Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) says that if the time of battle comes and I do not have the strength to stand up, then lift me up and place me among the ranks.

It is narrated from Hazrat Khuraim bin Fatik Asadi (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever spends one dirham in the way of Allah will be granted a reward seven hundred times greater.

Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates that I asked Hazrat Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) about Jannat-ul-Ma'wa, so he replied: It is that Paradise in which there are green birds, and in them will be the souls of the martyrs.

It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Saeed (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Regarding the one who strives in the path of Allah, Allah Almighty has taken it upon Himself that either He will grant him His forgiveness and mercy, or he will return with reward and spoils of war. The example of the one who strives in the path of Allah is like that of a person who fasts during the day and stands in prayer at night, and does not show any laziness in these deeds.

Hazrat Abu Muneeb Jurashi (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that a man became the guest of Hazrat Tamim Dari (may Allah be pleased with him) and set out with him on a journey in the path of Allah. After setting out on the journey, he performed less worship than his usual routine. Hazrat Tamim Dari (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him, "May Allah have mercy on you! Why did you perform less worship than your usual routine?" He replied, "Because by setting out in the path of Allah, I am receiving the reward equal to those who fast during the day and stand in prayer at night, and that is sufficient for me."

Hazrat Muhammad bin Sirin (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that once the horsemen of the polytheists attacked the pasture of Madinah. The Prophet (may Allah be pleased with him) set out to drive them away. Hazrat Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived a little later; he had combed his hair. The Prophet (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him, "Perhaps your hair kept you back." He replied, "I will bring a man to you as a captive." The narrator says that those people liked to keep their hair well-groomed.

Hazrat Abu Abdur Rahman Salmi (may Allah have mercy on him) says that a son who fights in the path of Allah is, in my view, better than one hundred thousand sons.

It is narrated from Hazrat Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Your Lord says, whoever sets out in My path to please Me, I guarantee him that if I take his life, I will admit him to Paradise, and if I bring him back, I will return him with reward and spoils of war.

Hazrat Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that a time will soon come upon people when they will take pride in having fewer dependents just as they now take pride in having many dependents. People asked: O Abu Abdur Rahman (may Allah have mercy on him)! What will be the best wealth for a man on that day? He replied: A fine horse and a fine weapon that remain with him everywhere.

Hazrat Abu Zubyan (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) went for jihad to the land of Rome and fell ill there. He said, "When I die and you confront the enemy, then bury me beneath your feet."

Hazrat Khalid bin Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) says that I was an expert archer. Whenever Hazrat Uqbah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by me, he would say, "O Khalid! Come, let us practice archery." One day I showed some reluctance, so he said, "O Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him)! Come, I will tell you a hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Allah Almighty will admit three people into Paradise because of a single arrow: its maker, if he intended good in making it; its shooter; and the one who hands it to the shooter.' There are three playful acts in which there is reward: a man training his horse, a man having relations with his wife, and a man shooting an arrow from a bow and straightening it. Whoever learns archery and then abandons it has shown ingratitude for this blessing."

Hazrat Ishaq narrates from some men of Banu Salamah that during the time of Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), the water of a spring reached the graves of the martyrs of Uhud. Because of this, the graves of Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr bin Haram (may Allah be pleased with him) and Hazrat Amr bin Jamuh (may Allah be pleased with him) became exposed. It was decided that the graves of these personalities should be moved to another place. When we took out the blessed bodies of these personalities from the graves, they were as fresh as if they had passed away just yesterday. The parts of their faces were covered with a sheet and their feet were covered with a type of grass called Izkhir.

Hazrat Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that my father, Hazrat Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), said to me: "O my son! If I were not concerned about these daughters, I would have sent you ahead of myself to the battlefield, but for their care, you should stay here in Madinah." Hazrat Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) says that a few days later, my paternal aunt brought the bodies of my father and my uncle, loaded on a camel.

