What does martyr means in islam? What does the Quran say about being a martyr? What Allah says about martyrs? What are the 5 types of martyrs?
A) Martyrdom and Virtue
Martyrdom is a great status. A Muslim who sacrifices his life in the way of Allah is called a “shahīd (literally one about whom being witnessed)” or martyr. The reason why a person is given this title is because it is witnessed that he or she is in Paradise for it is known that the martyr is alive in the presence of his Lord, or perhaps because the angels are witnesses and ready at the time of his death.
According to the Ḥanafis, the following are considered martyrs: Those who are killed by the enemy during the war or killed by rebels, bandits, or hijackers, or killed by thieves who broke into their house day or night using a heavy object or a sharp tool. In like manner, a person who is found on the battlefield in a state of blood flowing from his eyes and ears with wounds such as fractures, burns, or cuts, or the person who is killed unjustly by a Muslim with a cutting tool, is also considered a martyr.
The martyr must be a Muslim, sane and adolescent, not menstruating, not having post-partum bleeding, and not being in the state of ceremonial impurity, and must die immediately after having been shot. Martyrs who are listed above are complete martyrs, and are martyrs both in this world and in the hereafter. They are also called “true martyrs”. True martyrs are not washed or shrouded, and they are buried in their clothes. According to Ḥanafis, their funeral prayers are held.[1]
All the sins of the martyrs are considered forgiven, except for the financial debts owed to others. It is confirmed by the verses and hadiths that he has been prepared for great ranks and positions in Paradise.
Allah Almighty says: “Think not of those who are slain in Allah’s way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord; They rejoice in the bounty provided by Allah: And with regard to those left behind, who have not yet joined them (in their bliss), the (Martyrs) glory in the fact that on them is no fear, nor have they (cause to) grieve. They glory in the Grace and the bounty from Allah, and in the fact that Allah suffers not the reward of the Faithful to be lost (in the least). Of those who answered the call of Allah and the Messenger, even after being wounded, those who do right and refrain from wrong have a great reward.”[2] Masruk (ra) asked Abdullah about the status of the martyrs mentioned in this verse, and he replied: we asked the same question to the Messenger of Allah (saw) and he said, “The souls of the martyrs live in the bodies of green birds who have their nests in chandeliers hung from the throne of the Almighty. They eat the fruits of Paradise from wherever they like and then nestle in these chandeliers.”[3]
The Prophet (saw) said: “Nobody who enters Paradise will (ever like to) return to this world even if he were offered everything on the surface of the earth (as an inducement) except the martyr who will desire to return to this world and be killed ten times for the sake of the great honor that has been bestowed upon him.”[4], and “By Allah in whose hand is Muhammad’s soul, I would like to fight in the way of Allah and be killed, then fight and be killed again, then fight again and be killed.”[5]
B) Provisions for the Martyrs
There are different rulings about martyrs’ funerals from other funerals in terms of washing, shrouding, praying, and burial procedures.
The martyr is shrouded in his or her clothes, his or her blood is not washed, and his or her fur, overcoat, jacket, gun, khuffs, and similar additional clothes are taken off and buried in that state. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Do not wash the martyrs. Because every wound and every drop of blood will spread the smell of musk on the Day of Judgment.”[6] In fact, by the order of the Messenger of Allah (saw), the martyrs of Uhud were buried with their blood on their bodies and they were neither washed nor was a funeral prayer offered for them.[7]
Martyrs killed by infidels on the battlefield are not washed, they are only shrouded in clothes suitable for shrouding. If the clothes are not sufficient, it is completed. On the other hand, the clothing more than the sunnah shrouding is taken off. The martyrs are buried with their blood. According to the Ḥanafis, funeral prayers are performed for the martyrs.
As for those who are in the state of ceremonial impurity (janābah), menstruating, and having post-natal bleeding, if they are killed on the battlefield, according to Abu Ḥanīfa, they are washed just like children and mentally ill people. The evidence is based on the following hadith regarding Hanzala: “When Hanzala ibn Abī Amir (ra) was martyred in Uhud, the Prophet (saw) said: “Angels are washing your companion Hanzala.” His wife was asked about this and his wife said that Hanzala had joined the army while he was in the state of janābah before he had time to perform ablution. At that, the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “That was why the angels washed him.”[8]
According to Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad, the person who became a martyr, even if he or she is in the state of janābah, menstruating, postpartum bleeding, or Muslim child, he or she is not washed. If washing were obligatory, it would have been made obligatory for all the sons of Adam and it would not have been enough for the angels to wash it.
