FAQ in the category of Martyrdom

1 Who is a martyr? Can we consider anyone who has been killed in a war as a martyr?
2 What is martyrdom? Will you give information about the levels of martyrdom? Who are martyrs? Is a person who is burnt and who is drowned a martyr?

1. Who is a martyr?

A Muslim who sacrifices his life in the way of Allah is called a martyr.  

Martyrdom is the highest degree in Islam. The value of martyrs are very high in the eye of Allah. It is stated that the highest rank after prophethood in the hereafter is martyrdom. Therefore, all of the sins and mistakes of martyrs are forgiven by Allah.

One of the most important principles that make Muslims superior to their enemies is the belief, "I will be a martyr if I die and a ghazi (veteran) if I survive." This state is expressed as "one of two glorious things" in the verse. (at-Tawba, 9/52) That is, there is one of the two nice results for the believer in the war: He will either be victorious or become a martyr. (Ibn Kathir, IV/102; Nasafi, II/130)

The following words that Khalid b. Walid said to the commander of Iran is a good example showing what the concept of martyrdom gains Muslims:  

"I came to you with an army that loves death as much as you love life and wine." (Abdurabbih, p. 387)

The life of martyrs is a spiritual life, or rather, a real life.(Yazır, I/547) "A martyr thinks he is alive." (Nursi, Hutbe-i Şamiye, p. 122) He finds himself in a better realm without feeling the pain of death.

Hz. Prophet (pbuh) stated the following about the seventy martyrs who died at the Battle of Uhud:

"When your brothers were smitten at the battle of Uhud, Allah put their spirits in the crops of green birds which go down to the rivers of Paradise, eat its fruit and nestle in lamps of gold in the shade of the Throne. Then when they experienced the sweetness of their food, drink and rest, they asked:

Who will tell our brothers about us that we are alive in Paradise provided with provision, in order that they might not be disinterested in jihad and recoil in war? Allah Almighty said,

“I shall tell them about you.” Then Allah sent down the following verses:"(Abu Dawud, Jihad, 25)

"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 suffereth not the reward of the Faithful to be lost (in the least).” (Aal-i Imran, 3/169-171)

2. Who is called a perfect martyr (shahid kamil)?

The people who are regarded as martyrs in both the world and the hereafter are called perfect martyrs. They are the people who are killed at the battle, who are killed by rebels, anarchists or by thieves in his house as a victim or through oppression. 

Six conditions are necessary for a Muslim to be regarded as a perfect martyr:

1. To be a Muslim.

2. To be sane.

3. To have reached the age of puberty.

4. Not to be junub, in menstruation or puerperium.

5. To die immediately after being shot. If a person eats, drinks, is treated, is taken somewhere else after being shot or if he lives long enough for a period of time for a prayer to pass, he is not regarded as a perfect martyr. He is regarded as a hereafter martyr.  

6. Qisas (retaliation) to become necessary for the killer, That is, he needs to be killed deliberately. If a person is killed by mistake, and if qisas is not necessary for the killer, the person who dies is not regarded as a perfect martyr.

Perfect martyrs are buried without being washed with their bloody clothes. The dead bodies of Hz. Umar and Hz. Ali were washed because one of those conditions was missing. Hz. Uthman was buried without being washed.  

3. Who is called a hereafter martyr?

A person who is not regarded as a martyr in the world, that is, who is buried after being washed but who is treated like a martyr in the hereafter is called a hereafter martyr. Those who lose one of the conditions of being a perfect martyr are included in this group.

In addition, the following people are also regarded as hereafter martyrs:

* Those who are drowned in water.

* Those who burn in fire.(Ibn Majah, Jihad, 17)

* Those who areburied in the wreckage.

* Those who die of an epidemic like plague.

* Those who die of an inflammatory disease like malaria.

* Those who die in the way of learning.

* Those who die of lung diseases.

* The women who die during birth or in puerperium.

* Those who die of headache.

* Those who die of abdominal pain.

* Those who die in a work accident while trying to earn money legitimately for the sustenance of their family.

* Those who die on Friday night (actually Thursday night).

* Those who die in another city or abroad.

* Those who die due to scorpion or snake bites....

