It is narrated from Yahya bin Saeed that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was sitting while a grave was being dug in Madinah. A man looked at the grave and said: "What a bad place this is for a Muslim." The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "You have said a bad thing." The man said: "O Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him! I meant that being killed in the way of Allah is better than this." The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Indeed, there is nothing equal to being killed in the way of Allah, but there is no place on the whole earth where I would prefer my grave to be than Madinah," three times. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said this.

It is narrated from Hazrat Zaid bin Aslam that Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say: O Lord! I wish to be martyred in Your path, and to die in the city of Your Messenger.

Yahya ibn Sa'id narrated that Sayyiduna Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say: The honor of a believer is in his piety, and his religion is his nobility, and his dignity is his character. Bravery and cowardice are both innate qualities; Allah places these traits in whomever He wills. The coward flees, abandoning his parents, while the brave one fights against the person whom he knows will not let him reach home. Killing is one of the deaths among deaths, and the martyr is the one who willingly surrenders his soul to Allah.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was given ghusl (ritual washing), was shrouded, and the funeral prayer was offered for him, even though he was a martyr.

Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) received from the people of knowledge that they used to say: Martyrs should neither be given ghusl nor should the funeral prayer be offered for them; rather, they should be buried in the very clothes in which they were martyred.

Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This method is for those martyrs who are killed in the battlefield and die there, and whoever is brought alive from the battlefield and then lives for a while and dies, then he should be given ghusl and the funeral prayer should be offered for him, as was done for Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him).

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, received from the people of knowledge that they used to say: The martyrs should neither be given a bath nor should funeral prayer be offered over them, rather they should be buried in the very clothes in which they were martyred.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This method applies to those martyrs who are killed in the battlefield and die there, and whoever is taken alive from the battlefield and then lives for a while and dies, he should be given a bath and the funeral prayer should be offered for him. As was done for Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him.

It is narrated from Yahya bin Saeed that Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, used to send forty thousand camels in a year to those going to Syria. He would give one camel per person, and to those going to Iraq, he would give one camel for every two people. A person from Iraq came and said to Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, "Give me and Suhaim one camel." Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "I ask you by Allah, by Suhaim do you mean a water skin?" He replied: "Yes."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would go to the Mosque of Quba, he would visit the house of Sayyidah Umm Haram bint Milhan (may Allah be pleased with her), who was the maternal aunt of Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him). She would serve food to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and at that time she was married to Sayyiduna Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him). One day, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went to her house, she served him food, and then sat and began to look at the hair of his head. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) fell asleep, then he woke up smiling. Sayyidah Umm Haram (may Allah be pleased with her) asked: Why are you smiling, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)? He replied:“Some people from my Ummah were presented before me, riding in the way of Allah, on the surface of the great sea, like kings sitting on thrones.”Sayyidah Umm Haram (may Allah be pleased with her) said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)! Pray that Allah, the Glorious and Exalted, makes me among them. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed for her, then he rested his head and slept again, then woke up smiling. Sayyidah Umm Haram (may Allah be pleased with her) asked: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)! Why are you smiling? The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied:“Some people from my Ummah were presented before me, going out in the way of Allah, like kings on thrones.”Sayyidah Umm Haram (may Allah be pleased with her) said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)! Pray that Allah, the Glorious and Exalted, makes me among them. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:“You will be among the first ones.”Sayyidah Umm Haram (may Allah be pleased with her) went on the sea expedition with Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), and when she came out of the sea, she fell from her mount and passed away.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "If it were not hard upon my Ummah, I would never stay behind from any army that sets out in the way of Allah. But I do not have enough mounts to carry all the people upon them, nor do they have enough mounts so that all of them could set out mounted. If I go alone, it would be hard for them that I leave them behind. I wish that I fight in the way of Allah and be killed, then be brought back to life, then be killed, then be brought back to life, then be killed."

It is narrated from Yahya bin Saeed that on the day of the Battle of Uhud, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Who will bring me news of Sa'd bin Rabi' al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him)?" A man said: O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)! I will do it. He went and began searching among the bodies. Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: What is the matter? The man said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has sent me to inquire about you. He said: Go to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and convey my greetings, and say that I have received twelve wounds from spears, and my wounds are fatal. And say to your people that Allah, the Glorious and Exalted, will not accept any excuse from you if the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is martyred and even one of you remains alive.