بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Answer to Question
Who Are the Martyrs of the Aakhirah? And Who Pays off the Martyr’s Debt?
To Asmaa Fawzi Mohammad
(Translated)
Question:
Assalamu alaykom wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh our respected Shaykh,
It was mentioned in the “Islamic Personality Vol. 2” book, page 165 under the topic “The Martyr”... in relation to the martyr of the Aakhira: (The authentic (position) as what came in Muslim is that they are five who are: (al-mat’un) who is the one who dies in the plague i.e. the known pestilence, the (mabtun) who is the one with diarrhea, the drowned person who dies from the water, the one who dies of (al-hadm) i.e. under buried debris, and the one who dies in the way of raising the word of Allah outside the battlefield.)
While it was narrated in other Ahadeeth that those martyrs are restricted to being in the way of Allah in battlefield... as is mentioned in the Hadith: It was narrated from 'Uqbah bin 'Amir that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«خَمْسٌ مَنْ قُبِضَ فِي شَيْءٍ مِنْهُنَّ فَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ: الْمَقْتُولُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ شَهِيدٌ، وَالْغَرِقُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ شَهِيدٌ، وَالْمَبْطُونُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ شَهِيدٌ، وَالْمَطْعُونُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ شَهِيدٌ، وَالنُّفَسَاءُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ شَهِيدٌ»
“There are five things, whoever dies of any of them is a martyr. The one who is killed in the cause of Allah is a martyr; the one who dies of an abdominal complaint in the cause of Allah is a martyr; the one who dies of the plague in the cause of Allah is a martyr; and the woman who dies in childbirth in the cause of Allah is a martyr.” [Sahih]
Question: Is there correlation between the two Ahadeeth or is there a contradiction? Please clarify this matter, with all due respect.
Second question: It was also narrated in the same context of the topic of the martyr. The Hadith narrated by Abdullah bin Amr bin Al-‘As that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«يُغْفَرُ لِلشَّهِيدِ كُلُّ ذَنْبٍ إِلَّا الدَّيْنَ» “All the sins of a Shahid (martyr) are forgiven except debt.”
The question is: if the Shaheed was not able to pay back his debt after his martyrdom... who should pay his debt after his martyrdom? Thank you in advance.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu:
Firstly: Regarding martyrs:
Muslim narrated from Abu Hurayra (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«بَيْنَمَا رَجُلٌ يَمْشِي بِطَرِيقٍ وَجَدَ غُصْنَ شَوْكٍ عَلَى الطَّرِيقِ فَأَخَّرَهُ فَشَكَرَ اللَّهُ لَهُ فَغَفَرَ لَهُ وَقَالَ الشُّهَدَاءُ خَمْسَةٌ الْمَطْعُونُ وَالْمَبْطُونُ وَالْغَرِقُ وَصَاحِبُ الْهَدْمِ وَالشَّهِيدُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ»
“A man walking along the road found a thorn-branch in the road and removed it. Allah was grateful to him and forgave him. He (saw) said: The martyrs (shuhadaa) are five: the stabbed (al-mat’un), the one with stomach illness (al-mabtun), the drowned one, the one who died in a collapsed (building) [under buried debris] and the shaheed in the way of Allah ‘azza wa jalla.”
