The virtue of jihad

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever fights (in the path of Allah) and shows steadfastness until he is martyred or is granted victory and triumph, he is protected from the trial and test of the grave."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man came to the prayer while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was leading the prayer. When he reached the row, he made this supplication: 'Allahumma atini afdala ma tu'ti ibadaka al-salihin' (O Allah, grant me the best reward and favour that You grant to Your righteous servants). When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had completed the prayer, he asked: "Who was it that spoke just now?" The man said: O Messenger of Allah! It was I. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In that case your horse will be slain and you will attain the rank of martyrdom."
Imam al-Bazzar narrated it through Ahmad bin Aban and Ahmad bin Abdah; one of them named the narrator Muhammad bin Muslim bin A'idh and the other Muslim bin A'idh. Imam al-Bazzar also said that Muhammad bin Muslim did not narrate any report from Amir bin Sa'd other than this one, and that this hadith is transmitted from Sayyiduna Sa'd only through this one chain.

Imam Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaybah (may Allah have mercy on him), through Husayn bin Ali (may Allah have mercy on him), from an elder (who was called al-Hafsi), from his father, from his grandfather, narrates that Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) gave the call to prayer (adhan) during the blessed lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); then throughout the life of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), during his caliphate, he continued to carry out the duty of the adhan; but during the rule of Sayyiduna Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him) he did not give the adhan. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked him: What prevents you from giving the adhan? He replied: I gave the adhan for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) until he (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, and I gave the adhan for Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) until he too went to meet his true Creator, because he was my benefactor and patron (who had secured my freedom from slavery); and I myself heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "O Bilal! Nothing is more excellent than this deed of yours (the adhan) except jihad in the path of Allah." So (seeking this excellence) he set out for Syria and engaged in jihad there.
Imam Abd bin Humayd and Imam Abu Ya'la (may Allah have mercy on them both) both say that Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaybah narrated this hadith to them with the same chain. Further, the hadith which mentions that being killed in the path of Allah (martyrdom) wipes out all sins except the trust (amanah) will come, if Allah Almighty wills, in the commentary on Surah al-Nisa'.

Abu Zur'ah bin Umar bin Jarir (may Allah have mercy on him) relates that the Commander of the Believers, Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), dispatched an army in which Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) was also included. When the army had set off, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saw Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) (still present there) and asked: "What has held you back?" He said: "I intended to first offer the Friday prayer and then set out." At this Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Surely, going out once in the morning or once in the evening in the path of Allah Almighty is better than the world and everything in it."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Standing for one hour (for jihad) in the path of Allah Almighty is far more excellent than attaining the Night of Decree (Laylat al-Qadr) beside the Black Stone and worshipping in it."
In the chain of this report, Abbas al-Tarqufi, narrating from al-Muqri', differed by mentioning Mujahid instead of Yunus bin Khabbab; and Imam Ibn Hibban recorded it in his Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) relates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever's head splits (with severe pain) in the path of Allah Almighty, Allah Almighty forgives all his previous sins."
In the narration of Ibn Abi Umar, Imam al-Muqri' reported this addition: 'fa-ihtasaba' (and he hoped for reward from Allah (for that pain)). Further, Imam Ahmad bin Mani' narrated it through the separate chains of Qurran bin Tammam and Marwan bin Mu'awiyah, while Abd bin Humayd reported it through Ja'far bin Awn.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) once delivered a sermon in which he (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned jihad in the path of Allah, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) "did not give superiority and excellence to any deed over jihad except the obligatory prayer."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when the first Caliph, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), dispatched Yazid bin Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) (with an army) on the campaign to Syria, he walked about two miles on foot to see them off. Meanwhile it was said to him: O Caliph of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Would it not be better if you returned now? Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Indeed, I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever's feet become dusty in the path of Allah Almighty, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will make them both forbidden to the Fire of Hell."
Imam Ahmad bin Mani' (may Allah have mercy on him) recorded this blessed hadith in his Musnad.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Imran bin Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Standing for a single hour (on guard or for jihad) in the path of Allah Almighty is far better and more excellent than a man's (voluntary) worship of sixty hours."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I was present in the company of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and a great crowd of people was there. Then a man came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! After the prophets and the chosen servants of Allah, who is the best of people in rank with Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, on the Day of Resurrection? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The mujahid who remains engaged (in jihad) in the path of Allah Almighty with his life and his wealth until the call of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, (death) comes to him while he is mounted on the back of his horse, holding its reins." The man said: Then who after him? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A man in some secluded corner who worships his Lord in the best manner and keeps people safe from his evil."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) relate that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon to us; then the narrator mentioned the complete hadith, in which there was also this prophetic saying: "Whoever guards the frontiers or wages jihad in the path of Allah Almighty, for every step (from leaving home) until his return he will be granted seven hundred million good deeds, seven hundred million of his sins will be erased, and he will be raised seven hundred million degrees. That person will be under the generous protection and guarantee of Allah Almighty; if Allah causes him to die by any kind of death, he will be admitted into Paradise, and if he returns (to his home), he will return purified of sins and as one whose supplications are answered."
According to the scholars of this science, this is a mawdu' (fabricated) report.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) urged us to jihad and said: "Indeed, the likeness of the mujahidin of my Ummah is like that of Jibril and Mika'il, and those two are the envoys of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, and the trustees of His (treasury of power)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever says the takbir once in the path of Allah Almighty, in return for it there will be in his scale on the Day of Resurrection a mighty rock heavier than the seven heavens, the seven earths, and all that is in them, between them and beneath them. And whoever, raising his voice, says in the path of Allah: 'La ilaha illallah, wallahu akbar' (There is none worthy of worship except Allah, and Allah is the Greatest), Allah Almighty writes for him His greatest good pleasure; and whoever Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has written His greatest good pleasure for, He will gather him in the 'Abode of Majesty' in the company of Sayyiduna Ibrahim and Sayyiduna Muhammad (may blessings and peace be upon them both)." It was said: O Messenger of Allah! What is the 'Abode of Majesty'? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is that special abode of Allah Almighty which He named after His own attribute. So that (fortunate servant) will be blessed there, morning and evening, with seeing Allah, the Possessor of Majesty and Honour. However, this great rank has been made forbidden to the killer of a believing soul and to the one disobedient to his parents; such people are separated from me, and I am free of them."

Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) relates that Sayyiduna Yazid bin Shajarah (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up among his companions to address them and said: Indeed, your mornings and evenings are passing amid the charms of the red, green and yellow colours (of the world), while in the graves lies hidden whatever is there. So tomorrow, when you meet the enemy, advance steadfastly, ever forward, for I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever takes a step forward on the battlefield, the wide-eyed maidens of Paradise (hur al-in) advance towards him; and if he steps back, they too step back. And if he drinks the cup of martyrdom, the first spurt of his blood becomes an expiation for all his sins. Then two of the wide-eyed maidens descend to him, shake the dust off his body and say: 'Marhaban, qad ana laka' (Welcome, your time has come), and the martyr too says in reply: 'Marhaban, qad ana lakuma' (Welcome, your time too has come)."
Imam Abd bin Humayd (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaybah narrated this report to them with the same chain.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Buy (the necessities of life) relying on Allah, and conduct borrowing trusting in Allah." It was said: O Messenger of Allah! What is meant by borrowing relying on Allah? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Your saying: 'Lend us until our livelihood (stipend) comes', and 'Sell to us (on credit) until Allah opens (victory) for us'. You will remain upon good and blessing as long as your jihad continues; and soon, in the last era, there will be people who will express doubt about jihad (its need and importance). So continue jihad even in their time and fight in the path of Allah, for waging jihad and fighting in that tumultuous era will be entirely a cause of good."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever sets out with the intention of Hajj and dies (on the way), the reward of one who performs Hajj will continue to be written for him until the Day of Resurrection; and whoever sets out for jihad in the path of Allah Almighty and dies, the reward of a ghazi (warrior) will continue to be written for him until the Day of Resurrection; and whoever sets out with the intention of Umrah and dies, the reward of one who performs Umrah will be written for him until the Day of Resurrection."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A single hour spent in the path of Allah Almighty is better and more excellent than (attaining the blessing of) fifty Hajj pilgrimages."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that on the day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed the people, he said: "There is no one among the people like (in excellence) a man who, holding the reins of his horse, wages jihad in the path of Allah and keeps away from the evils of people; and there is no one like a man who lives in solitude far from settlements with his blessings (wealth and livestock), hosts his guest generously and fulfils his due right."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever is killed (in the path of Allah), this martyrdom of his becomes an expiation for every sin of his except shirk (associating partners with Allah)."

Imam Abu Ya'la (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that it is reported from Sayyiduna al-Zubayr bin al-Awwam (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Setting out on a mission once in the morning or once in the evening in the path of Allah is better than the world and everything in it."