Hazrat Saeed bin Jubair (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the verse of the Holy Qur’an: “Do not consider those who are killed in the way of Allah as dead; they are alive and are provided sustenance by Allah.” says that when Hazrat Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with him) and Hazrat Mus’ab bin Umair (may Allah be pleased with him) were martyred in the Battle of Uhud, after their martyrdom they said, “If only our brothers could know of the goodness that Allah has granted us.” Allah Almighty said, “I will convey this message of yours to them.” Upon this, Allah Almighty revealed the verse from { وَلاَ تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِینَ قُتِلُوا فِی سَبِیلِ اللہِ أَمْوَاتًا بَلْ أَحْیَائٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّہِمْ یُرْزَقُونَ فَرِحِینَ } to { المؤمنین } (Aal-e-Imran: 169).

It is narrated from Hazrat Tawus that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Allah Almighty has sent me with the sword before the Day of Judgment. Allah has placed my sustenance under the shadow of my spear. The fate of my opponents is humiliation and disgrace. Whoever imitates a people is one of them.

Hazrat Abdullah bin Shaddad narrates that when Hazrat Saad bin Muadh (may Allah be pleased with him) was in the throes of death, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: O leader of the people! May Allah grant you the best reward. You fulfilled the promise you made to Allah with truthfulness, and Allah will also fulfill the promise He made to you with truthfulness.

Muhammad says that when an army of disbelievers came from the east, a man from the Ansar attacked them and broke through their ranks, emerging from the other side. Then he attacked them from behind and again broke through their ranks and came out. He did this two or three times. When seen from a distance, it was Hazrat Sa'd bin Hisham. When this was mentioned to Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), he recited this verse: Some people there are who sell their souls seeking Allah’s pleasure. (__QUR_N__ al-Baqarah: 207)

Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Auf (may Allah be pleased with him) was once fasting. When food was brought to him, he said: "Hazrat Hamza (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred, and we did not have enough cloth to shroud him, even though he was better than me. Hazrat Mus'ab bin Umair (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred, and we did not have enough cloth to shroud him either, even though he too was better than me. Now, a great deal of wealth and possessions of the world have come into our hands." After this, Hazrat Abdur Rahman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I fear that our reward may have been given to us in this world." Hazrat Shu'bah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "I think he got up and did not eat the food."

The son of Hazrat Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that once, when I was preparing to set out for jihad, my father said to me: "Wait, O my son!" I said, "Could you not have stopped me earlier, before I had made preparations and spent money on it?" He replied, "I wanted that the reward of a mujahid be written for you." Pointing towards Syria, he said, "A calamity is about to come from that direction. If I live to see it, you will see what I do in it, and if I do not live to see it, then you should rush towards it eagerly."

Hazrat Ibn Ma'qil (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that when the son of Hazrat Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) intended to go for jihad, Hazrat Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Son, do not go yet; a war is coming from Syria which will affect every Muslim."

Hazrat Khalid bin Waleed (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that in the Battle of Mu'tah, the swords that broke in my hands—only one strong Yemeni sword remained, which supported me.

Hazrat Abu Ishaq narrates that once a man came to the service of the Prophet ﷺ and requested, "Give me a sword." The Prophet ﷺ said: "It should not be that I give you a sword but you stand in the back row." The Prophet ﷺ gave him the sword; he kept fighting the polytheists and at the same time recited this verse: "I am the person from whom my beloved took a promise while standing under the date trees that I will not remain standing in the back row, but rather, taking the sword of Allah and His Messenger, I will fight the enemies."

Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said that a time will come upon the people when every believer will go to Shaam (Syria).

Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates that it was initially made obligatory upon the Muslims that one man should fight against ten polytheists. Allah Almighty says: If there are twenty steadfast among you, they will overcome two hundred, and if there are a hundred, they will overcome a thousand. This was difficult for the Muslims, so Allah Almighty granted relief, that one man should fight against two polytheists. Allah Almighty says: If there are a hundred steadfast among you, they will overcome two hundred. Later, even in this, relief was granted to them and the help was reduced accordingly.

