✦ Written by: ʿImrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❖ Ghusl and Funeral Prayer Must Be Given to Those Called “Martyrs” Outside the Battlefield
Those individuals upon whom the term “shahīd” (martyr) is applied due to their manner of death—such as:
➤ One who dies from plague (ṭāʿūn)
➤ One who drowns
➤ One who burns to death
➤ Other similar causes of death
All of these are to be washed, shrouded, and prayed over without exception, as established by consensus (ijmāʿ).
❖ Practice of the Companions
Companions such as:
- ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه
- ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān رضي الله عنه
- ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه
All of them were considered martyrs, yet:
✔ They were given ghusl
✔ They were shrouded (kafan)
✔ Their funeral prayers were performed
This practice was established and accepted without dispute among the scholars.
❖ Scholarly Consensus and Rulings
- Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله stated:
All of these individuals will be given ghusl and their funeral prayer will be performed, without any difference of opinion.
[Nayl al-Awṭār 2/678, al-Majmūʿ 5/264, al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 1/410, al-Baḥr al-Zakhkhār 1/96] - Ibn Ḥazm رحمه الله also affirmed this ruling.
[al-Muḥallā bi al-Āthār 3/337]
✔ Summary of the Ruling:
① Those who are martyrs in reward (shahīd fī al-ajr) but not in battlefield context, must be given:
— Ghusl
— Kafan
— Janāzah prayer
② The difference in ruling lies between:
— Battlefield martyrs (e.g., Uḥud): No ghusl, no janāzah
— Non-battlefield martyrs (e.g., due to illness, accident): Ghusl and janāzah required
