Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
"Al-Mabtoon" is the one who dies because of an abdominal disease; however, scholars have differed about which disease exactly.
Probably, the most preponderant opinion-reported by Imam An-Nawawi (May Allah have mercy on him) - is every abdominal disease that causes death, regardless of its name and symptoms.
The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Five are martyrs: One who dies of plague, one who dies of an Abdominal disease, one who dies of drowning, one who is buried alive (and) dies and one who is killed in Allah's cause." [Agreed upon/ Hadith No.2829].
We pray that Allah, The Almighty grants the one who dies because of abdominal disease the reward of a martyr. However, this reward doesn`t mean that such person is exempted from the rights that he owes to others since he/she will remain liable for them unless people forgive him/her. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Allah Forgives every sin of a martyr, except his debt." [Moslim, Hadith No.1886]. Therefore, it is more appropriate not to exempt the one who dies of abdominal disease from debt that he owes to others.
Still, granting the reward of martyr to the one who dies of abdominal disease doesn`t make him/her of equal rank to the martyr who fell in battle while fighting in the cause of Allah as there are many ranks for martyrs and not just one rank for all. An-Nawawi (May Allah have mercy on him) said: "There are three ranks for martyrs:
First: The one martyred while fighting in the cause of Allah. This type takes the Sharia rules pertaining to martyrs in terms of the reward in the Hereafter and the worldly rules, stipulated in Sharia, pertaining to the deceased in terms of not being washed nor prayed on.
Second: The one who receives the reward of the martyr, and this includes the one who dies of plague, abdominal disease, under debris, and the one defending his property, in addition to many others called martyrs according to sound narrations. This type is washed, prayed on, and granted the reward of the martyrs in the Hereafter; however, this doesn`t necessitate that his/her reward is equal to that of the first type.
Third: The one who dies while collecting spoils of war during battle and the one-which isn`t called a martyr according to reported narrations if killed during war against the disbelievers-who dies while in the battlefield without engaging in the fight. This type takes the rules of Sharia pertaining to martyrs in worldly life, so he is neither washed nor prayed on, and isn`t entitled to the full reward bestowed on the first type in the Hereafter." [Shareh Muslim, Vol.2:P.164]. Ibn Hajar (May Allah have mercy on him) says: "Apparently, there are five types of martyrs and more; however, they don`t share the same rank. The evidence on this is that it was narrated that ‘Amr bin ‘Abasah said: "I came to the Prophet (PBUH) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, which Jihad is best?’ He said: ‘(That of a man) whose blood is shed and his horse is wounded." Moreover, in a sound narration, Ali Ibn Abi Talib (May Allah Be Pleased with him) related: "Every death of a Muslim renders him a martyr, yet the rank of martyrdom surpasses all deaths." [Fatih Al-Bary, Vol.6:P.44]. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.