(For the hadiths about martyrs other than those who die in wars, see Bukhari, Adhan, 32, Jihad, 30; Muslim, Imarah, 164; Tirmidhi, Janaiz, 65, Fadailul-Jihad, 14; Ahmad b. Hanbal, I/22, 23, II/323, 325).

4. Who is called a worldly martyr?

They are munafiqs. They are regarded as martyrs in the world because only Allah Almighty knows the sign of hypocrisy in their hearts. For, they are Muslims in appearance but they are unbelievers in their hearts...

5. Some hadiths about martyrs:

"A person who is killed while defending his property is a martyr; a person who is killed while defending his/her honor is a martyr; a person who is killed while defending himself is a martyr..."

"Enshroud martyrs with their blood. For, when a wound received in the way of Allah comes to the Gathering Place in the hereafter, it will bleed in blood color but with a scent of musk..."

"Martyrs are at the gate of Paradise, bright ornament of the river and in the green tent. Their sustenance comes from Paradise in the morning and evening."

"A person who is killed due to enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil is a martyr."

"A person who dies on Friday is a martyr." 

"A person who dies by falling off his animal is a martyr."

"A person who is drowned in water is a martyr, who dies by being burnt is a martyr, who dies alone in another city or abroad is a martyr, who dies of abdominal pain is a martyr, who isburied in the wreckage is a martyr, who dies by falling off a house and by breaking his neck is a martyr, who dies when a rock falls on him and hits him is a martyr..."

"A person who dies while defending his believing brother and his innocent neighbor is a martyr..."

"All of the sins of a martyr except his debt are forgiven." (Muslim)

“If a Muslim dies during the day on Friday or Friday night (Thursday night), Allah Almighty will save him from the questioning and torture of the grave.”(Tirmidhi, Janaiz: 73; Musnad, II/176)

Some scholars put forward that being martyred in the sea will be atonement even for violation of others’ rights.

"A martyr will intercede for seventy people from his family and relatives and his intercession will be accepted." (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi)

"Three groups of people will intercede on the Day of Judgment: first, prophets, then, scholars and after that, martyrs..." (Taj)

All of the sins of martyrs except violation of others’ rights are forgiven. To be a martyr is an honor that cannot be attained by everybody; it is a perfect boon for believers. To live in a nice way and to die in the way of Allah for His sake is a bliss that every believer dreams to have. A believing person who lives with such a consciousness and thought is praised by the Prophet Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) in a very nice way:

"If a person asks Allah to be a martyr sincerely, Allah will elevate him to the level of martyrs even if he dies in his bed."(Muslim, Imarah, 156, 157; Abu Dawud, Istighfar, 26; Nasai, Jihad, 36; Ibn Majah, Jihad, 15)

3 Is my child who died of an illness a martyr? Has she reached the degree of martyrdom?

Those who die when they are children are people of Paradise; they will make their relatives, primarily their parents, feel the pleasure of love of children. Therefore, the death of your child is a blessing if you show patience.

The real owner of your child is Allah; he entrusted her to you for a while. He can take her from you whenever He wishes and put her in Paradise based on His wisdom. Thus, a child becomes the eternal child of her parents in Paradise and intercedes for them. What you need to do is to show patience and to accept Allah's decree.

When a child of Paradise dies of an illness, it will cause her to become a spiritual martyr, increasing her right of intercession.

4 Are those who die of Coronavirus regarded as martyrs?

Yes, the believers who die of epidemic diseases are regarded as spiritual martyrs.

The translation of a hadith regarding the issue is as follows:

“Plague was a punishment which Allah used to send on whom He wished, but Allah made it a blessing for the believers. None (among the believers) remains patient in a land in which plague has broken out and considers that nothing will befall him except what Allah has ordained for him, but that Allah will grant him a reward similar to that of a martyr.” (Bukhari, Tibb 31; see Bukhari, Anbiya 54; Qadar 15; Muslim, Salam 92-95)

The disease plague is mentioned as an example in the hadith. Therefore, the hadith is valid for all kinds of epidemic and mortal diseases.

Thus, all infectious diseases that cause mass death are included in this definition. Therefore, the coronavirus epidemic should be considered in the same way.