According to the majority of jurists, except the Ḥanafis, a martyr is not washed or shrouded, and a funeral prayer is not performed over him. However, if there is an impurity other than blood, it is sufficient to wash that impurity, because the following is stated in the narration of Jabir (ra):
“He ordered the martyrs of Uhud to be buried with their blood on their bodies and they were neither washed nor was a funeral prayer offered for them.”[9]
A hypocrite who is killed by the enemy while fighting in the ranks of the Muslims in the war, although he does not really carry belief in his heart, is treated as a martyr only in terms of this world. This is also called “shahīd hukmī (legally martyr)”. They are not washed, a funeral prayer is not offered over them, and they are buried with their clothes.
According to the Shafiʿis, a Muslim who joins the war just for booty or to show off or steals from the booty is considered a “martyr of this world” when he is killed during the war. The fact that he fought for “i’lā kalimatullāh” (to glorify Allah’s name) at the same time does not change the ruling. By considering the outward appearance, that person is treated as a martyr.
Some deceased are considered martyrs only in terms of the judgment in the hereafter. For example, a Muslim who was killed by mistake and whose heirs should be given blood money, a Muslim who was injured during war or in conflict with rebels, but dies after the end of the conflict after a little eating, drinking, talking, or sleeping or taking medicine or after a prayer time passes, will only be treated as a martyr in the hereafter. They are washed, shrouded, and buried after performing the funeral prayer over them, like other deceased people.
On the other hand, Muslims who drown in water, burn to death due to a fire, die under an avalanche, landslide, or under a building, die from an illness or epidemic such as the plague, or die from a scorpion sting, or die in a foreign country while seeking knowledge, or die on a Friday night, are also accepted to be under the same category. This is also the case when a Muslim woman dies due to labor pains. They are also called “true martyrs”.
Some of those who die outside the war and were considered martyrs are mentioned in hadiths. For example, dying because of plague, cholera, suffocation, falling on something, dying in a fire, dying while having post-natal bleeding, and dying from lung disease can be listed among these.[10]
Martyrdom is considered a great blessing. It is the greatest goodness and happiness for a Muslim to live as a Muslim and eventually die as a martyr. It is a great and positive investment for the Hereafter. However, because martyrdom is in the destiny of very few people or there are few opportunities for it, it is considered sufficient to have such consciousness in the heart of the believer. The Prophet said: “Those who sought martyrdom with sincerity will be ranked by Allah among the martyrs even if he died on his bed.”[11]
[1] Ibn Abidīn, ibid, I, 848; al-Shurunbulālī, ibid, p. 103; al-Maydanī, ibid, I, 135-137; al-Shirbinī, ibid, I, 350.[2] Āl ʿImran, 3: 169-171.[3] Muslim, ‘Imāra, 121; Abū Dawūd, Jihād, 25; al-Tirmidhī, Tafsīru Surah, 3: 19; Ibn Maja, Janā’iz, 4, Jihād, 16.[4] Al-Bukhari, Jihād, 6; Muslim, ‘Imāra, 108, 109; al-Nasā’ī, Jihād, 33[5] Al-Bukhari, Imān, 26; Muslim, ‘Imāra, 103, 107; al-Nasā’ī, Jihād, 18, 30[6] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, III, 299[7] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, III, 299, V, 431; al-Nasā’ī, Janā’iz, 82, Jihād, 37.[8] Al-Shawkanī, Nayl al-Awṭār, IV, 29.[9] Al-Bukhari, Janā’iz, 72, 75, 78; Maghāzi, 26; Abū Dawūd, Janā’iz, 62; Ibn Maja, Janā’iz, 28.[10] See al-Bukhari, Adhān, 32, Jihād, 30; Muslim, ‘Imāra, 164; al-Tirmidhī, Janā’iz, 65, Faḍāil al-Jihād, 14; Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, I, 22, 23, II, 325, 523.[11] Muslim, Imāra, 156, 157; Abū Dawūd, Istighfār, 26; al-Nasaī, Jihād, 36; Ibn Māja, Jihād, 15.
Source: Basic Islamic Principles (ilmiḥal) According to the Four Sunni Schools With Evidence From The Sources of Islamic Law, Prof. Hamdi Döndüren, Erkam Publications