Story of the Martyrdom of Hanzalah r.a
When the battle of Uhud started, Hanzalah (radiyallahu anhu) had just married and, therefore, did not join the battle from the beginning. It is said that he had just left the bed of his wife and had hardly started taking his bath, when he heard somebody breaking the news about defeat. He postponed the bath and, with sword in hand, rushed towards the battlefield. he jumped into the enemy concentration, fighting and advancing till he was killed.
Now the body of the person killed in the path of Allah Ta’ala is not washed, unless a bath is obligatory on him before his death. Not knowing his failure to take bath obligatory on him, the sahabah buried him without a wash. Just before his burial, Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said, “I see the angels washing Hanzalah’s body.”
Abu Sa’id Sa’idi (radiyallahu anhu) says: “On hearing this from Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam), I went to have a look at Hanzalah’s face and I saw drops of water trickling down his hair.” When Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) returned to Madinah, he enquired and the facts of Hanzalah’s postponing his bath came to light.
This show the bravery of those people. A brave person cannot tolerate any delay and jumps into the jaws of death. Hanzalah (radiyallahu anhu) also could not wait to finish the bath obligatory on him.