I have read a hadith from a noble Companion, Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), in which he said: “What do you consider to be a martyr among you?
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The questioner : I have read a hadith from the noble Companion Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the noble Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), in which he said: Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq 13:288 They said: “O Messenger of Allah! Whoever is killed in the cause of Allah is a martyr.” He said: Sunan Ibn Majah 2804 They said: “Who are they, O Messenger of Allah?” He said: Riyad as-Salihin 1354 Narrated by Muslim. The question is: Is martyrdom recorded for one who drowns while intoxicated, given that the text of the hadith states that the one who drowns is a martyr? We ask you, O honorable Shaykh Muhammad, for guidance. May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad. Before answering this question, I would like to point out that in our present age, the title of “martyr” has become cheap in the eyes of many people, to the extent that they describe with it those who are not worthy of martyrdom. This is forbidden; it is not permissible for anyone to declare a person a martyr except for those whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared to be martyrs.
The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) declaration of martyrdom is divided into two categories. The first is that he declares a specific person to be a martyr, as in the authentic hadith where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ascended Mount Uhud with Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman, and the mountain shook with them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3697Sahih (Darussalam) So, for those whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) specifically declared to be martyrs, we testify that they are martyrs, in confirmation of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and following him in that.
The second category is those for whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared martyrdom in general terms, as in the hadith mentioned by the questioner, where he said that whoever is killed in the cause of Allah is a martyr, and whoever dies in the cause of Allah is a martyr, and the one who drowns is a martyr, and so on, regarding the martyrs for whom the hadith mentions martyrdom in general terms without specifying a particular individual. In this category, it is not permissible for us to apply it to a specific individual; rather, we say that whoever possesses such and such a description is a martyr, and we do not specify a particular man with that, because testifying by description is not the same as testifying by specific identity. Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) titled this issue in his “Sahih”, saying: “Chapter: It is not said: So-and-so is a martyr”, and he provided evidence for this with the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan an-Nasa'i 3127Sahih (Darussalam) And his saying, meaning the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1656Sahih (Darussalam), meaning by the one who is wounded. Under this title, he narrated the long, well-known hadith about the man who was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a battle and was brave and bold, not leaving any gap or opening for the enemy without pursuing it and striking it with his sword. The Companions praised him in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated the hadith in full, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 112.
This evidence that Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) used for the title is clear, because the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan an-Nasa'i 3127Sahih (Darussalam) or Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1656Sahih (Darussalam) indicates that the apparent may be contrary to the hidden, and the rulings of the Hereafter are carried out based on the hidden, not the apparent.
And the story of the man that Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated under this title is very clear, for the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) praised this man based on his apparent state, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them:Sahih al-Bukhari 6607 So, one of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) followed him and stayed with him, and the end of this man’s affair was that he killed himself with his sword. So, we do not judge people by the rulings of the Hereafter based on their apparent state; rather, we bring the texts in their generality, and Allah knows best whether they apply to this man, whose apparent state to us is that he possesses this description to which the ruling is attached.
The author of al-Fath, meaning “Fath al-Bari”, which is the famous commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, mentioned that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) gave a sermon and said: “You say in your battles: So-and-so is a martyr, and so-and-so died a martyr, and perhaps he may have loaded his camel with [sin]. So, do not say that, but say as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:” He said in al-Fath: “And it is a good hadith”. Accordingly, we testify to martyrship based on the description brought by the text: if it is for a specific person, we testify to it for that specific person whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) specified; and if it is in general terms, we testify to it in general terms and do not apply it to a specific individual, because the rulings of the Hereafter are related to the hidden, not the apparent.
We ask Allah the Exalted to keep us all firm with the firm word and to rectify our hearts and our deeds. Based on this, regarding the questioner’s statement: If a person drowns while intoxicated, will he be among the martyrs? We say: We will not testify to this specific drowned person that he is a martyr, whether he drank intoxicants and became intoxicated and then drowned in his state of intoxication, or whether he did not drink them.
Then, on the occasion of mentioning intoxication, we must know that drinking intoxicants is among the major sins, and it is obligatory for every sane Muslim to leave it and avoid it, as his Lord (Mighty and Majestic) commanded him, and He said:[Al-Ma'idah 5:90] And whoever drinks it until he becomes intoxicated is punished with flogging. If he returns, he is flogged a second time. If he returns, he is flogged a third time. If he returns a fourth time, some of the scholars said he is killed, based on a hadith that came regarding this, and some said he is not killed and that the hadith is abrogated, and some distinguished, such as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, who said that he is killed if he is flogged three or four times and does not stop. Shaykh al-Islam said that he is killed if the people do not stop without killing, meaning that the drinking of intoxicants has spread among the people and they do not stop despite the repetition of the punishment upon them; if they do not stop except by killing, then he is killed.
