and pray without flagging?”

The man said:

“Who could do that?”

He replied:

“That, then, is what equals jihad in Allah’s cause.”

He also said:

“In Paradise there are indeed a hundred ranks, with a distance like that between heaven and earth between each rank and the next. Allah has prepared them for those who wage jihad for His cause.”

Both hadiths are recorded in the two Sahīh collections. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The foundation of the matter is Islam, its pillar is prayer, and its pinnacle is jihad in Allah’s cause.”

Allah Most High said:

“The believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, then never doubt, and strive with their wealth and their lives in Allah’s cause. It is they who are truthful.”

He Most High also said:

“Do you consider providing water to pilgrims and maintaining the Sacred Mosque equal to believing in Allah and the Last Day and striving in Allah’s cause? They are not equal in Allah’s sight, and Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.”

“Those who believe, emigrate, and strive in Allah’s cause with their wealth and their lives are greater in rank with Allah. It is they who are successful.”

“Their Lord gives them good news of mercy from Him, His pleasure, and gardens in which they will have lasting bliss.”

“They will remain there forever. Indeed, with Allah is a great reward.”

Section

Among such punishments is the punishment of armed aggressors and highway robbers: those who confront people with weapons on roads and elsewhere to seize their property openly, whether Bedouins, Turkomans, Kurds, peasants, wicked soldiers, or hardened evildoers among the townspeople