Martyr

Martyrs (from the ancient Greek μάρτυς mártys, German 'witness' or μαρτύριον martýrion, German 'testimony'; feminine forms martyr or martyress as well as martyr or martyr) are people who suffer for the sake of confessing their faith and endure death for it.

The German translation Blutzeuge (blood witness) has been in use since the 17th century. It clarifies the difference to so-called confessors (Latin confessores), who suffered bloodless persecution such as imprisonment and banishment for their Christian confession.

Martyrdom in Islam

Islam knows the term Shahīd (šahīd, pl. šuhadāʾ). It is derived from the root šahada 'to bear witness', 'to bear testimony', 'to bear witness', and has the same basic meaning 'witness', 'blood witness' as the Greek word from which the term martyr is derived. The term Shahāda, which denotes the Islamic profession of faith, is also related to it.

The Qur'an promises those who die "in the way of God" (Arabic في سبيل الله / fī sabīli Llāh) rich rewards in the Hereafter. Thus, for the sacrificial death, all sins would be forgiven.

According to Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh), there are three categories of martyrs:

• Muslims who die in war or in an attack
• Muslims who die while protecting their property, life or conscience, or while trying to defend other Muslims or non-Muslims under the protection of Muslims.
• Muslims who perish as a result of fighting, childbearing, drowning, burns, accidents, learning a science, or wrongfully in trade

Special funeral rites apply to martyrs in Islam. The body of the martyr may not be washed and is buried with his clothes and in his blood, since he is considered pure by his death (he is also spared the intermediate phase of death Barzach, so that he enters directly into paradise after his death). This provision is based on a tradition that dates back to the time of the Prophet Muhammad. At the Battle of Uhud, he is said to have buried the fallen combatants on the spot where they had fallen, without washing their bodies. However, the weapons must be removed from the martyr at the time of burial.

In some respects, martyrdom in Shi'a Islam differs from that in Sunni Islam. While in the Sunni tradition martyrdom is positively charged and seen as an act of victory, Shi'ite Islam places the concept primarily in a context of mourning. This difference in view is based on the reception and institutionalized mourning of Husain ibn ʿAlī's death at the Battle of Karbala in particular. Just as the Shiite concept of jihad focuses on the fight against non-Shiite Muslims, Shiite Islam commemorates in particular those who died fighting non-Shiite Muslims.

Martyrdom in Judaism

Martyrdom in Judaism is based on the concept of sanctifying the name of God, the Kiddush HaShem, a term not yet mentioned in the Bible. It formed during the persecutions of the Jews under the Roman Emperor Hadrian and denotes adherence to the Jewish faith through martyrdom up to and including suicide in the face of threatened forced conversion and through prayer and lifestyle. The first martyrdom mentioned in Jewish literature was the binding of Isaac.