The fawāq is the interval between two milkings.

1298 – Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that some people asked, “Messenger of Allah, what deed equals fighting in the path of Allah?” He replied, “You are not capable of it.” They posed the question two or three times, and each time he said, “You are not capable.” He then added, “The likeness of the fighter in Allah’s cause is that of a person who fasts, stands in prayer, and devoutly recites the verses of Allah, never slackening—neither in prayer nor in fasting—until the combatant returns.” Agreed upon; this wording is Muslim’s.

In another version narrated by al-Bukhārī, a man said, “Messenger of Allah, direct me to a deed that equals jihad.” He answered, “I do not find one.” Then he asked, “Could you, when the fighter goes out, remain in your mosque, standing without tiring and fasting without breaking your fast?” The man replied, “Who could manage that?”

1299 – Abū Hurayrah also reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Among the best livelihoods people can have is for a man to grasp the reins of his horse in Allah’s cause, flying on its back; whenever he hears an alarm or a cry for help, he leaps onto it, seeking combat or a place where he might meet death. Or for a man with a few sheep on a mountaintop or in a valley hollow, who establishes prayer, pays zakat, and worships his Lord until certainty (death) reaches him—such a man leaves people only in goodness.” Narrated by Muslim.

1300 – Abū Hurayrah further reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “In Paradise there are one hundred levels that Allah has prepared for those who strive in His cause; the distance between one level and the next is like that between heaven and earth.”