Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
In Islam, martyrs’ physical bodies decompose like those of other humans, while their souls remain alive with Allah. The Quran states that humans return to the earth before resurrection, and authentic hadiths confirm that all bodies are consumed by the soil except the tailbone. False hadiths claiming permanent preservation of martyrs’ bodies are not authentic.
Responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
First, let us pray that Allah elevate the status of the martyrs in Paradise and compensate them for their sufferings in this world.
Now, to your question, I would like to state that the above Hadith is not authentic; the explicit teachings of the Quran and well-established traditions contradict it:
Allah says, {From the earth We created you, and into it We will return you, and from it, We will bring you back again.} (Taha 20:55)
And the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The earth will devour every offspring of Adam except their tailbone; from which they are created and from which once again they will be resurrected.” (Reported by Muslim)
Therefore, martyrs are like everyone else; although they are alive with Allah, their physical bodies decompose in the earth like those of others.
👉 Learn more about Islamic rulings on martyrdom and Palestine:
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- Palestine: After Storm Comes Sunshine!
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- The Promised Land in the Quran
- Importance of Jerusalem
- The Sacred Duty of Defending Jerusalem
- Why Did Imams Perform Funeral Rituals for Martyrs of Christchurch Mosque Attacks?
- Are Those Who Die From COVID-19 Martyrs?
Almighty Allah knows best.