Sunan Ibn Majah

“We hoped that when he died it would be as a martyr in the cause of Allah.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “In that case the martyrs of my nation would be few. Being killed in the cause of Allah is martyrdom; dying of the plague is martyrdom; when a pregnant woman dies in childbirth that is martyrdom; and dying of drowning, or burning, or of pleurisy, is martyrdom.”

“What do you say among yourselves about the martyr?” They said: “The one who is killed in the cause of Allah.” He said: “In that case the martyrs among my nation would be few. Whoever is killed in the cause of Allah is a martyr; whoever dies in the cause of Allah is a martyr; whoever dies of a stomach disease is a martyr; and whoever dies of the plague is a martyr.” Another chain narrates with the addition of "and the drowned is a martyr."

It was narrated from Anas bin Malik that the Prophet (ﷺ) entered Makkah on the day of the Conquest, with a helmet on his head.

It was narrated from Sa’ib bin Yazid, if Allah wills, that the Prophet (ﷺ) wore two coats of mail on the Day of Uhud, one over the other.

“We entered upon Abu Umamah and he saw some silver ornaments on our swords. He got angry and said: ‘People conquered lands and their swords were not adorned with gold and silver, but with lead and iron and ‘Alabi.’”

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) acquired his sword Dhulfiqar, from the spoils of war on the Day of badr.

“When Mughirah bin Shu’bah fought alongside the Prophet (ﷺ) he would carry a spear, and when he would come back he would throw his spear down so that someone would pick it up and give it back to him.” ‘Ali said to him: “I will tell the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about that.” He (the Prophet (ﷺ)) said: “Do not do that, for it you do that it will not be picked up as a lost item to be returned.”

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had an Arabian bow in his hand, and he saw a man who had a Persian bow in his hand. He said: ‘What is this? Throw it away. You should use this and others like it, and Qana* spears. Perhaps Allah will support His religion thereby and enable you to conquer lands.’”

“Allah will admit three people to Paradise by virtue of one arrow: The one who makes it, seeking reward by making it well; the one who shoots it; and the one who hands it to him.” And the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Shoot and ride, and if you shoot that is dearer to me than if you ride. All things that a Muslim man does for entertainment are in vain except for shooting arrows, training his horse and playing with his wife, for these are things that bring reward.”

“I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘Whoever shoots an arrow at the enemy and his arrow reaches the enemy, whether it hits him or not, that is equivalent to him freeing a slave.’”

“I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) reciting on the pulpit: ‘And make ready against them all you can of power.’ (And saying that) three times – ‘Power means shooting.”

“I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘Whoever learns how to shoot (arrows) then abandons it, has disobeyed me.’”

“The Prophet (ﷺ) passed by some people who were shooting (arrows) and said: ‘Shoot, Banu Isma’il, for your father was an archer.’”

“I came to Al-Madinah and saw the Prophet (ﷺ) standing on the pulpit, and Bilal standing in front of him, with his sword by his side, and (I saw) a black flag. I said: ‘Who is this?’ He said: ‘This is ‘Amr bin ‘As, who has just come back from a campaign.’”

It was narrated from Jabir bin ‘Abdullah that the Prophet (ﷺ) entered Makkah on the Day of the Conquest, and his standard was white.

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that the flag of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was black, and his standard was white.

“The Prophet (ﷺ) used to wear this when he met the enemy.”

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to forbid that to us.”

“It is as if I can see the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), wearing a black turban, with its two ends hanging between his shoulders.”

It was narrated from Jabir that the Prophet (ﷺ) entered Makkah wearing a black turban.

“I saw a man asking my father about a man who goes out to fight and buys and sells and trades during his campaign. My father said to him: ‘We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in Tabuk, and we bought and sold, and he saw us and did not forbid us (to do that).’”

“For me to hive a good send-off to a warrior who is going to fight in the cause of Allah, and to guard his goods when he goes out in the morning or evening, is dearer to me than this world and everything in it.”

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave me a send-off and said: ‘I command you to Allah’s keeping, Whose trust is never lost.’”

“When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would dispatch troops, he would say to the leader: ‘I commend to Allah’s keeping your religious commitment, your dignity and the end of your deeds.’”

“O Aktham! Fight alongside people other than your own, it will improve your attitude and make you generous to your companions. O Aktham, the best number of companions is four, the best number of troops on an expedition is four hundred, the best number of an army is four thousand, and twelve thousand will never be overpowered because of their small number.”

