My father died as a result of a motorcycle accident upon his return from the Taraaweeh prayer on the 17th of last Ramadhaan. Is he a martyr? What is the difference between the martyrs of this world and those of the Hereafter?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.

First of all, we ask Allaah The Almighty to Magnify your reward (for your patience in this calamity) and Have mercy upon your father as well as upon all dead Muslims. To the best of our knowledge, there is no text to indicate that one who dies as a result of a road accident because of a car or such is considered a martyr. But, there is a Hadeeth which says that one who dies buried beneath ruins is a martyr and some scholars go as far as to say that he who dies due to a road accident is a martyr, thereby joining him with the one who dies buried beneath ruins.

As for the difference between the martyrs of this world and those of the Hereafter, a martyr of this world is one who is killed in Jihaad in which he fights in order to be seen of men or for a worldly purpose. He is given the same rulings of the martyrs in this world, meaning not to perform the funeral prayer over him nor to wash or shroud his dead body. But, the martyr of this world and the Hereafter is the one who is killed in Jihaad in the Cause of Allaah, advancing forward rather than turning back from the enemy and not for the sake of a worldly purpose. The martyr of the Hereafter is one who will be given, on the Day of Resurrection, the reward of a martyr even though he was not dealt with like a martyr in this world, meaning that his dead body should be washed and the funeral prayer performed over him.

Allaah Knows best.