The Body of the Martyr Islam is a wise religion...

The Body of the Martyr Islam is a wise religion, it has no law which might be without any social wisdom or purpose. One of the Islamic laws is that when a Muslim dies, it is obligatory for others to wash his body in a prescribed manner, clothe him in a shroud, pray on him and bury him. All these laws have reasons and purposes which cannot be explained here. But this law has one exception, and that exception is concerning the martyr’s body.

It is only obligatory to pray on him and bury him, but there is no need to purify him by washing his body in the prescribed manner or to take out his clothes and dress him in a shroud. This exception itself has a reason behind it. It shows that the soul and personality of a martyr are so pure and exalted that it has affected his body, his blood, and even his clothes. The body of a martyr is a “body with soul’’, it is not to be treated as a maytah, and thus there is no need to purify it.

Even his clothes are affected by the rules regarding his body. The body and clothes of a martyr have achieved sanctity from his soul, his thoughts and his inclination to the truth. A martyr who has been killed on the battlefield can be buried in the same clothes without washing him or changing his clothes. The Source of Martyrdom’s Sanctity From where does martyrdom derive its sanctity? Obviously, martyrdom is not sacred just because it means being killed.

Many ways of death are regarded “waste of life,’’ sometimes, it is even a disgrace. Martyrdom (sahadat): Martyrdom means that a person, fully aware of the certain or the probable danger, approaches it just for a sacred cause which is expressed in the Qur’an as “in the way of Allah”. Martyrdom has two basic elements: Firstly, it must be “in the way of Allah,” the cause must be sacred and the person must wish to sacrifice his life for it. Secondly, it must take place knowingly and with awareness.

Usually in martyrdom, the criminal aspect is also present. On the part of the victim, it is martyrdom and sacred; on the part of the murderer, it is crime and wickedness. Martyrdom is a pride, honour and a heroic deed because it is done knowingly and voluntarily, for a sacred cause and it is free from any shadow of selfishness. Among all the types of deaths, only martyrdom is a death which is more sacred, greater and holier than life itself.