Anas ibn Malik · The Chapters on Jihad

“The one who fights in the cause of Allah has a guarantee from Allah. Either He will raise him to His forgiveness and mercy, or He will send him back with reward and spoils of war. The likeness of the one who fights in the cause of Allah is that of one who fasts and prays at night without ceasing, until he returns.”

“The best of horses are those that are deep black, with a blaze on the forehead, white marks on the legs and white nose and upper lip, and with no whiteness on the right foreleg. If not deep-black, then reddish-brown, with these markings.”

“The Prophet (ﷺ) used to dislike horses that had three legs with white markings on them, and one leg the same color as the rest of the body.”

“There is no one who is wounded in the cause of Allah – and Allah knows best of who is wounded in His cause – but he will come on the Day of Resurrection with his wounds looking as they did on the day he was wounded; their color will be the color of blood but their smell will be the fragrance of musk.”

“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.”

“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.’”