That each one of those epidemics occurs unusually in a region and leads to mass deaths causes it to be described as a penalty.   

In this hadith, it is not pointed out that Muslims will not catch this disease, but that this disease is a means of mercy for them and that this mercy will be manifest in the form of the reward of a martyr for those who have the necessary conditions.

Those conditions are listed as follows:

The person who has caught plague
- must be patient and expect his reward from Allah,
- he must not leave the place where he is,
- he must know that only what Allah appreciates will happen to him and he must accept it...

To be patient with the disease and expect reward from Allah does not mean not to seek a cure for its treatment. He should look for a solution according to both his own means and the means of medical science.

Medicine did not have the means in the face of plague in the past; similarly, the ill person or the local people in the place where the disease originates might not have the means today.

In that case, what needs to be done is to wait for the reward from Allah without rebelling and to surrender to God Almighty. In fact, that is an attitude that is desired and expected from every Muslim at all times.

It is important that the ill person not leave the place where he is located so as not to spread the disease to other regions. This hadith asks the believers to apply the practice of quarantine. It is a characteristic of Islam to have taken such a serious measure fifteen centuries ago related to a matter that concerns the public.

As it is pointed out in other hadiths regarding the issue, entry to and exit from the region where plague is seen is prohibited. This is complete quarantine.

It is regarded as not believing in Allah's predestination to claim that one will definitely catch the disease if he remains in the place where the disease has emerged and to claim that one will not catch the disease even if he enters that place.

Thus, if a believer who has this belief and does what he is advised in the hadith dies due to plague, he will be treated as a martyr.

As a matter of fact, the Prophet (pbuh) states the following:
- “He who dies of plague is a martyr.” (Muslim, Imara 166);
- “Plague is a means of martyrdom for Muslims.” (Bukhari, Jihad 30, Tibb 30)
Thus, he informs us that the Muslims who die of epidemic diseases will be regarded as martyrs.

For, a martyr is a person who is killed while fighting the enemy in order to protect the Muslims from danger; therefore, a person who tries to prevent such infectious and relentless disease by showing patience and makes efforts so as not to infect other Muslims, that is, fights in order to protect the Muslims from this disease is also regarded as a martyr because both of them die while protecting Muslims.

“He who escapes from plague is like the one who escapes from war.” As a matter of fact, Hz. Aisha’s statement above is another evidence for the similarity of it. (Faydul-Qadir, 4/288; Haythami, Majmauz-Zawaid, 2/315)

Thus, we must take all kinds of precautions against epidemic diseases. However, if a Muslim catches this disease, he needs to show patience and expect his reward from Allah; he should never forget that he will be regarded as a martyr if he dies of this disease.

5 Are health workers who die of an epidemic like Coronavirus regarded as martyrs?

Experts and authorities often remark that we are in a state of war; the enemy is coronavirus; its target is human beings and the battlefront is the whole country and the whole world.

The disease caused by this virus spreads very quickly and kills a great number of people.  

The most important precaution is not to contact the people who have been infected and their environment.

Those who are sane do not go out unless necessary even if it is not forbidden; when they have to go out, they take measures.  

Health workers are at the top among those who have to go out and work. Health workers are the ones that face the greatest risk no matter what measures they take.

When we look at the hadiths and their interpretations, we see that there are two kinds of martyrs.

The first type is those who die in the legitimate battlefield. They are called "true martyrs". Their janazah prayers are performed and they are buried with the clothes they have on their bodies; they are not washed.

Allah gives them so many blessings that they want "to be resurrected and to be martyred again":

“Nobody who enters Paradise wants to go back to the world and own some worldly things except a martyr. He wants to return to the world and to be martyred ten times more because of the rewards he receives from Allah.” (Bukhari, Jihad, 21; Muslim, Imarah, 109-1877)

The second type is those who are regarded like martyrs. The blessings they receive in the hereafter are like those the true martyrs receive but they are washed and enshrouded in the world and buried after their janazah prayers are performed.  

If it is dangerous to wash and enshroud the dead body due to the risk of infection or if the dead bodies are not suitable for washing and enshrouding, what is possible and harmless is done and what is risky is abandoned because protecting the lives of the living people is more important than washing and enshrouding the dead people as it is done under normal circumstances.

