If war breaks out between the Iraqis and the allies, and it is known that the disbelievers will put the Muslims cooperating with them in the front line

Abu Malik: And there is a continuation to the reality of the question, or the two questions, which is: if fighting occurs and it is known that the disbelievers, due to their cunning and treachery, do not face the Iraqis in the fighting, but rather put Muslims in front of them, putting Egyptians, Pakistanis, Qatari, and other fighters who participate with them in this battle, then there is no doubt that the battle will begin between the two groups with a slaughter among the Muslims, from these and those. So, are the dead from both sides or from one side considered martyrs, and which of the two sides are the martyrs?

The Shaykh : First, who are the martyrs? We say that their knowledge is with Allah, because martyrdom does not consist merely of fighting, even if it is a Muslim fighting a disbeliever. Rather, martyrdom is realized when the intention is for jihad in the path of Allah, and not for defending a land, except to make it an Islamic land where the law of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) is applied. As came in some narrations from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but there is a man in the narrators whose memory is weak, and he is Abdullah ibn Lahi'ah al-Qadi, "Do not drink, O boy, with your left hand." The point is that it came in a hadith in whose chain is Abdullah ibn Lahi'ah, the meaning is very beautiful, but we cannot say that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said it, because it did not come from a trustworthy, memorizing, and precise path regarding the wording of the hadith: And this meaning is correct, and what came in Sahih al-Bukhari from the story of that man, I think his name is Quzman or what?
Al-Halabi : Quzman.

The Shaykh : The name is not in Sahih al-Bukhari, but the story is in Sahih al-Bukhari, that a man from the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fought a severe fight until the Companions were amazed by the intensity of his fighting. So they hastened to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to tell him that so-and-so is fighting thus and thus. So his answer, peace be upon him, was: And so the story has some length, and its summary is that three times the Companions return to the Messenger, amazed by the intensity of his fighting and his bravery, and the answer of the Messenger does not change: And finally, a man from his companions resolved to be with this fighter, and I do not say now mujahid, to be his companion to watch him. So the outcome of this fighter was that the wounds multiplied on him and he did not bear them, so he put the head of the sword on his belly and leaned on it until it came out of his back and he died. So the man who was accompanying him hastened to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to tell him: O Messenger of Allah, so-and-so, about whom you said thus and thus, did thus and thus. So he said, peace and blessings be upon him: If the statement of Ibn Lahi'ah is true in what he narrated: And therefore we cannot say that if the banner of jihad in the path of Allah and fighting the enemies of Allah is raised, that everyone who is killed is a martyr. We wish that, and we treat him with the treatment of martyrs: we do not pray over him, we do not wash him, we do not shroud him, and we bury him in his clothes and his blood. This is a worldly ruling. As for the Hereafter, Allah knows best about his intention. This is if there is an Islamic society and Islamic jihad. So what about us today, when many people do not pray, and yet they claim that they want to do jihad? If we know this reality, we do not say that among the ranks of those fighting the disbelievers, whoever dies is a martyr or is not a martyr. Likewise, whoever dies among the Muslims while fighting with the disbelievers against the Muslims is more and more deserving that we do not say he is a martyr. But we say that the Muslims who are fighting with the disbelievers today, the Iraqis, these are wrong in the greatest error, and then Allah knows best about their intentions. They may be deceived, some of them may be exerting effort in a wrong ijtihad. As for the other side, which is now defending its Muslim country, these are on the right. Likewise, we say, Allah knows best about their intentions. And therefore it is not befitting for us to delve into such a question: are all of both sides martyrs? We say the side with which the truth is, if it intends jihad in the path of Allah, then he is a martyr. But if he does not intend that, then he is a killed person and not a martyr.