[Sahih al-Bukhari, Chapter 50]
Ibn Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah said: “There is no Hijra after conquest, but rather Jihad and Niyya (determination). When you are called to leave, then leave.”
Abu Hurairah reported: “A man came to the Messenger of Allah and said: ‘Name me an act equivalent to Jihad!’ The Prophet said: ‘I cannot find one!’ The Prophet continued: ‘Can you bear to go to the mosque and pray there without ceasing, and also fast without breaking your fast?’ The man said: ‘And who can do such a thing?’”
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported: “The following question was asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah, who is the best of all people?’” The Messenger of Allah said: “A believer who undertakes jihad in the cause of Allah, risking his life and wealth.” The people said: “Then who else but him?” The Prophet said: “A believer who is in an uninhabited area among the mountains, fears Allah, and spares people from his evil deeds!”
Abu Hurairah reported: “I heard the Messenger of Allah say: ‘The one who undertakes jihad in the cause of Allah—and Allah knows well who undertakes jihad in His cause—is like one who fasts and prays continually. And Allah assures the mujahid in His cause that He will either let him die and enter Paradise or that he will return him unharmed with a reward or with booty.’”
Abu Hurairah reported: “The Prophet said, ‘Whoever believes in Allah and His Messenger, establishes prayer, and fasts during Ramadan has a right before Allah to admit him to Paradise, whether he waged jihad in the cause of Allah or resided in his homeland where he was born.’
The people said, “O Messenger of Allah! Should we not give people this glad tidings?” The Prophet replied, “Indeed, there are one hundred levels in Paradise that Allah has prepared for those who waged jihad in the cause of Allah, and the distance between each level is like that between heaven and earth. So if you ask Allah for it, ask for Mount Firdaus, for it is located in the middle of Paradise, or on the highest level of Paradise… and above it is the Throne of the Most Merciful, and from there flow the rivers of Paradise.’”
Anas Ibn Malik reported that the Prophet said: “Truly, a departure in the early morning or at the end of the day in the path of Allah is better than the entire world and everything in it.”
Anas Ibn Malik reported that the Prophet said: “No person who has a good expectation from Allah and looks forward to it would wish to return to this world after death, even if they were given the entire world and everything of value in it. The exception is the martyr (shahid), who, because of the excellence of martyrdom (shahada), would rejoice if they returned to this world and died again.”
Anas ibn Malik reported that the Prophet said: “Truly, a departure at the end of the day or at dawn in the path of Allah is better than the entire world and everything in it. And truly, the shortest distance to Paradise, the length of a bow or a whip, is better than the entire world and everything in it. And if a woman from Paradise were to appear to the inhabitants of the earth, she would illuminate and perfume what lies between her and them. And truly, the veil she wears on her head is better than the entire world and everything in it.”
Abu Hurairah reported: “I heard the Prophet say: ‘I swear by Him in Whose Hand is my life that if there were no believers who would be uncomfortable being left behind because I could not find a mount to carry them on, I would never be absent from a fighting force marching in the cause of Allah.
I swear by Him in Whose Hand is my life that I so desire to perish in the cause of Allah, then be resurrected, then perish in the cause of Allah and be resurrected, then perish in the cause of Allah and be resurrected, then perish again in the cause of Allah.’”
Jundab ibn Sufiyan reported: “The Messenger of Allah was participating in a battle, and his finger was bleeding. He said, ‘You are nothing but a bleeding finger, and what struck me is for the benefit of Allah.’”
Al-Bara reported: “A man wrapped in armor came to the Prophet and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, should I fight first or convert to Islam first?’ The Prophet said, ‘You should convert to Islam first, then fight!’ The man then converted to Islam, fought, and subsequently died. The Messenger of Allah said, ‘He did little and received a great reward!’”
Umm Ar-Rubai, daughter of Al-Bara and mother of Haritha ibn Surakha, came to the Prophet and said, “O Prophet of Allah, if you would tell me about Haritha!” —and he met his end on the day of the Battle of Badr, struck by a stray arrow—“If he is in Paradise, I will be patient, and if he is not, I will mourn him deeply.” The Prophet said, “O Umm Haritha, there are indeed multiple Gardens of Paradise within Paradise, and truly, your son reached the highest level in Al-Firdaus!”
