It seems as though God wishes to keep revealing beauty—and does not intend to stop. He has granted permission for humankind, once more in the end times, to experience true humanity again; and, as Seyyed al-Shuhada Avini said, to once again walk and breathe alongside the Ashura companions of the Imam of Love.

When he quietly entered the room, I couldn’t imagine that just a few days earlier, he had a wife, a ten-year-old son, and a thirteen-year-old daughter—and now none of them were in this world. He had come to join the funeral procession around the sacred shrine of Imam Reza (peace be upon him). There were no signs of sorrow on his face—no dust of grief upon his cheeks, no redness in his eyes. Even as I sat across from him, weeping uncontrollably.

When the camera turned on, I asked, “Why aren’t you sad?”

He replied, “Because I’m not alone.”

I said, “Your wife, your daughter, your son have been martyred—do you have anyone left?”

He said, “If you look at it that way, no. I’ve given everything I had in the way of God. But aren’t martyrs more alive after they depart? I still speak with Ahad, Mohaddeseh, and Mohammadreza.”

Then I handed him their photos and asked, “What do you say to them?”

He answered softly, “We will continue this path together.”