Hazrat Abu Ubaidah bin Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that once Hazrat Hudhaifah bin Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him), Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), Hazrat Abu Mas’ud Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), and Hazrat Abu Musa Ash’ari (may Allah be pleased with him) were in the mosque when a man came and said: O Abdullah bin Qais (may Allah be pleased with him)! If I take up my sword and, remaining steadfast with the intention of seeking Allah’s pleasure, perform jihad and am killed with this intention, where will I go? He replied: To Paradise. Hazrat Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) then said at that moment: Understand this person’s question and explain the correct answer to him, because misunderstanding the matter could also lead him to Hell. Then Hazrat Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If you understand the truth correctly and then take up your sword and are martyred in the path of Allah, you will go to Paradise. But if a person errs in understanding the truth and does not receive guidance to the right path, and is killed upon that, then he will go to Hell. Upon this, everyone said: You are right.

Hazrat Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) said that the predecessors used to say that fighting in the way of Allah is better than sitting at home, and sitting at home is better than fighting in the way of misguidance. If a person has doubt about something, he should rise above the doubt and choose the matter.

Hazrat Bara bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that when this verse was revealed { لاَ یَسْتَوِی الْقَاعِدُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِینَ }, { وَالْمُجَاہِدُونَ فِی سَبِیلِ اللہِ } the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Call Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) and tell him to bring a tablet and inkpot as well." Then he said, "Write { لاَ یَسْتَوِی الْقَاعِدُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِینَ }." Upon hearing this verse, a blind companion, Hazrat Amr ibn Umm Maktum (may Allah be pleased with him), submitted, "O Messenger of Allah! I do not have the strength for jihad, what do you command me to do?" Upon this, Allah the Exalted revealed { غَیْرُ أُولِی الضَّرَرِ }.

Hazrat Masruq (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that once the mention of martyrs was made in the presence of Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), so he said: Whom do you consider to be martyrs? The people present said, O Commander of the Faithful! Those who are killed in battles. Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: In that case, your martyrs will be very many. I will tell you about the martyrs. Bravery and cowardice are traits found among people, which Allah Almighty places in whomsoever He wills. A brave person fights without caring what will happen to those behind him. A coward flees from his death; a martyr stakes his life. A muhajir (emigrant) is one who leaves the things forbidden by Allah, and a Muslim is one from whose hand and tongue other Muslims are safe.

Hazrat Urwah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that the first person to draw a sword in the path of Allah was Hazrat Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him). Once, a rumor spread that the disbelievers had captured the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم . Upon hearing this, Hazrat Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) took up his sword and went out, passing through the people. The Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم was in the upper part of Makkah. When they met, the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم asked, "O Zubair! What happened?" Hazrat Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, "I heard that the disbelievers had captured you." Upon this, the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم prayed for him and also prayed for his sword.

Hazrat Jabir Ra’ini, may Allah have mercy on him, narrates that when Hazrat Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was bidding farewell to an army, he walked along with them and said:“All praise is for Allah, our feet have become dusty in His path.”A man said,“We have merely followed behind them.”Hazrat Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said,“We prepared them, we walked behind them, and we prayed for them.”

Hazrat Qais narrates that Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) dispatched an army and he himself walked with them on foot. The people said, "O Caliph of the Messenger of Allah! Please mount (your ride)." Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, "I wish to walk with my own feet in the path of Allah."

Hazrat Abu Ishaq (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that when Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted Islam, he came to the service of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم and said, "As much strength as I spent in preventing people from the path of Allah, I will spend double that strength in bringing people towards the path of Allah, and as much wealth as I spent in preventing people from the path of Allah, I will spend double that wealth in the path of Allah." In the Battle of Yarmouk, Hazrat Ikrimah (may Allah be pleased with him) dismounted from his ride and fought fiercely on foot until he was martyred. There were more than seventy wounds of spears, arrows, and swords on his body.

Hazrat Qais bin Bishr Taghlabi (may Allah have mercy on him) says that my father was sitting in the gathering of Hazrat Abu Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) in Damascus. In Damascus, there was also a secluded Ansari companion named Ibn Hanzaliyah (may Allah be pleased with him). He used to have very little interaction with people. When he finished his prayer, he would recite tasbih and tahleel and go to his home. Once he passed by us while we were sitting with Hazrat Abu Darda (may Allah be pleased with him). He greeted us with salam, so Hazrat Abu Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Tell us something that will benefit us and will not harm you to tell." He said, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The one who spends on his horse in the way of Allah is like the one who keeps giving charity continuously without interruption." Then one day he passed by us again and greeted us with salam, so Hazrat Abu Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Tell us something that will benefit us and will not harm you." He said, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When you are to meet your brothers, then prepare your mounts and your clothes properly so that you do not appear bad while sitting among people. Allah Almighty does not like those who do bad deeds."

Ibrahim narrates that Abdur Rahman bin Yazid (may Allah have mercy on him) once said, "Come to us so that we may divide the spoils of war." I went to him in the morning, and he said, "Last night I recited Surah At-Tawbah; this Surah encourages jihad." Saying this, he set out for jihad.