Abu Musa reported: “A man came to the Prophet and said, ‘There are those who fight for plunder, others for prestige, while others fight with the intention of gaining renown. Which fight, then, is in the way of Allah?’ The Prophet said, ‘Whoever fights with the intention that Allah’s word may be supreme, fights in the way of Allah!’”
Abd ar-Rahman ibn Jabr reported that the Messenger of Allah said, “Never will the feet of a servant of Allah, which have become dusty in the way of Allah, be touched by the Fire.”
Aisha reported: “When the Messenger of Allah returned home after the Battle of the Trench, laid down his weapon, and began to ablution, Gabriel approached him while his head was still covered in dust and said, “Have you laid down your weapon? By Allah, it is not yet time for you to lay down your weapon!” The Messenger of Allah asked him, ‘Then where?’ Gabriel replied, ‘There!’ And he pointed to Banu Qurayza. The Messenger of Allah then went out to them.”
Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa wrote that the Messenger of Allah said, “And know that Paradise lies beneath the shadows of swords!”
Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of Allah said: “Sulaiman Ibn Dawud (Solomon, son of David) said: ‘I am sure that night I will go around with one hundred – or ninety-nine – women, and each one will give birth to a knight who will fight in the way of Allah!’”
His companion then said to him, “Say ‘Insha’Allah!’” But he didn’t say it, and none of the women became pregnant, except for one woman who gave birth to a half-human. I swear by the One in Whose Hand is my life that if he had said “Insha’Allah,” they would all have become knights, fighting in the path of Allah!
Anas reported: “The Prophet was the best of all people, the bravest of all people, and the most generous of all people. It happened that the people of Medina were terrified by an enemy attack, and they witnessed the Prophet being the first to arrive to defend them, riding a mare. We found him to be as magnificent as the sea.”
The Prophet was the best of all people, the bravest of all people, and the most generous of all people. Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah will smile upon two men, one of whom killed the other, yet both will enter Paradise. One fought in the cause of Allah and perished, but then Allah, because of his repentance, showed mercy to the one who killed him and allowed him to die a martyr.”
Anas ibn Malik reported that the Prophet said: “Death from the plague is a martyrdom for every Muslim!”
Abu Said al-Khudri reported that he heard the Prophet say: “Whoever fasts for a day while in the cause of Allah, Allah will keep his face away from Hellfire for a distance equivalent to seventy years.”
Anas ibn Malik reported that the Prophet said: “Whoever fasts for a day while in the cause of Allah, Allah will keep his face away from Hellfire for a distance equivalent to seventy years.” Zaid ibn Khalid reported that the Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever equipped a fighter in the cause of Allah has fought, and whoever represented the interests of a fighter in the cause of Allah in a good way has fought.”
Ar-Rubai bint Mu’awwith reported: “We used to be with the Prophet to give water to the wounded and to care for them, and to transport the fallen to Medina.”
Ar-Rubai bint Muawwith reported: “We usually participated in battle with the Prophet to give water to the people and to care for them, and to transport the wounded and the fallen to Medina.”
Aisha reported: “The Prophet spent several sleepless nights. When he arrived in Medina, he said: ‘I hope I can find one of my companions to stand guard for me tonight, because we heard the clash of a weapon!’” The Prophet called out, “Who is there?” A voice answered, “That is me, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas! I came to stand guard for you.” The Prophet then slept there.
Anas reported, “We traveled with the Prophet. The one among us who had the most shade was the one who shielded himself with his own garment.
As for those among us who were fasting, they did not work. However, those who broke their fast were able to tend to the animals, perform various tasks, and care for the sick. The Prophet then said, “Those who broke their fast today left with only their wages.”
Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet said: “Every person has a duty to give charity for every part of their body every day: Helping a man with his mount, by lifting him onto it or loading his belongings onto it, is charity. A kind word is charity. Every step he takes in prayer is charity, and guiding him on his way is charity.”
Every step he takes in prayer is charity. Sahl was once asked about the Prophet’s injury on the day of the Battle of Uhud, and he recounted: “The Prophet’s face was wounded, one of his canine teeth was broken, and his helmet was shattered on his head.
Then Fatima tended to him and washed the blood away, while Ali held it together. But when she saw that the blood was not stopping flowing, and was even flowing more, she tore off a piece of straw mat and burned it until it was completely reduced to ash. Then she took it and pressed it against the wound, and it stopped bleeding.”
