his striving. We ask Allah for protection, yet he ended up in the Fire. Allah, exalted be He, says: “It is not for a Prophet to act dishonestly; whoever acts dishonestly shall bring what he took on the Day of Resurrection” (Āl ʿImrān 3:161). From this we learn that we should not pronounce any particular person a martyr. Even if he is killed in a battle between Muslims and unbelievers, we must not say, “So-and-so is a martyr,” for he may have secretly taken something from the spoils or the public treasury. Should he embezzle no more than a single coin or even a nail, the name of martyrdom is taken from him. Likewise, his intention may have been flawed—he might have fought out of tribal zeal or to be seen and praised.

For that reason the Prophet ﷺ was asked about a man who fights out of bravery, another who fights out of zealotry, and yet another who fights so that his prowess will be noticed. “Which of these,” they asked, “is in the path of Allah?” He replied, “Whoever fights so that the word of Allah may be uppermost, he is in the path of Allah.” Intention is an inward matter of the heart, known only to Allah.

Accordingly, the Prophet ﷺ said, “No one is wounded in the path of Allah”—that is, no person is injured while striving for Allah—“and Allah knows best who is truly wounded in His path—except that he will come on the Day of Resurrection with his wound flowing with blood; its color will be the color of blood, but its fragrance the fragrance of musk.” For this reason al-Bukhārī (d. 256 AH) titled a chapter in his Ṣaḥīḥ: “One should not say, ‘So-and-so…’”