This excerpt is taken from the book by Sheikh Abi Abdul Saboor Abdul Ghafoor Damni Fazail al-Jihad.
عن أبى سعيد الخدري رضى الله عنه قال سمعت النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول من صام يوما فى سبيل الله بعد الله وجهه عن النار سبعين خريفا.
"Abu Saeed Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates that he heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, say: 'Whoever fasts for one day in the way of Allah (Jihad), Allah will distance his face from the fire of Hell by a distance of seventy years.'"
Reference: (Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim) (Narrated by Bukhari, Book of Jihad and Military Expeditions, Chapter on the Virtue of Fasting in the Way of Allah, wording as it is, Number: 2840 / Muslim, Book of Fasting, Chapter on the Virtue of Fasting in the Way of Allah for those who can do so without harm or neglecting rights, Number: 1153)
Derived Benefits
➊ "In the way of Allah" means fasting during jihad against the disbelievers, provided that it does not cause weakness. It can also mean fasting in obedience to His command to seek Allah's pleasure. Any act done with sincerity is considered to be in the way of Allah.
➋ The distance of seventy years means that it will keep one as far from Hellfire as the distance that can be covered in seventy years. This is a metaphor to indicate a very great distance.
➌ The virtue of fasting in the battlefield: From the mentioned hadith, it is understood that fasting in the battlefield has great virtue, such that fasting for one day will keep the face of the fasting person seventy years away from the fire of Hell.
