Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 20669 — What is mentioned on the virtue

Wasil bin al-Sa'ib al-Raqashi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Ata bin Abi Rabah (may Allah have mercy on him) asked me: "Which mount is registered in your name (in the army register)?" I said: "A horse." He said: "That is the utmost of reward." (Then he mentioned that) the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Shall I tell you who, among the servants of Allah, is most beloved to Allah after the prophets, the truthful and the martyrs? A believing servant who sits on his horse in the path of Allah, holding his spear, while drowsiness makes him sway now to the right and now to the left. He seeks forgiveness from the Most Merciful and curses Satan. The gates of the heaven are opened for him, and Allah Almighty says to the angels: 'Look at My servant,' and the angels too seek forgiveness for him." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: "Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their wealth in exchange for Paradise being theirs; they fight in the path of Allah" [Al-Tawbah: 111].