I asked Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! What is the best deed?" He replied, "To offer the prayers at their early stated fixed times." I asked, "What is next in goodness?" He replied, "To be good and dutiful to your parents." I further asked, what is next in goodness?" He replied, "To participate in Jihad in Allah's Cause." I did not ask Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) anymore and if I had asked him more, he would have told me more.

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "There is no Hijra (i.e. migration) (from Mecca to Medina) after the Conquest (of Mecca), but Jihad and good intention remain; and if you are called (by the Muslim ruler) for fighting, go forth immediately.

(That she said), "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! We consider Jihad as the best deed. Should we not fight in Allah's Cause?" He said, "The best Jihad (for women) is Hajj-Mabrur (i.e. Hajj which is done according to the Prophet's tradition and is accepted by Allah).

A man came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said, "Instruct me as to such a deed as equals Jihad (in reward)." He replied, "I do not find such a deed." Then he added, "Can you, while the Muslim fighter is in the battle-field, enter your mosque to perform prayers without cease and fast and never break your fast?" The man said, "But who can do that?" Abu- Huraira رضی اللہ عنہ added, "The Mujahid (i.e. Muslim fighter) is rewarded even for the footsteps of his horse while it wanders bout (for grazing) tied in a long rope."

Somebody asked, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Who is the best among the people?" Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) replied "A believer who strives his utmost in Allah's Cause with his life and property." They asked, "Who is next?" He replied, "A believer who stays in one of the mountain paths worshipping Allah and leaving the people secure from his mischief."

I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying, "The example of a Mujahid in Allah's Cause-- and Allah knows better who really strives in His Cause----is like a person who fasts and prays continuously. Allah guarantees that He will admit the Mujahid in His Cause into Paradise if he is killed, otherwise He will return him to his home safely with rewards and war booty."

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) used to visit Umm Haram bint Milhan, who would offer him meals. Umm Haram was the wife of Ubada bin As-Samit. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), once visited her and she provided him with food and started looking for lice in his head. Then Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) slept, and afterwards woke up smiling. Umm Haram رضی اللہ عنہا asked, "What causes you to smile, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)?" He said. "Some of my followers who (in a dream) were presented before me as fighters in Allah's cause (on board a ship) amidst this sea caused me to smile; they were as kings on the thrones (or like kings on the thrones)." (Ishaq, a sub-narrator is not sure as to which expression the Prophet (ﷺ) used.) Umm Haram رضی اللہ عنہا said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Invoke Allah that he makes me one of them. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) invoked Allah for her and slept again and woke up smiling. Once again Umm Haram asked, "What makes you smile, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)?" He replied, "Some of my followers were presented to me as fighters in Allah's Cause," repeating the same dream. Umm Haram رضی اللہ عنہا said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Invoke Allah that He makes me one of them." He said, "You are amongst the first ones." It happened that she sailed on the sea during the Caliphate of Mu'awiya bin Abi Sufyan رضی اللہ عنہ , and after she disembarked, she fell down from her riding animal and died.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whoever believes in Allah and His Apostle, offer prayer perfectly and fasts the month of Ramadan, will rightfully be granted Paradise by Allah, no matter whether he fights in Allah's Cause or remains in the land where he is born." The people said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) ! Shall we acquaint the people with the is good news?" He said, "Paradise has one-hundred grades which Allah has reserved for the Mujahidin who fight in His Cause, and the distance between each of two grades is like the distance between the Heaven and the Earth. So, when you ask Allah (for something), ask for Al-firdaus which is the best and highest part of Paradise." (i.e. The sub-narrator added, "I think the Prophet also said, 'Above it (i.e. Al-Firdaus) is the Throne of Beneficent (i.e. Allah), and from it originate the rivers of Paradise.") He said: Above it is the Throne of the Affectionate One and from it the canals of paradise gush. And Muhammad bin Folaih reports from his father that above it is the Throne of the Affectionate One.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Last night two men came to me (in a dream) and made me ascend a tree and then admitted me into a better and superior house, better of which I have never seen. One of them said, 'This house is the house of martyrs."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "A single endeavor (of fighting) in Allah's Cause in the forenoon or in the afternoon is better than the world and whatever is in it."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "A place in Paradise as small as a bow is better than all that on which the sun rises and sets (i.e. all the world)." He also said, "A single endeavor in Allah's Cause in the afternoon or in the forenoon is better than all that on which the sun rises and sets."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "A single endeavor in Allah's Cause in the afternoon and in the forenoon is better than the world and whatever is in it."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Nobody who dies and finds good from Allah (in the Hereafter) would wish to come back to this world even if he were given the whole world and whatever is in it, except the martyr who, on seeing the superiority of martyrdom, would like to come back to the world and get killed again (in Allah's Cause)."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "A single endeavor (of fighting) in Allah's Cause in the afternoon or in the forenoon is better than all the world and whatever is in it. A place in Paradise as small as the bow or lash of one of you is better than all the world and whatever is in it. And if a houri from Paradise appeared to the people of the earth, she would fill the space between Heaven and the Earth with light and pleasant scent and her head cover is better than the world and whatever is in it."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "By Him in Whose Hands my life is! Were it not for some men amongst the believers who dislike to be left behind me and whom I cannot provide with means of conveyance, I would certainly never remain behind any Sariya' (army-unit) setting out in Allah's Cause. By Him in Whose Hands my life is! I would love to be martyred in Allah's Cause and then get resurrected and then get martyred, and then get resurrected again and then get martyred and then get resurrected again and then get martyred.