It was narrated from 'Uqbah bin 'Amir that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«خَمْسٌ مَنْ قُبِضَ فِي شَيْءٍ مِنْهُنَّ فَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ: الْمَقْتُولُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ شَهِيدٌ، وَالْغَرِيقُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ شَهِيدٌ، وَالْمَبْطُونُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ شَهِيدٌ، وَالْمَطْعُونُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ شَهِيدٌ، وَالنُّفَسَاءُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ شَهِيدٌ»
“There are five things, whoever dies of any of them is a martyr. The one who drowns in the cause of Allah is a martyr; the one who dies of an abdominal complaint in the cause of Allah is a martyr; the one who dies of the plague in the cause of Allah is a martyr; the one who is stabbed in the cause of Allah is a martyr; and the woman who dies in childbirth in the cause of Allah is a martyr.” [Reported by An-Nasa’i and Tabarani]
There is no contradiction, the hadith of Muslim is absolute (mutlaq):
«الْمَطْعُونُ وَالْمَبْطُونُ وَالْغَرِقُ وَصَاحِبُ الْهَدْمِ» “the stabbed (al-mat’un), the one with stomach illness (al-mabtun), the drowned one, the one who died in a collapsed (building).” As for the other Hadith, it is restricted (muqayyad) with the word (in the cause of Allah),
«وَالْغَرِيقُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ شَهِيدٌ، وَالْمَبْطُونُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ شَهِيدٌ، وَالْمَطْعُونُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ شَهِيدٌ»
“The one who drowns in the cause of Allah is a martyr; the one who dies of an abdominal complaint in the cause of Allah is a martyr; the one who dies of the plague in the cause of Allah is a martyr; the one who is stabbed in the cause of Allah is a martyr.” Thus both ahadeeth are combined by attributing the absolute on the restricted, hence all of them are martyrs if they were in the cause of Allah, and the concatenation (Qareenah) gives the word “in the cause of Allah” its meaning, so if it was concatenated with nafaqah (they give (nafaqah) in the cause of Allah) or with Jihad (they perform Jihad in the cause of Allah), it then means fighting so that the word of Allah be the highest. As was mentioned in Sahih Bukhari that Abu Musa (radhiyaAllahu ‘Anhu) said: A man came to the Messenger of Allah (saw) and said: O Messenger of Allah, the man who fights for booty, the man who fights to be mentioned and the man who fights so that his rank is seen. Which one is in the way of Allah? The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«مَنْ قَاتَلَ لِتَكُونَ كَلِمَةُ اللَّهِ هِيَ الْعُلْيَا فَهُوَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ» “The one who fights so that the word of Allah be the highest is the one in the way of Allah.”... If the word (in the cause of Allah) was mentioned without any concatenation (qareenah) to determine the meaning, then it implies obedience to Allah (swt) and becoming closer to Him etc... so if the person was a believer, obedient to Allah (swt) and died in the ways mentioned in the Hadith, then he would be a martyr of the Aakhirah, except the one fighting in the cause of Allah – he would be a martyr of the Dunya and Aakhirah.. i.e. if the one with stomach illness died (in this state) while being obedient to Allah (swt), as well as the stabbed and the drowned etc.. then they are all martyrs, as for those who die in this state – stomach illness, stabbed etc., while not being obedient to Allah, then they are not martyrs.
Secondly: as for your question about a martyr who has debt and was unable to pay it back before his death, then paying off the debt falls on his heirs. If his heirs were not able to do so, then the State pays it off as was mentioned in the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw):
«أَنَا أَوْلَى بِكُلِّ مُؤْمِنٍ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ، مَنْ تَرَكَ مَالاً فَلِأَهْلِهِ، وَمَنْ تَرَكَ دَيْناً أَوْ ضَيَاعاً فَإِلَيَّ وَعَلَيَّ»
“I am nearer to the believers than themselves, so if anyone leaves property, it goes to his heirs, and if anyone leaves debt and dependants, let the matter come to me and I shall be responsible.” [Reported by Muslim] Also the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw) transmitted by Abu Dawud that Jabir said:
«كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لَا يُصَلِّي عَلَى رَجُلٍ مَاتَ وَعَلَيْهِ دَيْنٌ، فَأُتِيَ بِمَيِّتٍ فَقَالَ: أَعَلَيْهِ دَيْنٌ؟ قَالُوا: نَعَمْ دِينَارَانِ. قَالَ: صَلُّوا عَلَى صَاحِبِكُمْ. فَقَالَ أَبُو قَتَادَةَ الْأَنْصَارِيُّ: هُمَا عَلَيَّ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّه،ِ قَالَ: فَصَلَّى عَلَيْهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم، فَلَمَّا فَتَحَ اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ: أَنَا أَوْلَى بِكُلِّ مُؤْمِنٍ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ. فَمَنْ تَرَكَ دَيْنًا فَعَلَيَّ قَضَاؤُهُ، وَمَنْ تَرَكَ مَالًا فَلِوَرَثَتِهِ»
“The Prophet would not pray for a man who owed a debt. A deceased person was brought to him and he said: 'Does he owe any debt?' They said: 'Yes, he owes two Dinars.' He said: 'Pray for your companion.' Abu Qatadah said: 'I will pay them, O Messenger of Allah, So he prayed for him. Then, when Allah made His Messenger rich though conquest, he said: 'I am closer to each believer than his own self. Whoever leaves behind a debt, I will pay it, and whoever leaves behind wealth, it is for his heirs.”
I hope that this answer will suffice to both questions, and Allah (swt) knows best and He is the Most Wise.
Your brother,
Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah
29 Jumada I 1441 AH
24/01/2020 CE
The link to the answer from the Ameer’s Facebook page:
https://web.facebook.com/AmeerhtAtabinKhalil/posts/1262788063918262