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:
Martyrdom is a great honor that may erase many sins, but it does not forgive Shirk. If a person dies associating partners with Allah, they are not forgiven (Quran 4:116).
Responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
I’m afraid you may be mistaken in supposing that everyone who gets killed in a battle is a Shahid (martyr). Martyrdom is an honor bestowed on those who fight in a just war for the pleasure of Allah.
So, it is an honor reserved only to those with sound faith and intention.
Therefore, the question of whether one can do any sin and yet go straight to paradise if one were to die as a martyr is not applicable. However, since no human being is wholly free of sins, Allah has promised that He is forgiving and merciful to those who seek repentance and die in faith.
Shirk, however, is an altogether different issue; it is an unforgivable sin. Allah says, {Allah doesn’t forgive the association of partners with Him, but He forgives anything less than that to whomever He wills. Whoever associates partners with God has strayed far off course.} (An-Nisa’ 4:116)
👉 Read more on related Islamic rulings about forgiveness, repentance, and the conditions of entering Paradise:
- Is Shahadah Enough for Entering Paradise?
- Entering Paradise: Is It Grace or Good Deeds?
- Shall all Muslims Enter Paradise?
- Difference between Paradise and Heaven in Islam
- Do Martyrs’ Bodies Decompose in Islam?
- How to Treat a Muslim Committing Major Sins
- Do Death Agonies Reduce One’s Sins?
- Committed Many Sins: Can I Hope For Repentance?
- Repentance for Major and Minor Sins: The Same?
Almighty Allah knows best.