Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah

Sahl bin Mu’adh bin Anas narrates from his father that a woman came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! My husband has gone out for jihad, and I used to follow him in prayer and all his (good) deeds. Now, tell me of an act that will make me reach the level of his deeds. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to her: “Are you able to stand (in prayer) continuously without resting, and to fast continuously without breaking your fast, and to remember Allah continuously without ever being heedless, until he returns?” She said: O Messenger of Allah! I do not have the strength for this action. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Even if you were able to do these deeds, you would not reach even a tenth of his deeds.”

Sayyiduna Fadala (may Allah be pleased with him) says that a man came and said: O Messenger of Allah! May Allah send mercy upon you, (please tell me) which deed is closest to jihad? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The deed closest to Allah is striving in His path (jihad), and there is no deed like it, except for a person like this." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) pointed towards a man who stands (in prayer) and does not become lazy in standing, nor is he negligent in fasting.

Abu Taybah narrates that Shurahbil bin Simt called Sayyiduna Amr bin Abasah (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "Ibn Abasah! Can you narrate such a hadith which you yourself have heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), with neither any addition nor any falsehood, and which you have not heard through any intermediary but directly from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?" He said: "Yes. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:

(1) Whoever shoots an arrow in the way of Allah, whether it hits the target or not, he will have the reward of freeing a slave from the descendants of Sayyiduna Isma'il (peace be upon him).

(2) Whoever grows old in the way of Allah, this deed will be a light for him.

(3) Any Muslim who frees a Muslim slave, for every limb of the freed one, the liberator's every limb will be freed from the Fire.

(4) Any Muslim woman who frees a Muslim woman, for every limb of the freed woman, the liberator's every limb will be freed from Hell.

(5) Any Muslim man or woman who has three minor children pass away (i.e., die), they will become a barrier for him/her in front of the Fire (i.e., he/she will not enter Hell).

(6) Whoever gets up to perform ablution with the intention of prayer and lets the water reach its proper places in ablution, he will be purified from every sin or mistake. Now, if he performs the prayer, Allah Almighty will raise his rank, and if he just sits (without praying), he will sit purified (from sins)."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that I was standing guard at the frontier, (suddenly) people became alarmed and rushed towards the coast. Then it was said that there is nothing (to worry about). So the people returned, and Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) remained standing. A man passed by him and said: Abu Hurairah! Why are you standing here? He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: "Standing for a while in the path of Allah is better than spending the Night of Qadr in prayer by the Black Stone."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah has taken it upon Himself to guarantee the man who goes out in His path, and (Allah says that) when this man goes out only for striving in My path, believing in Me, and affirming My Messenger, then I also guarantee that I will admit him into Paradise, or return him to his home with reward or booty, whatever he has obtained. (Then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:) By the One in Whose hand is my soul! Any wound that is inflicted in the path of Allah, the wounded person will come on the Day of Resurrection in the same state as when he was wounded; the color of the flowing blood will be the same as that of blood, but its fragrance will be like that of musk. By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad! If it were not hard upon the Muslims, I would never stay behind any expedition fighting in the path of Allah, but I do not have the means to take them all with me, and they do not like to stay behind from me. By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad! I wish that I fight in the path of Allah and be killed, then (be brought back to life and) fight again and be killed, then (be brought back to life and) fight again and be killed.”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah Almighty loves three types of people, laughs at them, and is pleased with them: (1) The man whose (group) has fled, but he continues to fight for Allah after them, until he is killed or Allah helps him and suffices him. Allah Almighty says (about such a man): ‘Look at My servant, how he is patient with himself!’ (2) The man whose wife is beautiful and he has the best, soft bed, but he stands up at night to pray. Allah Almighty says: (My servant) is leaving his desire and remembering Me, and whispering to Me; if he wished, he could have slept. (3) And the man who is traveling with a caravan, and they have become exhausted and broken due to staying awake (and walking) at night, and (finally) they fall asleep, but he stands up at the time of suhoor in happiness or hardship (and begins to pray).”

Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says that my mukatab (contracted slave) came to me with the remaining portion of his contract. I said to him: After this time, you cannot enter upon me (because you are now free). So strive in the way of Allah, for I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever's heart is touched by dust in the way of Allah, Allah makes the Fire forbidden for him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Imran bin Husain (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A man's staying for a short while in the path of Allah is better than sixty years of worship."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever shoots an arrow in the way of Allah, it will be a light for him on the Day of Resurrection."

Abayah bin Rifa’ah says: I was going for the Friday prayer when I met Sayyiduna Abu Abas (may Allah be pleased with him), and he said: Rejoice, these steps of yours are in the way of Allah. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: “The person whose feet become dusty in the way of Allah, Allah will make the Fire forbidden for him.”

Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever is wounded in the way of Allah will come on the Day of Resurrection in such a state that the smell (of the blood flowing from the wound) will be like the fragrance of musk and its color will be like saffron, and upon it will be the seal of the martyrs. Whoever sincerely asks Allah for martyrdom, Allah will grant him the reward of a martyr, even if he dies on his bed."

One of the companions of the Messenger passed by a valley in which there was a small spring of sweet water, and its fragrance greatly pleased him. He (thought to himself): If I separate myself from the people and devote myself in this valley... But first, I will consult the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When he mentioned this to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: "Do not do so, for your staying in the path of Allah is better than sixty years of individual prayer. Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you and admit you to Paradise? Strive in the path of Allah; whoever strives in the path of Allah for the duration between two milkings of a she-camel, Paradise becomes obligatory for him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man brought a bridled she-camel and said: O Messenger of Allah! This she-camel is for jihad in the way of Allah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "For you, in exchange for it, there will be seven hundred she-camels in Paradise, all of them bridled."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The example of the one who strives in the path of Allah is like that of a fasting and praying person who does not tire from prayer or fasting until the warrior returns home."

Sayyiduna Abu Sa‘id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man came to me and said: Advise me with something. I said: The question you have asked me, I had asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) the same question before you (and he said): "I advise you to fear Allah, for it is the foundation of everything. Adhere to jihad, for it is the monasticism of Islam, and be constant in the remembrance of Allah and the recitation of the Qur’an, for it is a source of mercy for you in the heavens and a source of mention for you on the earth."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "There are two types of expeditions: (1) Whoever seeks Allah's pleasure (by striving), obeys the ruler, spends good wealth, and avoids corruption, then his sleeping and waking are all acts of worship; and (2) whoever strives out of pride, showing off, and for fame, disobeys the ruler, and spreads corruption in the land, then he will not return equal (in reward)—rather, he will return bearing the burden of sins."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna ‘Ubādah bin Sāmit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Fight in the way of Allah, for it is one of the gates of Paradise (the Gate of Jihād), and Allah removes through it grief, pain, and distress.”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sahl bin Hunaif (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "As soon as the first drop of a martyr's blood falls, all his sins are forgiven, except for debt."

Habib bin Shihab Anbari says that I heard from my father, he says: My friend and I went to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them), and at the door of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) we met Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him). He asked: Who are you? We introduced ourselves. He said: Go to those people who have only dates and water, (here) every man is barely managing his own sustenance. We said: Your treasures are more, so do this much that you seek permission for us from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them). He sought permission, and we heard Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) narrating a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed (the people) on the day of Tabuk and said: “The person who holds the reins of his horse and strives in the path of Allah, and avoids the evils of people, he is unparalleled among people. And that person is also unparalleled, who settles in a deserted place, tends to his sheep and goats, hosts guests, and fulfills their rights.” I said: Did you really hear the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say these things? He said: (Yes) he said them. I asked again: Did you really hear him say these things? He said: (Yes) he said them. I asked again: Did you really hear the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say these things? He said: (Yes) he said them. I said Allahu Akbar and Alhamdulillah and thanked Him.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Umm Mubashshir (may Allah be pleased with her), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best man in terms of rank and status is the one who is mounted on the back of his horse, frightening his enemies and they are frightening him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Standing guard for one day at the frontier is better than staying at home for a month and fasting during it."

The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Travel and you will remain healthy, and perform jihad and you will become self-sufficient." This hadith is narrated mursal from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas, Sayyiduna Abu Saeed (may Allah be pleased with them), and Zaid bin Aslam.