1092 – Saʿīd ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever is killed while defending his property is a martyr.” It was narrated by the four Sunan compilers, and al-Tirmidhī declared it authentic. (1)

Degree of Authenticity:
This ḥadīth is ṣaḥīḥ (authentic). It is found in all four Sunan collections, and al-Tirmidhī graded it ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ (“good and sound”). Ibn Ḥajar said in al-Talkhīṣ: “The report ‘Whoever is killed while defending his property is a martyr’ is narrated from ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ by al-Bukhārī; there is also a narration from Saʿīd ibn Zayd in the Sunan, and it is recorded by Ibn Ḥibbān and al-Ḥākim.” Al-Suyūṭī classed it as ḥasan and counted it among the mutawātir (mass-transmitted) narrations; al-Kattānī and others agreed with him.

Points Derived from the ḥadīth:

1. The narration establishes the legitimacy of defending one’s wealth, for the person slain in its defense attains martyrdom only because such resistance is lawful.
2. The martyrdom here is the rank accorded to those unjustly killed while defending their rights; it is akin to the status of one who dies fighting so that the word of Allah may prevail.
3. The scholars do not apply to this type of martyr—and similar cases—the outward rulings of a battlefield martyr: the body is washed, shrouded, the funeral prayer is offered, and he is buried in the ordinary manner, since