Question:
Some scholars say that all those killed in the conflict in Palestine are martyrs (shuhada). Is this correct? Did the Prophetﷺ specifically mention those killed in Palestine as martyrs?
Answer:
There is no hadith that specifically says that whoever is killed in the war that will occur in Palestine is a Shahid. There will be a war in Palestine at some time. In that war, people will be killed unjustly.
There is no specific hadith stating that those killed in Palestine are martyrs by virtue of the location alone. However, the Prophetﷺ laid down general principles for martyrdom. He said: “Whoever is killed protecting his wealth is a martyr. Whoever is killed protecting his family is a martyr. Whoever is killed protecting his religion is a martyr. Whoever is killed protecting his life is a martyr.“
There is no hadith specifically mentioning the blessing of martyrdom for those killed. However, at the same time, Prophetﷺ ﷺ gave general criteria for when a person becomes a Shahid. Palestine falls under that. Definitely, because the Palestinian people are being killed unjustly, they will attain the status of Shahid.
What did Prophetﷺ ﷺ say?
Whoever is killed defending his property is a martyr.
Whoever is killed defending his family is a martyr.
Whoever is killed defending his religion is a martyr.
Whoever is killed defending his life is a martyr. So, in Palestine, the people have property that is being usurped.
They are fighting to reclaim it. If they are killed in that, they will become martyrs. But it’s not that only they will become martyrs. If I fight to protect my house and land, and someone tries to take it, and I resist, and in that process, I am killed, then I become a martyr. They will be included among the martyrs. Because they are suffering injustice, they will be among the martyrs. There is no exclusive statement that they alone are martyrs.
In Palestine, the people are defending their land, their homes, their families, and their lives against aggression. Those who are killed while defending these fundamental rights fall under the general categories of martyrdom mentioned by the Prophetﷺ.
Therefore, while there is no specific mention of Palestine, the general principles of Islamic teachings indicate that those who are unjustly killed while defending themselves and their property are granted the status of martyrs.
