The means by which martyrdom is attained

Sayyiduna Rashid bin Hubaysh (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to visit Sayyiduna Ubadah bin al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him); this was during his illness. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Do you know who are the martyrs of my ummah?" The people remained silent. Sayyiduna Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Support me." The people supported him and sat him up. He said: "O Messenger of Allah, (the one who is killed) being patient and hoping for reward (is the martyr)." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In that case the martyrs of my ummah would be few. Being killed in the path of Allah is martyrdom, (dying of) plague is martyrdom, (dying by) drowning is martyrdom, (dying of a disease of) the belly is martyrdom, and (the woman who dies in) childbirth, her child will drag her by its umbilical cord to Paradise." The narrator says: Abu al-Awwam, the custodian of Bayt al-Maqdis, added these words: "and burning, and flood (dying in them)."
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

He recorded this narration with his chain up to Sayyiduna Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him)
in which he mentioned this, and its chain contains a narrator who is not named.

Sayyiduna Ubadah bin al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to me to visit me while I was ill, and some people of the Ansar were present (or: some people of the Ansar came with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Do you know who the martyr is?" The people remained silent. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Do you know who the martyr is?" I said to my wife: "Prop me up." She propped me up, and I said: "Whoever accepts Islam, then emigrates, and then is killed in the path of Allah is a martyr." After this the narrator mentioned the hadith as before.
Ahmad, al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani (in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat) recorded it, though al-Tabarani's wording is: "If the martyrs of my ummah were only these, then they would be few. The one killed in the path of Allah is a martyr, the one who dies by drowning is a martyr, the one who dies of a disease of the belly is a martyr, the one who dies of plague is a martyr, and (the woman who dies in) childbirth, her child will drag her by its umbilical cord to Paradise." Its chain contains a narrator, al-Mughirah bin Ziyad, whom a group declared thiqah (trustworthy) and others declared da'if (weak). The rest of its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Ubadah bin al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: We went to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) to visit him, and he fell unconscious. We said: "May Allah Almighty have mercy on you. We had hoped that you would die in a state other than this; we had hoped for martyrdom for you." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came in while we were talking about this. He said: "What do you count as martyrdom?" The people remained silent. Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) stirred and said: "Why do you not answer the Messenger of Allah?" Then he himself answered the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), saying: "We count being killed as martyrdom." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In that case the martyrs of my ummah would be few. In being killed there is martyrdom, in plague there is martyrdom, in disease of the belly there is martyrdom, in drowning there is martyrdom, and women in childbirth whose child becomes the cause of their death, (their death) is martyrdom."
Al-Tabarani recorded it. Ahmad recorded something similar, and the narrators of both are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Rabi' al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to visit my nephew Jabr al-Ansari. His family began to weep over him. Jabr said to them: "Do not hurt the Messenger of Allah with your voices." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Let these women weep as long as this man is alive; when death occurs, the women should fall silent." One of those present said: "We did not expect that your death would be like this, on your bed; we thought you would be martyred in the path of Allah while taking part in battle with the Messenger of Allah." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Is martyrdom only in being killed in the path of Allah? In that case the martyrs of my ummah would be few. Martyrdom comes through being wounded, martyrdom comes through disease of the belly, martyrdom comes through plague, the death of a woman in childbirth at the time of delivery is martyrdom, dying by burning is martyrdom, dying by drowning and dying beneath rubble is martyrdom, and dying of pleurisy (dhat al-janb) is martyrdom."
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to us and asked: "Whom do you count as a martyr among you?" We said: "Whoever is killed in the path of Allah." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever is killed in the path of Allah is a martyr, whoever drowns in the path of Allah is a martyr, whoever is killed by a disease of the belly is a martyr, and the woman who dies during childbirth is a martyr."
Al-Tabarani recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, Abd al-Rahman bin Ziyad bin An'um, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: Once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his Companions: "Whom do you count as martyrs among you?" The people said: "Whoever is killed in the path of Allah while being patient, hoping for reward, facing the enemy and not turning his back is a martyr." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In that case the martyrs of my ummah would be few. The one killed in the path of Allah is a martyr; the man who dies on his bed in the path of Allah is a martyr; the one who dies of a disease of the belly is a martyr; the one who dies from the sting of a creature is a martyr; the one who dies by drowning is a martyr; al-shariq (perhaps meaning the person who chokes) is a martyr; the one torn apart by a wild beast is a martyr; the one who falls from his mount and dies is a martyr; the one who dies beneath rubble is a martyr; the one who dies of pleurisy (dhat al-janb) is a martyr; and the woman in childbirth (is a martyr) whose child becomes the cause of her death; that child will drag her by its umbilical cord into Paradise."
Al-Tabarani recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, Amr bin Atiyyah bin al-Harith al-Wadi'i, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Count as martyrdom being killed, (dying) of plague, dying by drowning, (dying) of a disease of the belly, and a woman dying in labour, when her death occurs during childbirth."
Al-Bazzar recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Busr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to visit Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: "Whom among my ummah do you count as martyrs?" He said this three times. The people said: "Allah and His Messenger know best." Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If the Messenger of Allah wishes, let him permit me, and I will tell you who the martyrs of your ummah are." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Tell me who the martyrs of my ummah are." Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Support me." The people supported him, and he said: "The person who believes in Allah Almighty, strives in the path of Allah and takes part in battle until he is martyred." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In that case the martyrs of my ummah would be few. The one killed in the path of Allah is a martyr, the one who dies of a disease of the belly is a martyr, the one who dies of a wound is a martyr, the one who dies by drowning is a martyr, and the woman in childbirth is a martyr."
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih, except Abu Salih al-Farra', who is thiqah (trustworthy).