“We were talking about how, on the Day of Badr, the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) numbered three hundred ten and something, the same number as the Companions of (Talut) who crossed the river with him, and no one crossed the river with him but a believer.”

“I heard Abul-Ward, the Companion of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), say: ‘Beware of the troop which, when it meets (the enemy) it flees, and when it takes spoils of war, it steals from it.’”

“I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about the food of the Christians and he said: ‘Do not have any doubt about food, (thereby) following the way of the Christians in that.’”

“I came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and asked him: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Can we cook in the vessels of the idolaters?’ He said: ‘Do not cook in them.’ I said: ‘What if we need them and cannot find anything else?’ He said: ‘Wash them well, then cook and eat.’”

‘We do not seek the help of the polytheist.”

“War is deceit.”

“War is deceit.”

“I heard Abu Dharr swearing that these verses were revealed concerning those six people on the Day of Badr: ‘These two opponents (believers and disbelievers) dispute with each other about their Lord.” to the words “Verily, Allah does what he wills.’ (that is) Hamzah bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib, ‘Ali bin Abi Talib, ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Harith, ‘Utbah bin Rabi’ah, Shaibah bin Rabi’ah and Al-Walid bin ‘Utbah. They argued with one another on the Day of Badr.”

“I fought a man and killed him, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) awarded me his spoils.”

It was narrated from Abu Muhammad, the freed slave of Abu Qatadah (from Abu Qatadah) that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) awarded him the spoils of a man whom he killed on the Day of Hunain.

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Whoever kills, the spoils are his.’”

“Sa’b bin Jaththamah said: ‘The Prophet (ﷺ) was asked about the polytheists who are attacked at night, and their women and children are killed.’ He said: ‘They are from among them.’”

“We attacked Hawazin, with Abu Bakr, during the time of the Prophet (ﷺ), and we arrived at an oasis belonging to Bani Fazarah during the last part of the night. We attacked at dawn, raiding the people of the oasis, and killed them, nine or seven households.”

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet (ﷺ) saw a woman who had been killed on the road, and he forbade killing women and children.

“We went out to fight alongside the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and we passed by a slain woman whom the people had gathered around. They parted (to let the Prophet (ﷺ) through) and he said: ‘This (woman) was not one of those who were fighting.’ Then he said to a man: ‘Go to Khalid bin Walid and tell him that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commands you: “Do not kill any children or women, or any (farm) laborer.’” Another chain reports a similar hadith.

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent me to a village called Ubna, and said: “Go to Ubna in the morning and burn it.’”

“What you (O Muslims) cut down of the palm trees (of the enemy), or you left them standing...”

“It is easy for the elite of Banu Luai – To burn Al-Buwairah in a Frightening manner.”

“We attacked, Hawazin at the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) with Aby Bakr. He awarded me a slave girl from Banu Fazarah, among the most beautiful of the Arabs, who was wearing an animal skin of hers. I did not divest her of her clothing until I reached Al-Madinah. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) met me in the marketplace, and said: ‘By Alla, give her to me.’ So I gave her to him, and he sent her as a ransom for some of the Muslim prisoners who were in Makkah.”

“And a slave of his absconded and joined up with the Romans, then the Muslims defeated them, and Khalid bin Walid returned him to me, after the death of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).”

“A man from (the tribe of) Ashja’ died in Khaibar, and the Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘Offer the funeral prayer for your companion.’ The people found that strange.* When he saw that, he said: ‘Your companion stole from the spoils of war (when fighting) in the cause of Allah.’”

“There was a man called Kirkah in charge of the goods of the Prophet (ﷺ), who died. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘He is in Hell.’ They went and looked, and found him wearing a garment or a cloak that he had stolen from the spoils of war.”

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) led us in prayer on the Day of Hunain, beside a camel that was part of the spoils of war. Then he took something from the camel, and extracted from it a hair, which he placed between two of his fingers. Then he said: ‘O people, this is part of your spoils of war. Hand over a needle and thread and anything greater than that or less than that. For stealing from the spoils of war will be a source of shame for those who do it, and ignominy and Fire, on the Day of Resurrection.’”

It was narrated from Habib bin Maslamah that the Prophet (ﷺ) awarded one third (of the spoils of war) after the one fifth (had been taken).

It was narrated from ‘Ubadah bin Samit that the Prophet (ﷺ) awarded one quarter of the spoils to those who attacked the enemy at the beginning and one third to those who attacked at the end.