The Prophet (ﷺ) delivered a sermon and said, "Zaid took the flag and was martyred, and then Ja`far took the flag and was martyred, and then `Abdullah bin Rawaha took the flag and was martyred too, and then Khalid bin Al-Walid took the flag though he was not appointed as a commander and Allah made him victorious." The Prophet (ﷺ) further added, "It would not please us to have them with us." Aiyub, a sub-narrator, added, "Or the Prophet, shedding tears, said, 'It would not please them to be with us.'"

"Once the Prophet (ﷺ) slept in my house near to me and got up smiling. I said, 'What makes you smile?' He replied, 'Some of my followers who (i.e. in a dream) were presented to me sailing on this green sea like kings on thrones.' I said, 'O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Invoke Allah to make me one of them." So the Prophet (ﷺ) invoked Allah for her and went to sleep again. He did the same (i.e. got up and told his dream) and Um Haram رضی اللہ عنہا repeated her question and he gave the same reply. She said, "Invoke Allah to make me one of them." He said, "You are among the first batch." Later on it happened that she went out in the company of her husband 'Ubada bin As-Samit رضی اللہ عنہ who went for Jihad and it was the first time the Muslims undertook a naval expedition led by Mu'awiya. When the expedition came to an end and they were returning to Sham, a riding animal was presented to her to ride, but the animal let her fall and thus she died.

The Prophet (ﷺ) sent seventy men from the tribe of Bani Salim to the tribe of Bani Amir. When they reached there, my maternal uncle said to them, "I will go ahead of you, and if they allow me to convey the message of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) (it will be all right); otherwise you will remain close to me." So he went ahead of them and the pagans granted him security But while he was reporting the message of the Prophet (ﷺ) , they beckoned to one of their men who stabbed him to death. My maternal uncle said, "Allah is Greater! By the Lord of the Ka`ba, I am successful." After that they attached the rest of the party and killed them all except a lame man who went up to the top of the mountain. (Hammam, a sub-narrator said, "I think another man was saved along with him)." Gabriel informed the Prophet (ﷺ) that they (i.e the martyrs) met their Lord, and He was pleased with them and made them pleased. We used to recite, "Inform our people that we have met our Lord, He is pleased with us and He has made us pleased " Later on this Qur'anic Verse was cancelled. The Prophet (ﷺ) invoked Allah for forty days to curse the murderers from the tribe of Ral, Dhakwan, Bani Lihyan and Bam Usaiya who disobeyed Allah and his Apostle.

In one of the holy Battles a finger of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) (got wounded and) bled. He said, "You are just a finger that bled, and what you got is in Allah's Cause."

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is! Whoever is wounded in Allah's Cause....and Allah knows well who gets wounded in His Cause....will come on the Day of Resurrection with his wound having the color of blood but the scent of musk."

Heraclius said to him, "I asked you about the outcome of your battles with him (i.e. the Prophet (ﷺ) ) and you told me that you fought each other with alternate success. So the Apostles are tested in this way but the ultimate victory is always theirs.

My uncle Anas bin An-Nadr رضی اللہ عنہ was absent from the Battle of Badr. He said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! I was absent from the first battle you fought against the pagans. (By Allah) if Allah gives me a chance to fight the pagans, no doubt. Allah will see how (bravely) I will fight." On the day of Uhud when the Muslims turned their backs and fled, he said, "O Allah! I apologize to You for what these (i.e. his companions) have done, and I denounce what these (i.e. the pagans) have done." Then he advanced and Sa`d bin Mu`adh رضی اللہ عنہ met him. He said "O Sa`d bin Mu`adh ! By the Lord of An-Nadr, Paradise! I am smelling its aroma coming from before (the mountain of) Uhud," Later on Sa`d رضی اللہ عنہ said, "O Allah's Apostle! I cannot achieve or do what he (i.e. Anas bin An-Nadr رضی اللہ عنہ) did. We found more than eighty wounds by swords and arrows on his body. We found him dead and his body was mutilated so badly that none except his sister could recognize him by his fingers." We used to think that the following Verse was revealed concerning him and other men of his sort: "Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah.........." (33.23) His sister Ar-Rubbaya' broke a front tooth of a woman and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) ordered for retaliation. On that Anas (bin An-Nadr رضی اللہ عنہ) said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! By Him Who has sent you with the Truth, my sister's tooth shall not be broken." Then the opponents of Anas's sister accepted the compensation and gave up the claim of retaliation. So Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "There are some people amongst Allah's slaves whose oaths are fulfilled by Allah when they take them."

"When the Qur'an was compiled from various written manuscripts, one of the Verses of Surat Al-Ahzab was missing which I used to hear Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) reciting. I could not find it except with Khuza`ima bin Thabjt Al-Ansari رضی اللہ عنہ , whose witness Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) regarded as equal to the witness of two men. And the Verse was:-- "Among the believers are men who have been true to what they covenanted with Allah." (33.23)

A man whose face was covered with an iron mask (i.e. clad in armor) came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Shall I fight or embrace Islam first? "The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Embrace Islam first and then fight." So he embraced Islam, and was martyred. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, A Little work, but a great reward. "(He did very little (after embracing Islam), but he will be rewarded in abundance).

Um Ar-Rubai'bint Al-Bara' رضی اللہ عنہا , the mother of Hartha bin Suraqa رضی اللہ عنہ came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "O Allah's Prophet! Will you tell me about Hartha?" Hartha رضی اللہ عنہ has been killed (i.e. martyred) on the day of Badr with an arrow thrown by an unidentified person. She added, "If he is in Paradise, I will be patient; otherwise, I will weep bitterly for him." He said, "O mother of Hartha! There are Gardens in Paradise and your son got the Firdausal-ala (i.e. the best place in Paradise).