The martyrs

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him): Once we were with one of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), visiting him in his illness, and he was unconscious at the time. Meanwhile the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came and asked: "What were you talking about just now?" The Companions said: "We were talking about the martyrs of this Ummah, and our view was that a martyr is only the one who goes out with his wealth and life and is killed (in the path of Allah)." At this the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If that were so, then the martyrs of my Ummah would be very few. (The truth is that) people attain the rank of martyrdom by being killed on the battlefield, dying in a plague epidemic, drowning, dying of a disease of the belly, and in the case of a woman who dies during pregnancy or childbirth."
(Chapter 82) The hadith of Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) on the virtue of jihad and martyrdom is mentioned at the beginning of the hadith of the Prophets (Ahadith al-Anbiya').

It is narrated from Abu Bakr bin Hafs bin Umar bin Sa'd (may Allah have mercy on him) that a dispute arose between Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas and Sayyiduna Talhah bin Ubaydullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) over some property. One day Sayyiduna Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him and saw that Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) was sitting with his sword drawn from its sheath, resting on his thighs. Sayyiduna Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "O Sa'd, for whom have you prepared this sword?" He replied: "For you." Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "Would you really have done that?" Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: "By the One who sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) with the truth! I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: 'Whoever fights to protect his wealth or his property and is killed in that struggle is a martyr.'"
Imam Ahmad bin Mani' (may Allah have mercy on him) also recorded this report through Abu Ahmad al-Zubayri from Aban bin Abdullah with the same chain.

It is narrated from the wife of Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) (the narrator's grandmother) that Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) was wounded on the day of the Battle of Uhud by an arrow striking the upper part of his chest. Then he came into the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "(O Messenger of Allah,) remove this arrow." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If you wish, I will remove both the arrow and its head (tip); and if you wish, I will remove only the arrow and leave its head (inside the body), and on the Day of Resurrection I will bear witness in your favour that you are a martyr?" He said: "Remove the arrow and leave its head, and on the Day of Resurrection bear witness in my favour that I am a martyr." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes (so it shall be)." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) removed the arrow and left its head where it was. He lived through the times of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the caliphates of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna Umar and Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them). Then, when the time of Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) came, or after it, he died at the time of Asr. The people wanted to carry out the funeral (immediately), but Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "The funeral of so eminent a person as Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) will not be carried out until the people of the surrounding villages have been informed." So they waited until the next day. Then, when the next day came, the funeral was brought out, and one of his maidservants began to weep at the edge of the grave, at which Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "This old man (the deceased) has no endurance for the punishment of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, because of (the wailing of) this foolish woman," or he said words to that effect.
Imam al-Tayalisi also narrated part of this report.

According to the narration of Imam Ahmad bin Mani', Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One who is killed protecting his family is a martyr, one who gives his life defending his neighbour is a martyr, and everyone who is killed for the pleasure of Allah Almighty is a martyr." Likewise, Imam al-Harith also recorded it with these words, that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever is killed wrongfully while protecting his wealth is a martyr, whoever is killed protecting his own life is a martyr, whoever is killed defending his family is a martyr, whoever gives his life for the sake of his neighbour is a martyr, and whoever is killed in the path of Allah Almighty is a martyr."
According to the scholars of the discipline, the chain of this report contains a break (inqita', the chain of narration being broken in the middle).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever is killed (unjustly) while protecting his wealth is a martyr."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him): I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "Whoever falls from his mount in the path of Allah Almighty and then dies is a martyr."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jarir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The destruction of my Ummah will be through spear-thrusts (fighting) and plague." The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) said: "O Messenger of Allah, we know what spear-thrusts are, but what is this plague?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is the pricking (harm) of your enemies from among the jinn, and those who die in either case are martyrs."
I (the author) say: This chain, through Ziyad from an unnamed man, is better known as being from Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him).

Al-Qasim bin Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her), said: "The one who falls victim to plague, (the majbub, that is) the person whose limbs have been cut off, the woman who dies in childbirth, and the one who dies of a disease of the belly: all of these attain the rank of martyrdom."
The narrator Musa bin Bulaydan says: My father asked (al-Qasim): "Did Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrate this hadith to you from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?" He replied: "Yes, she narrated it to me in this way, and I have preserved it exactly in this way (as marfu')."

(It is not present in the book.)

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The ways in which people are granted the rank of martyrdom are these: being killed in the path of Allah, falling victim to plague (or spear-thrusts), drowning in water, dying of some disease of the belly (such as dropsy), and the woman who dies while pregnant or who dies during the days of her childbirth (nifas)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Cave of Thawr, and at that time he (peace and blessings be upon him) made this supplication: 'Allahumma ta'nan wa ta'unan' (O Allah, (grant my Ummah death by) the thrust of spears and plague). I said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I know that you have asked for the ways of death for your Ummah. As for the wounds of spears (martyrdom on the battlefield), we know them, but what is this plague?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is a kind of tumour or infection that forms in the inner part of the body, like a boil. If your life is prolonged, you will soon see it."
The chain of this hadith is extremely weak and unreliable because of the narrator named Ja'far bin al-Zubayr.

It is narrated from the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her): The plague was mentioned, and I mentioned that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is a pricking that afflicts my Ummah from their enemies among the jinn. It is a swelling (boil) like the swelling of the belly. Whoever remains (with patience and steadfastness) where it (the epidemic) is present is like a mujahid guarding the frontier in the path of Allah; whoever is afflicted by this disease is a martyr; and whoever runs away from it (out of fear) is like one who turns his back and flees from the battlefield."
The chain of this report is extremely weak because of Layth bin Abi Sulaym and his (unnamed) teacher.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the martyrs were mentioned in the court of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "(The true martyrs) are those who, when they meet the enemy, do not turn their faces away until they are killed. These are the fortunate ones who will dwell in the lofty rooms of Paradise in great comfort and contentment, and their Lord will look at them and smile. And remember that when your Lord smiles at His servant in any place, there is no reckoning for him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah Almighty takes the souls of the martyrs of the sea Himself (with His Hand of power) and does not entrust them to the Angel of Death. And when the soul (of the martyr) leaves his chest, it is (as comforting and easy) as milk entering the chest (of a child)."
According to the scholars of narrator criticism (al-jarh wa al-ta'dil), the chain of this report is weak in authority because of the presence of weak narrators such as Dawud bin al-Muhabbar and Abbad bin Kathir.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik, Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah and Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with them) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Martyrs are of three kinds: One is a man who went out (into the field of action) with his life and wealth, with patience and steadfastness and seeking reward, intending neither to kill anyone nor to be killed himself. If he dies a natural death or is killed, all his sins are forgiven, he is saved from the punishment of the grave, he will be safe from the great terror of the Day of Resurrection, he will be married to the wide-eyed houris, he will be clothed in the splendid garment of honour and dignity, and the crown of eternity will be placed on his head. And the second is a man who went out with his life and wealth seeking reward, intending to kill the enemy but not wanting to be killed himself. If he dies or is killed, his station will be so lofty, in the seat of truth before Allah Almighty, 'in a seat of truth' [Surah al-Qamar: 55], that his knee will be alongside the knee of Allah's Khalil, Sayyiduna Ibrahim (peace be upon him)."
I (Ibn Hajar) say: This is a mawdu' (fabricated) report. How ignorant was the one who forged it, and how bold he was in lying against Allah Almighty!

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sahl bin Hunayf (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "As soon as the first drop of the martyr's blood is shed, all his sins are forgiven, except debt."