—or with spoils of war. By Him in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, no one suffers a wound in Allah’s path without coming on the Day of Resurrection just as he was when he was wounded: its color will be that of blood, yet its scent will be the scent of musk. By Him in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, were it not that I would place a burden on the believers, I would never stay behind any detachment that goes out to fight in Allah’s cause. But I have no means with which to mount them, nor do they have the means, and it would grieve them to remain behind when I depart. By Him in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, I long to fight in Allah’s cause and be slain, then fight again and be slain, then fight once more and be slain. Muslim narrated this tradition in full, and al-Bukhari recorded part of it.

Explanation
The word kalm means “a wound.”

Imam al-Nawawi—may Allah have mercy on him—cited these hadiths in Riyad al-Salihin to clarify the virtue of ribat: posting oneself on the frontier or directly facing the enemy for Allah’s sake so that His word is exalted, His religion safeguarded, and the Muslims protected. This ranks among the highest of deeds.

The Prophet ﷺ has already said, “A single day of ribat in Allah’s path is better than the world and everything in it.” These narrations further show that the deeds of the one who keeps guard continue to be recorded for him until the Day of Resurrection, and that he is spared the trial of the grave. When people die and are buried, two angels come to each of them and question him about his Lord, his religion, and his prophet—except the one who dies while standing guard in Allah’s cause; the two angels do not come to question him.