If health workers who help the patients by taking the risk of being infected with the coronavirus catch the disease and die, they are regarded as the “martyrs of the second type” in two aspects because they die while trying to protect life. The hadiths say that "those who die while fighting the attackers to protect their lives are martyrs."

In addition, they die from an epidemic and the hadiths state that those who die like that are also martyrs.

One of the hadiths included in Bukhari and Muslim is as follows:

The Prophet states the following:

The martyrs are five kinds: those who die of plague, those who die of stomach disease, those who drown, those who die under debris, and those who die in the way of Allah.

The word “taun” mentioned in the hadith means an infectious disease like plague and cholera. The disease called “mabtun” expresses mortal infectious diseases that cause stomachache, diarrhea, etc.

Another hadith reported by hadith scholars like Malik, Abu Dawud, Nasai and Ibn Majah is as follows:  

“There are seven martyrs besides those who are killed in the way of Allah: the victim of plague is a martyr; the one who drowns is a martyr; the one who dies of chest pain (pleurisy) is a martyr; the one who dies of stomach infection is a martyr; the one who burns to death is a martyr; the one who is crushed under debris is a martyr; and the pregnant woman who dies while giving birth is a martyr.”

The common characteristic of those diseases and causes of death is helplessness; it is not possible to avoid them despite taking measures, or they cannot be intervened; even if they can be intervened, it is not possible to be saved from them.

Those who die like that are regarded to have made jihad if they preserve their belief and show patience in the face of the test when they die; they are treated as martyrs in the hereafter.

An important difference between health workers and others is as follows:

Health workers cannot stay at home in order to avoid the disease; they go to work by taking the risk; they do their best to save the lives of people. If they contract the virus despite taking measures and die, they will be martyrs inshallah. The others die as they try to escape; on other hand, health workers die while trying to save people day and night.

In the hereafter, Allah will bestow on them blessings that they cannot imagine. What we should do is to appreciate them and to pray for them; what the state should do is to reward their families.

6 Is a person who dies while protecting something entrusted to him regarded as a martyr? Or, should he surrender the thing entrusted to him to the person or people that threaten to kill him?

A person who is forced to do something that he does not want to do or he regards as ugly is called mukrah. Ikrah means to force a person to do something that he does not have to do legally by threatening him. The person who forces and threatens is called "mukrih".

If such a person does what he is forced to do, he will not be a sinner. That is, a person who knows that he will definitely be killed or wounded will not be held responsible if he delivers the thing that he was entrusted to the person who threatens him.

Trust/amanah (something that is entrusted) is a material and spiritual right that is entrusted to someone to keep. It is something that is given to someone by relying on him. One of the attributes of prophets is "trust". The Quran, the Sunnah and the relics of the Messenger of Allah are also called "trust".

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) returned the things entrusted to him to their owners before the Migration. For the unbelievers entrusted their possessions to him knowing that he was "the trustable one".

The Prophet (pbuh) said, "Betraying what is entrusted is one of the signs of munafiqs." (Bukhari, Iman, 64; Muslim, Iman, 106). Amanah is also an attribute of believers. (al-Mu'minun, 23/8) The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) stated in Farewell Hajj that women are entrusted to men. (Abu Dawud, Manasik, 56)

Accordingly, it is a religious duty to protect something entrusted to a person as if it is his own possession. A person who dies while fulfilling such a duty is regarded as a martyr.

7 Does martyrdom eliminate major sins as atonement?

Yes, the sins of martyrs are forgiven and they enter Paradise. For, sins or being a sinner does not prevent being a martyr.

Shahid (martyr) in Arabic lexically means “to witness an incident, to act and speak as a witness, to be present somewhere”; it is derived from the root (shuhud).

As a religious term, shahid (plural form shuhada) means a Muslim killed in the way of Allah.

The scholars who explain the connection between the lexical and terminological meaning of the word based on the meaning “seen, witnessed” (mashhud) say he is called shahid because a person who sacrifices his life in the way of Allah attains the boons of Paradise at once;

the scholars who explain it based on the meaning “who sees, witnesses” because his martyrdom is witnessed by Allah and angels say he is called shahid because he finds the boons that Allah has promised ready and makes use of them or because he will be asked to witness with the Prophet (pbuh) on the Day of Judgment about the previous ummahs.

