Muslims. The same applies to anyone who denies any of the other aforementioned obligations or prohibitions for which fighting is required. Punishing the abandonment of obligations and the commission of forbidden acts is therefore among the objectives of jihad in the way of Allah. Jihad is an obligation upon the Muslim community by agreement (1), as demonstrated by the Quran and Sunnah, and it is among the most excellent deeds.
A man said, “O Messenger of Allah, direct me to a deed equal to jihad in the way of Allah.” He replied, “You are not capable of it—or: you could not endure it.” The man said, “Tell me what it is.” He replied, “When the one engaged in jihad sets out, can you fast without breaking your fast and stand in prayer without pause?” He said, “Who could do that?” He replied, “That is what equals jihad in the way of Allah” (2).
He also said (3), “There are one hundred levels in Paradise. From (4) one level to the next is a distance like that between heaven and earth. Allah has prepared them for those who engage in jihad in His way” (5). Both hadiths are recorded in the two Sahih collections.
The Prophet ﷺ said, “The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is prayer, and its pinnacle is jihad in the way of Allah” (6).
(1) (ظ): “by agreement of the Muslims”; (ب): “upon the ruler, by agreement of the Muslims.”
(2) Recorded by al-Bukhārī (2785) and Muslim (1878), from Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him).
(3) Omitted from the base manuscript.
(4) The remaining manuscripts read: “the distance between.”
(5) Recorded by al-Bukhārī (2790), from Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), and Muslim (1884), from Abū Saīd al-Khudrī (may Allah be pleased with him).
(6) Recorded by Ahmad (22016), al-Tirmidhī (2616), al-Nasāī in *al-Kubrā* (11330), Ibn Mājah (3973), al-Hākim (2:76), al-Bayhaqī (9:20), and others, through Abū Wāil, Shaqīq ibn Salama, from Muādh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him). Al-Tirmidhī graded it *hasan sahīh* (sound and authentic). Al-Hākim declared it authentic according to the criteria of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, as did the author in *al-Fatāwā* (17:26).
Ibn Rajab challenged the authentication of this hadith on two grounds:
First, it has not been established that Abū Wāil heard directly from Muādh. Although Abū Wāil was old enough to have encountered him, Muādh was in Syria while Abū Wāil was in Kufa. Abū Zura al-Dimashqī reported that some authorities withheld judgment on whether Abū Wāil had heard from Umar, while others denied it; his having heard from Muādh is therefore even less likely.
Second, Hammād ibn Salama narrated it through Āsim ibn Abī al-Najūd, from Shahr ibn Hawshab, from Muādh. Imam Ahmad recorded this version in abridged form. Al-Dāraqutnī stated in *al-Ilal* (6:73–79): “This is more likely to be correct, because the hadith is known through Shahr’s narration, notwithstanding disagreement over how it was transmitted from him.” It has other chains from Muādh, but all of them are weak. See *Jāmi al-Ulūm wa-al-Hikam* (2:135). Nevertheless, the hadith is authentic in light of its corroborating reports.