“One should not say: ‘So-and-so is a martyr.’” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Allah knows best who strives in His cause, and Allah knows best who is wounded in His cause.” (1)

Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, also forbade this. (2)

Yes, it may be said: Whoever is killed in the cause of Allah is a martyr, and whoever is killed by a collapsed building or by drowning is a martyr. But one must not testify to martyrdom for any particular individual.

If we were to permit ourselves this matter, then we could likewise testify that a particular man who died upon faith is in Paradise because he was a believer. Yet this is not permissible.

Al-Muwaffaq Abu Muhammad …

His statement, “al-Muwaffaq Abu Muhammad”: al-Muwaffaq is a passive participle and an honorific title for this learned man, may Allah have mercy on him. (3)

Al-Muqniʿ is a medium-length book in which its author mentions the two opinions, the two narrated reports, the two legal positions, and the two possible interpretations within the school, but without mentioning the proofs or the legal reasoning, except rarely.

He also has a more extensive book entitled al-Kāfī, in which he mentions the two opinions, the two narrated reports, the two legal positions within the school, or the two possible interpretations; however, he also mentions the evidence and legal reasoning, though he does not go beyond the school of Ahmad.