Ruling on Ghusl and Funeral Prayer for Non-Battlefield Martyrs

✦ 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