Ruling on describing one who was killed in battle as a martyr
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Honorable Shaykh! If a Muslim is killed in any battle between Muslims and disbelievers, do we describe him as a martyr?
First: May Allah bless you,The one killed in jihad, we do not say: He is a martyr, even if it was between Muslims and disbelievers; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (And Allah knows best who He speaks to in His cause, except that he will come on the Day of Resurrection with his wound still oozing blood, its color the color of blood and its scent the scent of musk) So His saying: (And Allah knows best who He speaks to in His cause) means: that we have no knowledge of it; but we hope that he is a martyr, and for this reason al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) titled this issue with his saying: (It is not said: So-and-so is a martyr) and he mentioned this hadith that I have mentioned to you.
And the author of al-Fath, Ibn Hajar, mentioned a report from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: [You say: So-and-so is a martyr, and so-and-so is a martyr, and perhaps he may have been arrogant,But say: or so-and-so was killed or died in jihad, or a word to that effect] But despite this, we hope for a person to be a martyr if we know of his righteousness, that he is a righteous man, and that he did not fight except so that the word of Allah would be the supreme word, then we hope that he is a martyr.
Then, our saying "martyr" regarding this killed person does not benefit him; because if he is a martyr in the sight of Allah, he is a martyr, whether we say it or not, and if he is not a martyr, then our saying that he is a martyr does not benefit him. But whoever is killed from among the Muslims in battle, he is treated outwardly with the treatment of martyrs, as is known outwardly; because in this world we treat a person based on his outward appearance, but in the Hereafter a person is treated based on what is in his heart, and he is given the ruling of a martyr in the legal rulings, but we do not testify to it for him. Now, are we not praying over the funeral now? We are praying over him as a Muslim, and we treat him with the treatment of a Muslim, and the Muslim's destination is Paradise. So do we testify for this deceased that he is from the people of Paradise? No.
So the treatment is a different matter from the issue of testifying to martyrdom.
First: May Allah bless you,The one killed in jihad, we do not say: He is a martyr, even if it was between Muslims and disbelievers; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (And Allah knows best who He speaks to in His cause, except that he will come on the Day of Resurrection with his wound still oozing blood, its color the color of blood and its scent the scent of musk) So His saying: (And Allah knows best who He speaks to in His cause) means: that we have no knowledge of it; but we hope that he is a martyr, and for this reason al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) titled this issue with his saying: (It is not said: So-and-so is a martyr) and he mentioned this hadith that I have mentioned to you.
And the author of al-Fath, Ibn Hajar, mentioned a report from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: [You say: So-and-so is a martyr, and so-and-so is a martyr, and perhaps he may have been arrogant,But say: or so-and-so was killed or died in jihad, or a word to that effect] But despite this, we hope for a person to be a martyr if we know of his righteousness, that he is a righteous man, and that he did not fight except so that the word of Allah would be the supreme word, then we hope that he is a martyr.
Then, our saying "martyr" regarding this killed person does not benefit him; because if he is a martyr in the sight of Allah, he is a martyr, whether we say it or not, and if he is not a martyr, then our saying that he is a martyr does not benefit him. But whoever is killed from among the Muslims in battle, he is treated outwardly with the treatment of martyrs, as is known outwardly; because in this world we treat a person based on his outward appearance, but in the Hereafter a person is treated based on what is in his heart, and he is given the ruling of a martyr in the legal rulings, but we do not testify to it for him. Now, are we not praying over the funeral now? We are praying over him as a Muslim, and we treat him with the treatment of a Muslim, and the Muslim's destination is Paradise. So do we testify for this deceased that he is from the people of Paradise? No.
So the treatment is a different matter from the issue of testifying to martyrdom.