The intention with which one fights so that it is in the way of Allah the Mighty and Majestic

Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: One man fights for spoils, another for fame, and a third for show; which of them is in the way of Allah? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever goes out so that the word of Allah is uppermost, he is in the way of Allah."

Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A man came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), one man fights out of bravery, another out of tribal partisanship, and a third for show; which of them is in the way of Allah?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever fights only so that the word of Allah becomes uppermost, he alone is in the way of Allah."

Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he mentioned the rest of the hadith in the same way.

Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "Military campaigns are of two kinds. The one who, seeking Allah's pleasure and in obedience to the commander, spends what is precious, lives in harmony with his companion and avoids corruption, there is reward in his sleeping and his waking. And whoever strives for pride, show, fame, disobedience to the imam and corruption in the land, he will not even return breaking even."
(b) Abu Bahriyyah Abdullah bin Qays (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates it, and at its end it says: "Whoever disobeyed the imam and did not spend what is precious to him will not even return breaking even."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), tell me about jihad and military campaigns. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Abdullah bin Amr, if you fight with patience and seeking reward, Allah will raise you patient and seeking reward. If you fight for show or to amass more wealth, Allah will raise you among those who show off and seek more wealth. O Abdullah bin Amr, in whatever state you fight or are killed, Allah will raise you in that state."

Sulayman bin Yasar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The people dispersed from around Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), and Nabil al-Shami said to Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): Narrate to me a hadith that you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The first of people concerning whom judgement will be passed on the Day of Resurrection are three persons: a martyr; he will be brought before Allah, the Lord of Might, and Allah will make him recognise His blessings, and he will recognise them. Allah Almighty will ask: 'What did you do with them?' The servant will say: 'O Allah, I fought in Your way until I attained martyrdom.' Allah Almighty will say: 'You have lied; your intention was that it be said that so-and-so is brave, and you were called brave in the world.' Then Allah, the Lord of Might, will command the angels, and he will be dragged on his face and thrown into Hell. The second person will be a scholar of religion and a reciter of the Qur'an; he will be brought before Allah, and Allah will make him recognise His blessings, and he will recognise all the blessings. Allah Almighty will ask: 'What did you do with them?' He will say: 'I acquired knowledge, recited the Qur'an and taught it for Your sake.' Allah Almighty will say: 'You are lying; your intention was that you be called a scholar of religion and a reciter of the Qur'an, and that was said of you in the world.' Then Allah, the Lord of Might, will give a command concerning him too, and he too will be dragged on his face and thrown into Hell. And the third is a person to whom Allah gave all kinds of wealth; he will be brought before Allah, and Allah, the Lord of Might, will make him recognise His blessings, and he will recognise them. Allah Almighty will ask: 'What did you do with them?' He will say: 'I did not leave any place where You love that wealth be spent except that I spent in it for Your pleasure.' Allah, the Lord of Might, will say: 'You have lied; your only intention was that you be called generous, and you were called generous in the world.' Allah, the Lord of Might, will give a command concerning him too, and then he too will be dragged on his face and thrown into Hell."

Abu al-Ajfa' said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) delivered a sermon and said: About the one who is killed in a military campaign, you say: 'So-and-so was martyred' or 'So-and-so died a martyr's death', yet perhaps he had loaded his mount with gold or silver, intending worldly gain or trade. Do not say this about them; rather, say as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever is killed in the way of Allah or dies, he is of the people of Paradise."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that a man said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): A person intends jihad in the way of Allah while wanting to gain worldly wealth. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is no reward for him." Then that man asked again a second and a third time, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) still said: "There is no reward for him."
The Shaykh said: This hadith carries the possibility that he intended only the world; but as for the one who intends reward and hopes to obtain spoils (there is no sin on him).

Ibn Zughb al-Iyadi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Hawalah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Companion of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), stayed with me as a guest, and news had reached us that a stipend of two hundred had been assigned to him, but he refused to take more than one hundred. I said to him: Is what reached us true, that a stipend of two hundred was assigned to you and you refused to take more than one hundred? By Allah, the fact that he was staying with me did not stop him from saying: "May you have no mother! Is a hundred every year not enough for Ibn Hawalah?" Then Sayyiduna Ibn Hawalah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to us from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) sent us out on foot around Madinah to gain spoils, but we gained none. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw our hardship, he said: 'Allahumma la takilhum ilayya fa-ad'ufa 'anhum, wa la takilhum ila anfusihim fa-ya'jizu 'anha, wa la takilhum ila al-nasi fa-yasta'thiru 'alayhim, wa lakin tawahhad bi-arzaqihim' (O Allah, do not entrust them to me, for I am too weak for them; nor entrust them to themselves, for they would be unable to manage; nor hand them over to people, who would humiliate them or prefer others over them; rather, take charge of their provision Yourself). Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The land of Syria will be conquered, and the treasures of Persia and Rome will be divided among you, and one of you will receive such and such an amount of wealth, so that even when given a hundred dinars he will be displeased." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) placed his hand on my head and said: "O Ibn Hawalah, when you see that the caliphate has settled in the Holy Land, then earthquakes, calamities and great events will occur, and the Hour will be as near to people as this hand of mine is to your head."