says, “We should reflect that there is much reason to hope for two things (about death. Either it is annihilation, and the dead have no consciousness of anything; or, as we are told, it is really a change: a migration of the soul from this place to another. Now if there is no consciousness but only a dreamless sleep, death must be a marvelous gain… If on the other hand death is a removal from here to some other place, and if what we are told is true, that all the dead are there, what greater blessing could there be than this, gentlemen?”
With these similarities in the words of Imam Hussein (AS) and Socrates about death, we can say that noble men in history have gained their genuine cognizance from the same source and that they have moved on the same path despite having lived in different places and times.
