Martyrdom in the Qur'an
The Qur'an does not have a single word for ‘martyr' or ‘martyrdom', concepts that became linked to the idea of jihad as armed combat against the enemies of Muslims. The common Arabic word for martyr outside the Qur'an became shahid.
It is telling that nowhere in the Qur'an is the term used in the sense of ‘martyr'; rather it is only used to refer to a legal witness or eyewitness. Only in later extra-Qur'anic tradition does this word acquire the specific meaning of ‘one who bears witness for the faith', particularly by laying down his or her life. Extraneous, especially Christian influence may be suspected here. There is evidence for the influence of the related Syriac word for martyr-witness sahed on the Arabic shahid and the latter's subsequent acquisition of the secondary meaning of ‘martyr'.[890] [891]The Qur'an instead uses the phrase ‘those who were/are slain in the path of God' (Ar., man qutilafi sabil Allah) to refer broadly to people who die for a righteous cause and/or in a righteous manner, which might include dying in battle but is not necessarily restricted to this meaning. One Qur'anic verse (3:169) typically seen to refer to the special status of the military martyr states, ‘Do not think that those who were slain in the path of God are dead. They are alive and well provided for by their Lord.' In his exegesis of this verse, alTabari relates it specifically to those Companions killed at the Battle ofUhud, fought in the year 625 after the emigration (Ar., hijra) to Medina. The verse served to inform Muhammad that he should not regard them as dead, that is, devoid of feeling and the ability to feel pleasure. Rather, they are to be regarded as being alive in the presence of God, exulting and rejoicing in what God grants them from his generosity and mercy.17
A different Qur'anic verse (22:58), however, contains a clear stricture against the glorification of military martyrdom.
It states, ‘Those who emigrated in the path of God and then were slain or died [of natural causes], God will provide handsome provisions for them; indeed God is the best of providers.' Al-Tabari - again, late ninth century - held that the verse was specifically revealed in regard to certain Companions who debated the status of those who had perished in ‘the path of God'. Some were of the opinion that the one who was slain and the one who died naturally were of the same status while others assigned greater merit to the one who was slain. God revealed the verse, in al-Tabari's view, to inform Muhammad that both the one who is slain and the one who dies in the path of God attain the same reward in the hereafter.[892] [893]Later exegetes offer a similar view. Al-Razi (late twelfth century) cites a Hadith in explanation of this position: ‘The one who is slain in the path of God the Exalted and the one who dies [of natural causes] in the path of God are the equal of one another in regard to the blessings and reward [that they are entitled to].'19 In his exegesis of Qur'an 22:58, al-Qurtubi notes that some scholars were of the opinion that the one who is slain in the path of God is better than the one who dies of natural causes, but the revelation of this verse affirmed that both were equal in status and thus equally assured of a handsome provision in the hereafter. Al-Qurtubi, writing in the thirteenth century, notes that Islamic law, however, came to view the status of the battlefield martyr as superior, this in spite of Qur'an 22:58 that makes no prima facie distinction in status between the naturally deceased and the fallen in battle. It should be noted that this superior status is reflected in the special funerary practices (e.g., bathing the body and manner of praying over the deceased) that developed over time in Islamic jurisprudence and that are reserved exclusively for the military martyr.[894]