{ Those who have believed in Allah and His Messenger – those are the righteous ones and the martyrs unto their Lord; their reward is theirs, and their light; but those who have disbelieved and accused our signs of being false – those are the associates of Hell } Al-hadid 19

{ And the martyrs } ; regarding this there are two points of view. The first is that it is tied to the other verse, and may be reckoned as: Indeed those who have believed in Allah and His Messenger are the righteous ones and they are the martyrs [shuhadaa, witnesses]. Mujahid said: Every Believer is righteous and a martyr; and he recited this verse. These words have been affirmed but there is disagreement as to why every Believer is called a martyr. Some say because Believers are witnesses to their Lord against people regarding their deeds, the meaning being that they are the upright ones in the hereafter that follows their martyrdom [shahada, i.e. testimony]. Al-Hasan said: The reason for this designation is that every Believer is indeed witness to the glory of their Lord. Al-Asm said: All Believers are martyrs because they stand before Allah Most High giving witness to the obligations of belief and acts of obedience and the prohibition of disbelief and rebellion which subject them to Him. Abu Muslim said: We have mentioned that “righteous” [siddiq] characterizes someone whose sincerity has increased and who adds sincerity upon sincerity in belief in Allah Most High and His Messenger, and as such becomes a martyr above others. The second point of view is that His word: { And the martyrs } is not tied to what precedes it, but rather that it is the subject and its predicate is His word { unto their Lord } , or this could be an adjective and the predicate His word { their reward is theirs } . Based on this there is disagreement as to the meaning of “martyrs”; Al-Farra and Al-Zajjaj said: This refers to the prophets, according to His word: { So how, since we bring a witness [shaheed] from every nation, and We have brought you as a witness against them? } [Al-nisaa 41]. Muqatil and Muhammad ibn Jarir said: Martyrs [shuhadaa] are those who are martyred [istashhadu, i.e. give witness] in the cause of Allah. It is narrated from the Prophet (SAW) that He said: Who do you all think are the martyrs among you? They said: Someone who gets killed. And He said: Indeed in that case there would only be a few martyrs in my ummah. Then He mentioned that someone who gets killed is a martyr, and someone stricken by abdominal sickness is a martyr, and someone stricken by plague is a martyr.