“I met the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.”
Muslim also relates it from Hudhayfah: “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, met him while he was in a state of major ritual impurity,” followed by an account to the same effect.
In Sahīh Muslim, Buraydah reports:
“When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, appointed a commander over an army or a detachment, he would personally enjoin him to fear Allah and treat the Muslims accompanying him well. He would then say: ‘Fight in the name of Allah, in the cause of Allah. Fight those who disbelieve in Allah. Fight, but do not misappropriate the spoils, mutilate, or kill a child. When you encounter your enemy from among the polytheists, offer them three options.’”
The hadith continues.
In the hadith of ʿUtbah ibn ʿUbayd, he reports that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“Those slain are of three kinds. The first is a believer who strives with his wealth and his life in Allah’s cause, then encounters an enemy and fights them until he is killed. That is the martyr who exults in Allah’s tent beneath the shade of His Throne. None surpass him except the prophets, by virtue of their rank of prophethood.
“The second is a man who fears for himself because of his sins and transgressions. He strives with his life and wealth in Allah’s cause, then encounters the enemy and fights until he is killed. This is a cleansing beneath his sins and transgressions. Indeed, the sword effaces sins. He is admitted through whichever gate of Paradise he wishes, for it has eight gates, while Hell has seven gates, and some are superior to others.
“The third is a hypocrite who strives with his life and wealth, then encounters the enemy and fights in Allah’s cause until he is killed. That man is in the Fire. Indeed, the sword does not efface hypocrisy.”
Ahmad and Abū Hātim, in his Sahīh, related it. Examples of this are numerous in Arabic speech, such as the poet’s words:
“Whenever you meet, send back the one …
you hope for, and Abū al-Sanl.”