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The Rulings On Dying Shaheed: Case Of Martyrdom

By Abdullah bin Muhammad Al-Manshur

Hoping for and seeking shaheed is a form of deed which is from amongst the most important. Rasulullah shalallahu 'alaihi wasallam also avidly hoped for dying shaheed:

"By Him in Whose Hands my soul is! I would love to be martyred in Allah's Cause and then come back to life and then get martyred, and then come back to life again and then get martyred and then come back to life again and then get martyred." [HR Al-Bukhari]

Just as in the hadith of Sahl bin Hanif that the Prophet shalallahu 'alaihi wasallam said:

“Whoever sincerely asks Allah to award him with martyrdom would be given the rewards of martyrs even if he dies on his bed.” [HR Muslim]

It is approved to call every Mujahid, who is killed in the cause of Allah, shaheed, based on external conditions and surrender every thing else that is hidden to Allah.

A hadith which says:

“All the sins of a martyr are forgiven except his debt.” [HR Muslim]

This hadith, as well as other similar hadiths could not be taken in an absolute manner, as there are a few exceptions i.e. those who have delegated someone to pay off the debt, those who have left repayment for the debt and those who have the intention to pay off the debt. This has been set by the ulama's of Fiqh.

The true understanding about the border limitation of a war zone is a zone where a war is taking place in it. In fact, the limitation is not only limited to one zone only. It could stretch to a distance of hundreds of thousand of miles. This is because of the range of modern weapons which can reach an expansive area and which is normally known as the operation stage, be it in the air, on the sea or the land.

It is agreed by the ulama's that every Muslim, who is killed at the hands of the kafir, is shaheed.

Similarly, they also agree that every Muslim who get himself killed accidentally or being killed by Muslim comrades accidentally in battle, is still considered shaheed.

When a 'jasad' (body) is found in battle and there is no indication whatsoever as to how he has died, according to a strong and accurate opinion, he is still considered as shaheed in battle. Thus are the opinions of the mazhab of Shafi'i and Maliki, as well as from a riwaayah of Imam Ahmad.

The ulama's of the four mazhabs agree that for the people who die shaheed in battle, it is not a requirement that they must die from certain weapons. But, the condition is that their death are caused by the enemies.

The ulama's of Fiqh agree that it is enough to wrap the janazas of those who die shaheed with the clothes they are wearing at the time of their shaheed, as prescribed by the Shari'ah. And according to a strong and accurate opinion, it is not allowed take those clothes off and replace them with another.

If the clothes of the people who die shaheed are stolen in battle, then they should be wrapped in a way similar to those who die generally in normal conditions.

Jumhur ulama' are of the opinion that all items donned by the people who die shaheed should be taken off, except the clothes. Therefore, the weapons, body armors or bulletproof shields should be taken off.

About performing the funeral prayer for the people who die shaheed, Ibnul Qayyim rahimahullah said, "What is agreed on this issue is that the people are welcome to choose between performing it or not. Because, both of the opinions equally have al-Atsar (الأثر) they are based on."

The shaheed people are to be buried on the location where they are killed if possible. However, if circumstances do not allow, maybe due to concern that the jasad would be stolen, burnt or mutilated, then it is allowed to transfer them to other areas.

O Allah, I beg You for a happy life, the death of shaheed and victory over the enemies.

All praises are for Allah, with Whose grace all goodness becomes complete.