Question
My wife died due to CA Ovary. I have read in the Sahih of Bukhari that if a patient dies due to abdomen problem he is “Shaheed“. Can you please put some light on this?
Answer
The traditions which tell us that people who die of some particular diseases or accidents are shaheed are not taken in literal sense. Taking them in literal sense does not correspond to the express teachings of the Qur’an. Therefore, we need to interpret them or keep them under consideration. We believe that shaheed as a term of Islamic religious literature is one who spends his life in the struggle of uplifting the word of God and even sacrifices his life for this cause. Obviously this person must be obeying all the religious injunctions without a single exception. We cannot testify that such and such a person attained to the status of shaheed even when he/she died in the battlefield fighting against the enemies of God. This is because nobody can learn the true motives of a warrior.
Answered by: Tariq Mahmood Hashmi
Date: 2015-03-07