Abd al-Malik bin Harun bin Antarah reports from his father, from his grandfather, who said: One day the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whom do you count as a martyr among you?" We said: "O Messenger of Allah, whoever is killed in the path of Allah." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In that case the martyrs of my ummah would be few. Whoever is killed in the path of Allah is a martyr, the one who dies of a disease of the belly is a martyr, the one who dies by falling is a martyr, the woman who dies in childbirth is a martyr, and the one who dies by drowning is a martyr." Al-Hulwani added these words: "The one who dies of consumption is a martyr, the one who dies by burning is a martyr, and the one who dies as a stranger is a martyr."
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and the narrator named Abd al-Malik is matruk (abandoned).

Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with zakah three times. He asked: "Whom do you count as a martyr?" The people said: "Whoever is killed in the path of Allah." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In that case the martyrs of my ummah would be few. Being killed in the path of Allah is martyrdom, dying of plague is martyrdom, a woman dying during childbirth is martyrdom, dying by burning is martyrdom, dying by drowning is martyrdom, dying of consumption is martyrdom, and dying of a disease of the belly is martyrdom."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. Its chain contains a narrator, Mandal bin Ali, who is da'if (weak), though he has been declared trustworthy.
Al-Bazzar recorded it.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports this as a marfu' hadith (the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said): "Dying of a disease of the belly and dying by drowning are martyrdom."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: I said: "O Messenger of Allah! Is the martyr only the one who is killed in the path of Allah?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In that case the martyrs of my Ummah would be few. Whoever recites these words twenty-five times a day: 'O Allah, grant blessing in death and in the life after death,' and then dies even on his bed, Allah Almighty will grant him the reward of a martyr."
Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its chain contains narrators whom I do not know. Hadiths have already passed in (the chapter on) the virtue of jihad stating that whoever leaves his home in the path of Allah, then by whatever cause he dies, he is counted a martyr.

Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever falls from his mount and dies is a martyr."
Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whoever falls from the top of a mountain and dies, or whom wild beasts devour, or who drowns in the sea, will be counted a martyr with Allah.
Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih. Hadiths about the plague have already passed in the chapter on funerals.

Muhammad bin Ziyad al-Alhani narrates: It was mentioned in the presence of Abu Inabah al-Khawlani that among the martyrs are the one who dies of plague, the one who dies of an abdominal illness, and the woman who dies during postnatal bleeding. Abu Inabah became angry and said: The Companions of our Prophet narrated this hadith to us from our Prophet, that he said: "The martyrs of Allah on earth are Allah's trustees over His creation, whether they die by being killed or die a natural death."
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).