Q. The word
'Shaheed' has been frequently used in the books, newspapers and magazines
for different type of people. I am sure that this word should have a specific
connotation in the Islamic terminology. I will be grateful if you please
explain the true meaning of this word and the categories of persons for
whom this terms may be applied in Shari'ah.
(Abdul
Sattar, Chicago)
A. In fact 'Shaheed', is a specific term, used in the Holy Qur'an
and Sunnah. It has certainly a specific meaning and one should be careful
before applying this term to a person and you should ascertain whether
hi is really qualified to be called a Shaheed.
According to Islamic jurisprudence 'Shaheed' is of two kinds:-
1. Shaheed in the real sense.
2. Shaheed in the constructive sense.
Shaheed in the real sense is a Muslim who jas been killed during 'Jihad'
or has been killed by any person unjustly. Such a person has two characteristics
different from common people who die on their bed. Firstly, he should
be buried without giving him ritual bath. However, the prayer of Janazah
shall be offered on him and he shall also be given a proper Kafan. Secondly,
he will deserve a great reward in the hereafter and it is hoped that Allah
Almighty shall forgive his sins and admit him to the Jannah. It is also
stated in some of the traditions that the body of such a person remains
in the grave protected from contamination or dissolution.
As compared to this kind of 'Shaheed', a Shaheed in a constractive sense
is a person who has been promised by the Holy Prophet ( Sallaho Alaihai
Wasallam ) to get a reward of Shaheed in the Hereafter but is not taken
as Shaheed with regard to the rules of burial. It means that his dead
body has to be bathed like a dead body of any other person. The Holy Prophet
( Sallaho Alaihai Wasallam ) has included in this kind of Shaheed a large
number of persons such as a person who has died in plague or who has died
an unexpected accident, like fire or traffic accident or has been drowned
in the water or a woman who has dies during the delivery of her child
etc.
Allama Jalaluddin al Suyuti, a well-known scholar of Islamic disciplines,
has collected all the Hadiths relating to this kind of Shaheed and has
come to the conclusion that there are thirty categories mentioned by the
Holy Prophet ( Sallaho Alaihai Wasallam ) who can deserve to be called
Shaheed in this sense. But in the normal course, the word 'Shaheed' is
applied only for the first kind. However, it is not prohibited to use
the word for a person who falls in any one of the categories mentioned
in the second kind.
It is evident from the above discussion that the word 'Shaheed' can only
be used for a Muslim and it cannot be applied to a non-Muslim at all.
Similarly, the term cannot be used for a person who has been rightly killed
as a punishment for his own offence.
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