In any case, it is obligatory for the believer to avoid that, and we should all strive to prevent its spread by every means. And success is from Allah.
The questioner : May Allah reward you. This is a message that reached us from one of the female listeners who works in the United Arab Emirates. The message is long, and I will, if Allah wills, summarize it. She says:
What do you consider to be a martyr among you?
ما تعدون الشهيد فيكم؟In that case the martyrs among my nation would be few
إن شهداء أمتي إذًا لقليلHe who is killed in the way of Allah is a martyr; he who dies naturally in the Cause of Allah is a martyr; he who dies of plague is a martyr; and he who dies of a belly disease is a martyr; and he who is drowned is a martyr.
من قتل في سبيل الله فهو شهيد، ومن مات في سبيل الله فهو شهيد، ومن مات في الطاعون فهو شهيد، ومن مات في البطن فهو شهيد، والغريق شهيدThe Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad. Before answering this question, I would like to point out that in our present age, the title of “martyr” has become cheap in the eyes of many people, to the extent that they describe with it those who are not worthy of martyrdom. This is forbidden; it is not permissible for anyone to declare a person a martyr except for those whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared to be martyrs.
The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) declaration of martyrdom is divided into two categories. The first is that he declares a specific person to be a martyr, as in the authentic hadith where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ascended Mount Uhud with Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman, and the mountain shook with them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"Be firm O Uhud! For there is none upon you except a Prophet, a Siddiq, and two martyrs."
اثبت أحد، فإنما عليك نبي وصديق وشهيدانThe second category is those for whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared martyrdom in general terms, as in the hadith mentioned by the questioner, where he said that whoever is killed in the cause of Allah is a martyr, and whoever dies in the cause of Allah is a martyr, and the one who drowns is a martyr, and so on, regarding the martyrs for whom the hadith mentions martyrdom in general terms without specifying a particular individual. In this category, it is not permissible for us to apply it to a specific individual; rather, we say that whoever possesses such and such a description is a martyr, and we do not specify a particular man with that, because testifying by description is not the same as testifying by specific identity. Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) titled this issue in his “Sahih”, saying: “Chapter: It is not said: So-and-so is a martyr”, and he provided evidence for this with the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
and Allah knows best who in His cause
الله أعلم بمن يُجاهد في سبيلهand Allah knows better about who has been injured in His cause
الله أعلم بمن يُكلم في سبيلهA person performs the deeds which to the people appear to be the deeds befitting the dweller of Paradise, but he is in fact one of the denizens of Hell.
إن الرجل ليعمل عمل أهل الجنة فيما يبدو للناس وهو من أهل النارThis evidence that Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) used for the title is clear, because the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
and Allah knows best who in His cause
الله أعلم بمن يُجاهد في سبيلهwho has been injured in His cause
بمن يُكلم في سبيلهAnd the story of the man that Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated under this title is very clear, for the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) praised this man based on his apparent state, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them:
he belongs to the people of Fire
إنه من أهل النارThe author of al-Fath, meaning “Fath al-Bari”, which is the famous commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, mentioned that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) gave a sermon and said: “You say in your battles: So-and-so is a martyr, and so-and-so died a martyr, and perhaps he may have loaded his camel with [sin]. So, do not say that, but say as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever dies in the cause of Allah or is killed, he is a martyr.
من مات في سبيل الله أو قتل فهو شهيدWe ask Allah the Exalted to keep us all firm with the firm word and to rectify our hearts and our deeds. Based on this, regarding the questioner’s statement: If a person drowns while intoxicated, will he be among the martyrs? We say: We will not testify to this specific drowned person that he is a martyr, whether he drank intoxicants and became intoxicated and then drowned in his state of intoxication, or whether he did not drink them.
Then, on the occasion of mentioning intoxication, we must know that drinking intoxicants is among the major sins, and it is obligatory for every sane Muslim to leave it and avoid it, as his Lord (Mighty and Majestic) commanded him, and He said:
O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءامَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالأَنصَابُ وَالأَزْلامُ رِجْسٌ مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَIn any case, it is obligatory for the believer to avoid that, and we should all strive to prevent its spread by every means. And success is from Allah.
The questioner : May Allah reward you. This is a message that reached us from one of the female listeners who works in the United Arab Emirates. The message is long, and I will, if Allah wills, summarize it. She says: