The Only Ones Who Wish to Return to Earth

📖Sahih al-Bukhari 2817, Sahih Muslim 1877
Anas reported: The Prophet ﷺ said, “No one who enters Paradise would like to return to the world, even if he could have everything on earth, except for the martyr. He will wish to return to the world and be killed ten more times due to the generous reward he sees.”

Explanation

This hadith shows the high rank of a martyr (shaheed) in Islam. However, being “killed” here does not mean one should go out and fight without cause. Islam never allows killing without justice or lawful reason. The Prophet ﷺ explained that martyrdom comes when:

• A person is killed protecting his family, wealth, or faith.
• A person is killed in a just war, but only when the war was started by the enemy.
• A person dies defending his country and people against aggression.

Therefore, martyrdom is about sacrifice in God’s cause with sincerity, not seeking death or fighting without rules.

Quranic Context:

📖Quran 2:190
Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors.

📖Quran 22:39
Permission to fight is given to those who are being wronged, and indeed Allah is competent to give them victory.

📖Quran 4:75
And what is [the matter] with you that you fight not in the cause of Allah and for the oppressed among men, women, and children who say, “Our Lord, take us out of this city of oppressive people and appoint for us from Yourself a protector and appoint for us from Yourself a helper?”

📖Quran 42:40
The penalty of an injury is an injury equal to it. But if one pardons and makes reconciliation, his reward is with Allah. Indeed, He does not like wrongdoers.

• This highlights that justice is allowed, but forgiveness is better, and Allah Himself promises reward for those who forgive. It means, for example, if non-Muslims killed ten Muslims, then justice allows fighting back in equal measure, but only through proper law and protection, never through revenge or chaos. Still, the higher goal in Islam is to forgive, reconcile, and end wars and violence as much as possible.

The hadith is showing that when a martyr enters Paradise, the reward Allah gives him is so great that it makes him forget all the suffering and pain of death. The happiness and honor he receives are so overwhelming that he feels his sacrifice was nothing compared to what he gained. That is why he wishes, if it were possible, to return to the world and be killed again and again, not because he loves pain or death, but because the reward and joy of Paradise make all suffering on earth seem small.