Hazrat Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the most beloved land to Allah Almighty among all lands is Shaam (Greater Syria), and the most beloved place in Shaam is Al-Quds (Jerusalem). The most beloved place in Quds is Jabal Nablus (the mountain of Nablus). A time will come upon people when they will conduct their transactions through ropes.

It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Zahriyah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: In times of war, the refuge of the Muslims will be Damascus; in confrontation with the Dajjal, their refuge will be Bayt al-Maqdis; and in confrontation with Gog and Magog, their refuge will be Mount Sinai.

Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that once we were sitting around the Prophet (peace be upon him) reciting the Holy Qur'an when he said: "Glad tidings for Shaam, glad tidings for Shaam." Someone asked the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): "O Messenger of Allah! Why is there glad tidings for Shaam?" He replied: "Because the angels have spread their wings over Shaam."

Hazrat Hassan bin Atiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that once I, Hazrat Mak’hool (may Allah have mercy on him), and Hazrat Ibn Abi Zakariya (may Allah have mercy on him) went to Hazrat Khalid bin Ma’dan (may Allah have mercy on him). He narrated to us a hadith from Hazrat Jubair bin Nufair (may Allah have mercy on him), that Hazrat Jubair (may Allah have mercy on him) said to me, “Let us go to a companion, Hazrat Dhu Khumar.” I went with Jubair bin Qasir to him. Hazrat Jubair asked him about “Hudnah” (truce), so he replied: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say that the people of Rome will soon make a peace treaty with you, then you and they will fight together against an enemy. In these battles, you will be victorious and will gain spoils of war and safety. Then you will stay on a land with mounds, and there a Christian will raise a cross and say, “The cross has prevailed.” At this, a Muslim man will become angry and will break that cross. At this point, the people of Rome will break the treaty and gather for battle.

Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that in battle, keep your nails long because they are also a weapon.

Hazrat Abu Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) said that when you are offered to participate in jihad, do not choose Armenia, because there a severe punishment of cold has been sent down by Allah.

Hazrat Alqamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that we participated in jihad in the land of Rome with Hazrat Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him). At that time, our leader was a Quraishi. He drank alcohol, so we intended to enforce the prescribed punishment (hadd) upon him. Hazrat Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Will you enforce the hadd upon your leader while you are near the enemy? In this way, the enemy will attack you." That leader said, "I will certainly drink alcohol even though it is forbidden, and I will certainly drink alcohol even if someone dislikes it."

Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that if I spend just these three days in preparation for jihad, I do not care how much worship the worshippers perform.

It is narrated from Hazrat Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Spending one day in preparation for jihad in the way of Allah is better than fasting for a month and worshipping for a month. Whoever passes away while preparing for jihad will be saved from the torment of the grave, and the reward for his good deeds will continue until the Day of Resurrection.

This hadith is narrated from Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) with different wording.

Once, Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said from the pulpit that I heard a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) which I concealed from you so that you would not distance yourselves from me. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said that guarding the borders in the path of Allah for one day is better than guarding elsewhere for a thousand days, so let every person choose for himself what he wishes.

Hazrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that ribat is for forty days.

It is narrated from Hazrat Mak'hool that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said that ribat (the duty of guarding the borders) is for forty days.

Hazrat Umar bin Abdullah Mawla Ghafrah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that a son of Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) spent thirty days in jihad. When he returned, Hazrat Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said to him, "I swear to you that you must go back and spend ten more days in jihad so that forty days are completed."

Hazrat Abu Umamah and Hazrat Jubair bin Nufair (may Allah have mercy on them) say that a time will come upon the people when the most virtuous jihad will be ribat (guarding the frontiers). The narrator says: I asked, when will that be? They replied: When battles become few, tributes increase, and war booty is considered lawful (without proper reason), then at that time the most virtuous jihad is ribat.

Hazrat Yazid bin Abdullah (may Allah have mercy on him) and Safwan bin Salim (may Allah have mercy on him) state that whoever passed away while traveling for jihad has attained the rank of martyrdom.