There but by the Grace of God
“By the Grace of God: Reflections on John Bradford and the Martyrs of Islam”
“There but for the grace of God go I …”
If we take the time to study the glorious history of those martyrs who sacrificed everything out of true conviction and faith in Almighty God, we will discover a treasure that can deeply enrich us in our own time.
It is remarkable that both Christian and Muslim martyrs share so much in common when we explore their lives and faith. One profound trait that unites them is humility — born from their unwavering conviction and trust in God. Through their spiritual knowledge and practice, they have learned that it is not through their own power or ability that they transcend the mundane, rise above the noise of the world, and embrace truth through sacrifice. Rather, it is only by God’s gift of grace that they are able to do so.
Those who truly know their own hearts readily acknowledge that the seeds of every form of wickedness lie hidden within them, and that they are restrained from evil only by God’s grace. The pious martyr John Bradford once witnessed a poor criminal being led to execution — likely on the way to Newgate Prison — and exclaimed, “There, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford.” He recognised that the same sinful tendencies resided within his own heart that had led the condemned man to such a fate.
Similarly, in the Islamic faith, we are reminded by the renowned scholar Ayatullah Misbah-Yazdi:
“Every perfection (kamal) that we have is borrowed (‘ariyat); it is not ours... If we truly believe that every perfection we have is from God and not our own, we will no longer develop ‘ujb (self-admiration).”
— Jami’ al-Muqaddamat, Volume 2 (Akhlaq), discussion on ‘Ujb
In Islamic understanding, this grace and perfection flow through the divinely appointed guides — the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and the Imams from his progeny who all died as martyrs and who serve as the pure manifestations of God’s mercy.
The Quran describes the Prophet as “a mercy to all the worlds” (Surah Al-Anbiya (The Prophets), Chapter 21, Verse 107), and this mercy continues through the light of the Ahl al-Bayt.
It is through their intercession and spiritual guidance that believers receive divine grace in both knowledge and action.
As Imam ‘Ali (peace be upon him) says in Nahj al-Balāghah, “Were it not for the guidance of God through us, you would have been as those who perished.”
Thus, the grace that awakens hearts and protects them from pride or deviation is ultimately God’s own light — reflected and made accessible through His chosen ones.
As believers in the One God walking the path of truth, we must constantly remind ourselves that it is God alone who awakens us from the darkness in which we are veiled. It is through His light that we take each step on the straight path, and only through His continual guidance and support that we can complete our journey through this world toward Him.
Let this remembrance fill us with gratitude for the boundless love that surrounds us through Him. May we praise Him in every waking moment, die to our selfish desires, and in a spirit of true humility embrace Him as the All in All.