al-Akwaʿ said: While I was with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he found me silent and pale—as though overcome with grief—and asked, “What is the matter with you?” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, they are saying that Amir’s reward has been nullified: he killed himself!” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, “Whoever says that has spoken falsely. He will have his reward twice over. He was indeed a most earnest and devoted fighter; few Arabs have walked as he did.” (1)

In this hadith, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ mentioned three matters:

First: Whoever said that his reward had been nullified spoke falsely. The scholars said that falsehood here means error, because their statement did not accord with reality. They were not reporting something that had actually occurred; rather, they stated something they presumed. Their words were thus an assertion, not a report. This is one of the passages cited as evidence that falsehood may carry the meaning of error.

Second: His words, “He was indeed a most earnest and devoted fighter.” It has been said that the two words are used for emphasis, as one says, “poetry of a poet,” meaning exceptionally fine poetry. Thus, “an earnest and devoted fighter” means that he strove most intensely.

It has also been said that “earnest” means one who is serious and diligent in his affairs, while “devoted fighter” means one who strives in the path of Allah. This interpretation is better, for when it is possible to understand speech either as conveying a new meaning or as mere emphasis, it is understood as conveying a new meaning. If we understand it as emphasis, we disregard the import of the two words; whereas if we understand it as conveying a new meaning, we give effect to the import of both words. The Prophet ﷺ would then have praised him from two perspectives: his action and diligence in it, and his sincerity.