ش ه دbeing present, witnessing

الشهداء · al-shuhadāʾ · the martyrs

• Met in: V1 p6 ¶2c: «مداد العلماء بدم الشهداء», "the ink of the scholars [weighed] against the blood of the martyrs"; and V1 p6 ¶2n: «الأنبياء ثم العلماء ثم الشهداء», "the prophets, then the scholars, then the martyrs". In V1 p6 ¶2d the singular شهيدا means "a witness".
• Dictionary form: شَهِيد, plural شُهَدَاء. Lane gives it first as the same as شَاهِد, a witness, and then: "A martyr who is slain in the cause of God's religion". He lists reasons for the name: "because the angels of mercy are present with him"; "because God and his angels are witnesses for him of his title to a place in Paradise"; "because he is still living, and present with his Lord".
• Pattern: فَعِيل (faʿīl), plural فُعَلَاء (fuʿalāʾ), like فَقِيه, plural فُقَهَاء.
• Meaning here: Those killed in Allah's way. Every reason Lane gives goes back to the root's sense of being present and witnessing. Ghazali weighs the scholars' ink against their blood (V1 p6 ¶2c), and ranks the scholars before them in intercession (V1 p6 ¶2n).

Ibn Faris, Maqāyīs al-Lugha, root شهد, vol 3, p 221

الشين والهاء والدال أصل يدل على حضور وعلم وإعلام، لا يخرج شيء من فروعه عن الذي ذكرناه

One origin, showing presence, knowing, and making known; none of its branches leaves what we have said.

Urdu bridge

شہید and شہداء are Urdu, and شہادت means both martyrdom and testimony, just as in Arabic. شاہد (witness) and مشاہدہ (observation) come from the same root. (to be confirmed)

Quran

160 words from this root (Quranic Arabic Corpus). Most common: شَهِيد (witness) ×56, شَهِدَ (witnessed) ×44, شَهَٰدَة (testimony) ×23.

وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلرَّسُولَ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ مَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ وَٱلصِّدِّيقِينَ وَٱلشُّهَدَآءِ وَٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ رَفِيقًا

And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger - those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favor of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions.

Surah An-Nisaa (4), ayah 69 · Saheeh International

Why this ayah: «مِّنَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ وَٱلصِّدِّيقِينَ وَٱلشُّهَدَآءِ وَٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ», "of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous": prophets and martyrs in one list, as in the hadith of intercession (V1 p6 ¶2n).

In the Ihya

الشهداء: 48 times in the Ihya.