Islam > Hadiths > Jurisprudence and juristic principles > The martyrs are five: the one who dies from plague, who dies from an abdominal disease, wh…
Authentic hadithUpdated on 24 September 2026 at 12:34 AM
📖 1 min readعن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قالَ: قالَ رَسُولُ اللَّه -صَلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّم-: «الشهداء خمسة: المطعون والمبطون، والغريق، وصاحب الهَدْمِ، والشهيد في سبيل الله».
وفي رواية «ما تَعُدُّونَ الشهداء فيكم؟» قالوا: يا رسول الله، من قتل في سبيل الله فهو شهيد. قال: «إن شهداء أمتي إذا لقليل» قالوا: فمن هم يا رسول الله؟ قال: «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 شهيد».
The martyrs, in general, are five: one who is afflicted with a plague (a deadly epidemic) and dies of it, one who dies from an ailment in his abdomen, one who dies from drowning provided that he went to the sea for a lawful purpose, one who dies from debris, such as a wall falling on him, one who is killed while fighting for the sake of Allah, which is the highest level of martyrdom, and also one who dies in the way of Allah but not in the physical fight. The first four martyrs mentioned are considered martyrs in the Hereafter, meaning that they are not subject to the rulings pertaining to martyrs in this worldly life, so their bodies are washed and funeral prayer is offered over them. The number of martyrs mentioned in the Hadīth is not all inclusive.
Categories : Jurisprudence of Acts of Worship · Jihad · Jurisprudence and Juristic Principles · Excellence of Jihad