The word shahid is mentioned fifty-six times in the Quran; once as a dual word and twenty times as a plural word. (M. F. Abdulbaqi, al-Mujam, “shhd” item)

Most of them are used in the sense of “witness”, in some verses as one of the names of asma al-husna and in other verses as “a mature person who lives in accordance with Allah’s will, an exemplary person, a leader”. (for instance, see al-Baqara 2/143; al-Hajj 22/78)

The word shuhada (plural form) is used in order to express the people who attain the rank of martyrdom by sacrificing their lives in the way of Allah in three verses (an-Nisa 4/69; az-Zumar 39/69; al-Hadid 57/19) but shahid (singular) form is not used in this sense.

However, Biqai holds the view that the word shahid in verse 72 of the chapter of an-Nisa can be interpreted to be in the sense of martyr. (Nazmud-Durar, V, 325)

The word shahid is often used in the sense of martyr in hadiths. (Wensinck, al-Mujam, “shhd” item)

In many verses, the importance of martyrdom and its value in the eye of Allah is emphasized:

- “And say not of those who are slain in the way of Allah: ‘They are dead.’ Nay, they are living, though ye perceive (it) not.” (al-Baqara 2/154);

- “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.” (Aal-i Imran 3/169);

- “But those who are slain in the way of Allah he will never let their deeds be lost. (…)And admit them to the Garden which He has announced for them.” (Muhammad 47/4-6) The issue of martyrdom are emphasized in the verses above. In some verses, it is stated that their rank is after prophets and siddiqs (veracious, loyal people) in the eye of Allah. (an-Nisa 4/ 69)

Fakhruddin ar-Razi attracts attention to the hadiths defining those who are drowned in water and who die due to various reasons like diseases and states that it will not be right to limit the word shuhada in this verse with the meaning of those sacrificing their lives with the aim of helping the religion of Allah and that the scholars who support justice by making efforts in order to elevate the name of Allah (Aal-i Imran 3/18) should be included in this context. (Mafatihul-Ghayb, V, 277)

The statements of Hz. Prophet (pbuh) about martyrdom are generally compiled in the chapters of Jihad in hadiths collections.

It is stated in these hadiths

- that only those who sacrifice their lives in order to elevate the religion of Allah, not those who have a worldly purpose, (Bukhari, “Jihad”, 15; Muslim, “Imarah”, 149-152; Nasai, “Jihad”, 21; Ibn Majah, “Jihad”, 13),

- that a martyr dies without suffering, that all of his sins except violation of others’ rights are forgiven as soon as his first blood drops on the ground, that he will not suffer torture in the grave and that he will see his rank in Paradise (Tirmidhi, “Fadailul-Jihad”, 25, 26),

- that he could intercede for seventy people among his relatives (Tirmidhi, “Fadailul-Jihad”, 25)

- that he will be among those who enter Paradise first (Muslim, “Imarah”, 143; Abu Dawud, “Jihad”, 27),

- and that among those who die by attaining a good rank in the eye of Allah, only  martyrs will want to return to the world and want to elevate the religion of Allah until they are martyred again. (Bukhari, “Jihad”, 6, 21; Muslim, “Imarah”, 109)

On the other hand, it is stated in some hadiths that there are also some people who will be regarded as martyrs apart from those who die in the way of Allah; for instance, 

- those who die for the sake of their lives, wealth and honor (Abu Dawud, “Sunnah”, 29; Tirmidhi, “Diyat”, 21)

- or those who die due to infectious diseases like plague and cholera (Bukhari, “Jihad”, 30; Muslim, “Imarah”, 164-165),

- those who want to die as martyrs but die in bed (Muslim, “Imarah”, 157) will be given the reward of martyrdom, and that there are other deeds that are equal to the thawab of martyrdom (Bukhari, “Jihad”, 1; Muslim, “Imarah”, 110, 125; Nasai, “Jihad”, 17; Ibn Majah, “Fitan”, 13).