Abdullah ibn Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah said: “You will fight the Jews until one of them hides behind a stone and it says: ‘O servant of Allah, here is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.’”
Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah said: “The Hour will not come until you fight the Jews until the stone behind which the Jew has hidden says: ‘O Muslim, here is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.’”
Abu Hurairah reported: “Tufail ibn Amr ad-Dawsi and his people came to the Prophet and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, the tribe of Daws has truly fallen into disobedience and is only defiant, so supplicate them to Allah!’ Someone said: ‘Down with the Daws!’” And the Prophet said, “O Allah, guide the Daws to the right path and bring them back to us.”
Anas reported: “When the Prophet wanted to send a letter to the Byzantines, he was told that they would not read any letter that was not sealed. So the Prophet took a silver signet ring — as if I could still see its gleam in his hand today—and had it engraved with: ‘Muhammad Rasul-llah.’”
Abdullah ibn Abbas reported: “The Messenger of Allah sent a letter to Khosrow (the King of Persia) through the governor of Bahrain, asking him to forward it to Khosrow. When Khosrow read the letter, he tore it up. The Prophet then supplicated against them, that they might be completely scattered.”
Anas reported: “The Messenger of Allah used to launch an attack against his enemy only in the morning. If he heard the call to prayer, he would refrain, and if he did not hear the call, he would rush in after the morning prayer. Thus, we arrived in Khaybar at night.”
Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “I have been commanded to fight the people until they say, ‘There is no god but Allah.’ Whoever says this will save his life and wealth from me, unless he violates the law, in which case the reckoning with him is left to Allah…”
Abdullah ibn Umar reported: “The Messenger of Allah forbade anyone from entering the enemy’s territory with the Qur’an.”
Ibn Umar reported that the Prophet said: “If people knew what I know about solitude, no horseman would travel alone at night.”
Abdallah Ibn Umar reported: “A man came to the Prophet and asked for permission to undertake jihad. The Prophet asked him: ‘Are your parents alive?’ The man said: ‘Yes,’ and the Prophet replied: ‘Then undertake jihad with them!’”
Ibn Abbas reported that he heard the Prophet say: “No man should be alone with a woman, and a woman should only travel with a mahram.” A man stood up and said: “O Messenger of Allah, I have volunteered to participate in the battles of [name] and [name], and my wife has already set out on pilgrimage!” The Prophet said to him: “Go and perform the pilgrimage with your wife!”
Abdallah reported: “A woman was found dead in a battle undertaken by the Prophet. And the Messenger of Allah abhorred the killing of women and children.”
Ibn Umar reported: “A woman was found dead in a battle undertaken by the Messenger of Allah. And the Messenger of Allah forbade the killing of women and children.”
Ikrima reported that Ali burned some people alive. When Ibn Abbas learned of this, he said: “In his place, I would not have burned them alive, for the Prophet said: ‘Do not carry out a punishment with which Allah Himself punishes.’” And I would have executed them, as the Prophet said: “Whoever changes his religion, you should kill him!”
Abu Huraira reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah say: “An ant bit one of the prophets, who then ordered the entire anthill to be burned. And Allah revealed to him: ‘Just because a single ant bit you, you ordered the burning of one of the nations that praise Allah?’”
Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet said: “Do not wish for an encounter with the enemy, but if you do meet him, be patient!”
Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet said: “Khosro (King of Persia) will perish, and there will be no Khosro after him. And the Emperor (of Byzantium) will also certainly perish, and there will be no Emperor after him. But as for their treasures, they will surely be distributed in the way of Allah!”
Abu Huraira reported: “The Prophet described war as deception.”
Abu Musa reported that the Messenger of Allah said: “Untie the bonds of the prisoner of war (or slave), feed the hungry, and visit the sick!”
Abdallah reported: “When the Prophet returned, he would exclaim ‘Allahu Akbar’ three times and then say: ‘We will return, Allah wills, in repentance, worshipping and praising Him, and prostrating before our Lord!’ Allah fulfilled His promise, granted His servant victory, and defeated the battle groups single-handedly!”
Kab reported: “When the Prophet returned from a journey in the morning, he would first go to the mosque and perform two rak’ahs before sitting down.”
