the aims that they ask of them—matters that only Allah is capable of bringing about. Such a practice is impermissible, and these people are in reality no sayyids at all; they are misleaders, and one must beware of them.
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Martyrs in Islam

Question: Is a person who dies by fire regarded as a martyr if his deeds were righteous? My brother passed away in a fire accident in Madinah and was buried in al-Baqiʿ. Praise be to Allah, he was upright, a student of religious knowledge, and a caller to the religion of Allah. I have read a ḥadīth that does not mention the one who dies by fire. It says, “Whoever dies in the path of Allah, or by drowning, or of a stomach illness, or from plague, or under a collapsed building is a martyr,” or words to that effect. How sound is this ḥadīth?

Answer: Texts indicate that whoever dies in any of these sudden calamities is granted the reward of a martyr. Your brother, Allah willing, is entitled to that hope, for he died in a sudden incident—one akin to drowning or being crushed. We therefore hope he will be counted among the martyrs, Allah Most High willing. Still, we do not definitively pronounce anyone a martyr without explicit evidence; rather, we hope that he will receive a martyr’s reward, Allah willing.

Question: Is the wording of the ḥadīth, as cited in the question, authentic?

Answer: Its meaning is authentically reported; the sense of the ḥadīth is sound.