Is it said: So-and-so is a martyr, or was he martyred in the path of Allah?

The questioner : ... So-and-so is a martyr, or was he martyred in the path of Allah?

The Shaykh : The martyr in Islam—our dear brothers—has two states: either his martyrdom is real, or his martyrdom is legal (judicial) and not real.
There are two types of martyrdom. The first type is the Muslim who is killed in battle while fighting in the path of Allah; this is the real martyr. He has known rulings in Islam: he is not washed, not shrouded, and is buried in the clothes that are stained with noble blood, and he is buried in the place where he fell as a casualty. These are specific rulings for the martyr in battle.
Then there is legal martyrdom, and none of these rulings related to martyrdom or the real martyr apply to it. This type of martyrdom—legal martyrdom—is naturally taken from what the Wise Lawgiver has ruled, stating that whoever possesses such-and-such a quality is a martyr. For example, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , , , , . These are some examples of what is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) where he applied the name "martyr" to them. However, the scholars are unanimous that this application does not grant them the virtue of the real martyr who died in battle; rather, it is a matter of approximation in virtue. That is to say, those to whom the Messenger (peace be upon him) applied the title of martyr, or each one of them, has a virtue that other people who do not die in one of these states do not share.
... your tongues, . So, the one who composes articles or prints treatises in refuting the disbelievers and polytheists; this is a type of jihad without a doubt. The one who assists these people with his wealth is also a type of jihad in the path of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). But he is not called a martyr by the Shari'ah if he dies in this state; that is because martyrdom is a legal ruling, and it is not permissible to apply it to everyone who fights in the path of Allah in any type of jihad. Rather, one must stand by the text.
We give you an example of a man whom women rarely bore in terms of jihad in the general sense: namely, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. It is sufficient for you that he died in prison, imprisoned unjustly and oppressively, because he was resolute in the truth and no one could make him hesitate in the matter of Allah. So show us any book from the books of Muslim scholars that biographies this man and clarifies that he was a single ummah, where they described him as "Ibn Taymiyyah the Martyr" or "The Martyr Ibn Taymiyyah."
The truth, and I say the truth, is that this word has become today so degraded that we laugh at some people: a man kills another unjustly, oppressively, and tyrannically, then another comes and kills the killer. And when this killer, who has become a casualty and received his due in this world, is carried on the bier and on people's shoulders, you hear people saying: "And the martyr is the beloved of Allah!" So martyrdom has become a common word. In Syria, the story of a man in the war with the Jews became widespread, named "Joull Jamil." You may have heard his name. This man was a Christian, and among the people, even Muslims, due to their ignorance, misguidance, and distance from Islam, he became "The Martyr Joull Jamil." Even his name was given to a school and a large sign: "The Martyr Joull Jamil School."
What justified this extreme deviation in applying this name even to a disbeliever? Our laxity in using this word, to the point that we included under it any meaning that has a status in Islam. This is not permissible Islamically. We must stand as He said (the Exalted): "" Do you transgress them? "" Is that not the verse?

Those present : .

The Shaykh : ، .
So, in summary, we do not apply the title or name of "martyr" except to what came in the Sunnah as a martyr, no matter how great his work, as we gave you the example of this great man, namely Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, who died while a prisoner. We do not say about him that he is a martyr. And if we wanted to apply this word to some of the heroes who performed well in the service of Islam and fighting the enemies of Islam, we would say: "The Martyr Ibn Taymiyyah." But far be it from us to exalt people with words for which we have not been given permission in the Shari'ah of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to use them. In that is a lesson for those who take heed and a reminder for those who remember.