Does a person who died of cancer as a result of smoking attain the
status of a martyr?.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is proven in the saheeh Sunnah that there are various kinds of
martyrs who will attain the status of martyrdom in the Hereafter; this
is by the grace and mercy of Allah.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: "The martyrs are five: the one who dies of the plague, the one
who dies of a stomach disease, the one who drowns, the one who is
crushed beneath a falling wall, and the martyr who is killed for the
sake of Allaah."
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Ibn al-Teen said: All of these are deaths which involve hardship.
Allah has bestowed His grace upon the ummah of Muhammad (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) by making them means of erasing their sins
and increasing their rewards, and enabling them to attain the status
of martyrdom.
Fath al-Baari, 6/44
If a person dies of cancer, some of the scholars are of the view that
he is included among the typesof martyr mentioned in the hadeeth, on
the basis that the word mabtoon (the one who dies of a disease in the
abdomen) is general and includes everyone who dies of a disease in his
abdomen and that this does not apply to any one specific disease.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The word mabtoon means the one with a disease in the abdomen, which is
diarrhoea. Al-Qaadi said: And it was said that he is the one who
suffers from dropsy or oedema and swelling of the abdomen. And it was
said that it refers to the one who suffers somedisease in his abdomen.
And it was said that it refers to anyone who diesfrom a disease in the
abdomen in general. End quote from Sharh Muslim by al-Nawawi.
But it should be noted that this suggestion is connected to two conditions:
(i) that the site ofthe cancer be in the abdomen so
that he may truly be said to be mabtoon.
Shaykh 'Abd al-Muhsin al-'Abbaad (may Allah preserve him) was asked:
Does a person who dies ofcancer come under the heading of mabtoon?
He replied:
No, because cancer is not always in the stomach; it may be somewhere
other than the stomach.
Sharh Sunan Abi Dawood (tape no. 230)
As the site of your friend'scancer was in the throat, he is not
included among any of the groups who are regarded as martyrs.
(ii) that the disease should not have been caused by
smoking, taking drugs or drinking alcohol, or other haraam things,
unless he has repented sincerely from that and has given up consuming
those haraam things.
This condition is general and applies to all those mentioned in the
hadeeth. If a woman is pregnant as the result of zina and dies in
labour, she is not regarded as oneof the martyrs. If a personwho
drowned had boarded the boat or ship in order to commit sin or some
immoral activity, and dies as a result of drowning, he is not one
ofthe martyrs. A person who is killed by a falling wall when he is
committing zina or drinking alcohol is not one of the martyrs. In the
answer to question no. 45669, we have quoted the Standing Committee as
saying that a person who dies as the result of acar accident when he
was inside the car comes under the same heading as one who was killed
by a falling wall, so he is a martyr, by Allah's leave. But this
cannot be appliedto those foolish young men to whom this happens when
they are racing in their cars, or to those who compete in difficult
circumstances in the mountains or in the snow ("extreme sports").
In the answer to question no. 22140 , we quoted Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah as saying that ifa person drowns after boarding a ship for
sinful purposes, he is not a martyr.
And elsewhere he said:
Whoever wants to follow a path where the possibilities of being safe
or being killed are equal has to refrain from following it; if he does
notrefrain, then he is aiding in his own destruction so he is not a
martyr.
Al-Fataawa al-Kubra, 5/381
Al-Suyooti (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Al-Qurtubi said: This and the previous one -- i.e., those who are
killed by a falling wall or drowning --if they did not take risks and
did not fail to take precautions, (then they are martyrs). But if they
did not take precautions and died as a result of that, then they are
sinners.
Al-Deebaaj 'ala Muslim (4/508)....
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