he was wearing, for he will be raised on the Day of Resurrection proclaiming the talbiyah, saying, “Here I am, O Allah, here I am.”
Likewise, the martyr will rise on that Day with his wound still flowing with blood—its color the color of blood, yet its fragrance that of musk. Therefore, in the rulings that apply in this world, the martyr in Allah’s cause is exempt from the usual rites: he is not washed, is not wrapped in a fresh shroud, but is buried in the very clothes in which he fell; no funeral prayer is offered for him, he is laid to rest, and the two angels do not come to question him about his Lord, his religion, or his Prophet, for the greatest test and proof of his sincerity has already taken place.
In the Hereafter, however, Allah the Exalted has declared: “Do not think of those who have been killed in Allah’s cause as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, provided for; rejoicing in what Allah has bestowed upon them of His bounty, and delighted on behalf of those who have not yet joined them—that no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve. They rejoice in Allah’s blessing and favor, and Allah never lets the reward of the believers go to waste” (Q 3:169-171).
As for the other martyrs mentioned in the hadith, they are martyrs in the Hereafter but not with respect to worldly rulings. They are not equal to those slain in Allah’s cause, yet they are martyrs nonetheless, and each will have ranks in proportion to his deeds: the one who dies of plague, the one who dies of a stomach illness, the drowned person, the one killed in Allah’s cause—who is a martyr in both this world and the next—and the victim of a collapsing structure.
First is the victim of plague, meaning the one who dies of that disease. The plague is a deadly, contagious epidemic—may Allah grant us well-being. When it strikes a land it devastates it. For this reason the Prophet ﷺ said about the plague: “If you hear of it in a land, do not enter it; and if it breaks out in the land where you are, do not flee from it.” How can you flee from Allah? Consider the thousands who left their homes in fear of death: Allah said to them, “Die!” and they died. They fled from death, yet Allah wished to show them that there is no escape from Him. He said to them, “Die!” and they died; then He revived them so that it might be clear that there is no evading Allah’s decree. Nevertheless, we must employ the means He has commanded us to take, whereas the means He has forbidden we must avoid.