Is a Woman Who Dies During Pregnancy Considered a Martyr (Shahīdah)?

Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri

❖ Question:​

Is a woman who dies during pregnancy regarded as a shahīdah (martyr)?

✿ Answer:​

Yes — a woman who dies during pregnancy is considered a martyr (shahīdah).

✿ Evidence from the Sunnah:​

Sayyidunā Jābir ibn ʿAtīk رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:


«إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُعْطِي عَلَى النِّيَّةِ مَا لَا يُعْطِي عَلَى الْعَمَلِ، فَمَا تَعُدُّونَ الشَّهِيدَ فِيكُمْ؟»
They said: “The one who is slain in the path of Allah.”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
«الشَّهَادَةُ سَبْعٌ سِوَى الْقَتْلِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ: المَطْعُونُ شَهِيدٌ، وَالمَغْرُوقُ شَهِيدٌ، وَصَاحِبُ ذَاتِ الجَنْبِ شَهِيدٌ، وَالمَبْطُونُ شَهِيدٌ، وَالمَحْرُوقُ شَهِيدٌ، وَالَّذِي يَمُوتُ تَحْتَ الهَدْمِ شَهِيدٌ، وَالمَرْأَةُ تَمُوتُ بِجُمْعٍ شَهِيدَةٌ.»
“Martyrdom is of seven kinds besides being killed in the path of Allah:
① The one who dies of plague,
② The one who drowns,
③ The one who dies of pleurisy,
④ The one who dies of abdominal illness,
⑤ The one who dies by burning,
⑥ The one who dies under collapse (crushed),
⑦ And the woman who dies during pregnancy (or childbirth) — she is a martyr.”
(Al-Muwaṭṭa’ of Mālik: 1/233; Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 3111; Sunan al-Nasā’ī: 1846 – chain ḥasan)

✿ Authentication:​

• Imām Ibn Ḥibbān (no. 3189) graded this ḥadīth as ṣaḥīḥ (authentic).
• Imām al-Ḥākim (1/503) also declared its chain ṣaḥīḥ, and
• Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī agreed with him.

Conclusion:

• A woman who dies during pregnancy or childbirth is indeed considered a martyr according to the Prophet ﷺ.
• She receives the reward and honor of martyrdom, though her body is washed and buried normally (unlike those martyred in battle).

هٰذَا مَا عِندِي وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
This is what I hold to be correct, and Allah knows best what is right.