It is narrated from Sayyiduna Mu'adh that once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent some of his companions for jihad: one of them stayed behind and said to his family that he would perform the Zuhr prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), bid him farewell with salam, so that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would pray for him, which would become intercession for him on the Day of Judgment. So, after the Zuhr prayer, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) finished, that person went ahead and greeted him with salam. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: Do you know how far ahead your companions have gone from you? He replied: Yes, they left in the morning. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: By the One in Whose hand is my soul, they have surpassed you in virtue so much that the distance between them and you has become like that between the east and the west.