Jihad for the sake of Allah is one of the noblest acts of worship and among the best ways a servant can draw closer to the Lord of the Worlds. It is the peak of Islam, as mentioned in the Hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to Mu'adh: “Shall I not inform you of the head of the matter, its pillar and its peak?” I said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is the prayer and its peak is jihad.” (Narrated by Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah)
Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I asked, “Messenger of Allah, which of the deeds is the best?” He (the Holy Prophet) replied: “Belief in Allah and Jihad in His cause.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim). Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “Who is the best of men?” He said, “A man who fights in the way of Allah spending his wealth and staking his life.”
Given the status of jihad for the sake of Allah, dying in His cause is a death that a sincere believer aspires for Allah to grant him, due to the status a martyr holds with Allah. Anas ibn Malik reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Nobody who enters Paradise will (ever like to) return to this world even if he were offered everything on the surface of the earth (as an inducement) except the martyr who will desire to return to this world and be killed ten times for the sake of the great honour that has been bestowed upon him.” (Narrated by Muslim)
Martyrs are of two types: martyrs of this world and the Hereafter, and martyrs of the Hereafter only. The former are those killed in battle between Muslims and disbelievers. The latter include many categories such as those who drown, those who die in a building collapse, those who burn to death, those who die of stomach disease, and those unjustly killed.
The Casualties of Gaza: Martyrs or Victims?
Those who die from Gaza fighting the Zionist enemy are undoubtedly martyrs, unanimously agreed upon by scholars. As for the civilians from Gaza who are not combatants, whether men, children, or women, they are considered martyrs according to all scholars; I know of no disagreement on this. Anyone who says they are victims and not martyrs is entirely wrong.
Evidence for their status as martyrs includes:
- Ibn Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever is killed defending himself against injustice, he is a martyr.” (Narrated by Ahmad in his Musnad, and authenticated by Sheikh Ahmad Shakir). The civilians of Gaza, who were not combatants, were killed defending their rights, thus they are martyrs in the sight of Allah.
- Umar ibn Al-Khattab used to say: “O Allah! I ask you for martyrdom in Your way and death in the city of Your Messenger!” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari in his Sahih, and Malik in his Muwatta). Ibn Abd al-Barr in Al-Istidhkar stated: This indicates that one who is unjustly killed is a martyr, for Umar was killed in the prayer mihrab, praying, unjustly, and he is a martyr, because the unjustly killed is a martyr and the people of Gaza were killed unjustly and oppressively.
- Ibn Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If anyone goes to a man of my community in order to kill him, he should say in this way, the one who kills will go to Hell and the one who is killed will go to Paradise.” (Narrated by Ahmad and Abu Dawood) This clearly indicates that the unjustly killed Muslim is in Paradise by Allah's permission, and the people of Gaza were killed unjustly.
- Ibn Hajar in Fath Al-Bari stated: The unjustly killed person's sins are expiated by the killing, as mentioned in the report authenticated by Ibn Hibban and others: “The sword obliterates errors.” (Narrated by Al-Darimi, Ibn Hibban, Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Sunan, and Al-Tabarani in Al-Kabir, and authenticated by Ibn Hibban and others). Ibn Mas’ud said: “When the killing occurs, it wipes out everything.” (Narrated by Al-Tabarani in Al-Kabir, and Abdul-Razzaq in his Musannaf, and similarly from Al-Hasan ibn Ali; Al-Bazzar narrated from Aisha in a hadith marfu’, “No killing passes by a sin without erasing it”).
In conclusion, an unjustly killed person is a martyr without any disagreement that I know of. The only dispute is whether he is a martyr of this world and the Hereafter or only of the Hereafter. The Hanafi and Hanbali scholars state that the unjustly killed is a martyr of both, as stated by Al-Sarakhsi in Al-Mabsut (2/52): “The unjustly killed is not washed,” and the author of Al-Furu' in Hanbali fiqh (3/299) said: “The unjustly killed is not washed, according to the sound opinion.”
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