شهيد
Shahīd
Topic
The Quran says that those killed in God’s way are alive with their Lord (3:169).
What it means
“Do not think of those who are killed in God’s way as dead; they are alive with their Lord, provided for” (3:169; also 2:154). A shahīd is a witness, and in practice a person killed defending the faith, or in defence of life and property, as the Prophet said (Sahih al-Bukhari). Those who die of plague, drowning or childbirth are also counted as such in hadith.
Often misunderstood as
That Islam rewards killing oneself and others.
What the sources say
The Quran says “do not kill yourselves” (4:29), and the Prophet said that whoever kills himself will be punished by the same means in the Fire (Sahih al-Bukhari). Muslim scholars have broadly condemned suicide attacks on civilians, and the Prophet forbade killing of non-combatants.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 37, listed as SHAHĪD. The definition is restated here.