01/28/2026
Why is the one who drowns given the reward of a shaheed?
The scholars mention several wisdoms:
• Drowning involves intense fear, pain, and helplessness
• It is a sudden death, often without preparation
• The person experiences severe suffering, and Allah grants martyrdom as honor and mercy
• It reflects Allah’s vast justice and compassion toward those who endure hardship
Imām an-Nawawī رحمه الله said that these deaths earn the reward of martyrdom because of the severity of suffering, even if not in battle.
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الشُّهَدَاءُ خَمْسَةٌ: الْمَطْعُونُ، وَالْمَبْطُونُ، وَالْغَرِقُ، وَصَاحِبُ الْهَدْمِ، وَالشَّهِيدُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
Translation:
“The martyrs are five:
the one who dies of plague,
the one who dies of a stomach illness,
the one who drowns,
the one who dies under a collapsed building,
and the one who is killed in the path of Allah.”
✍️Scholars explain that:
• The drowned person is a shaheed in the Hereafter (أجر الشهادة)
• But not a shaheed in worldly rulings
• They are still washed (ghusl)
• Shrouded
• And prayed over (janāzah)
This category is called:
شهيد الآخرة دون الدنيا
A martyr of the Hereafter, not of this world
(Imām an-Nawawī, Ibn Ḥajar)
