The author has cited many ḥadiths that attest to the truthfulness of the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—and to the sincerity of their faith. When the Prophet ﷺ informed them of the reward awaiting the martyrs, they would immediately abandon the food in their hands, step forward to fight in Allah’s cause, and be killed, meeting Allah while He was pleased with them and they with Him—glorified and exalted is He. Without doubt, this is one of the distinctive merits of the Companions, a rank in which no one who came after them can equal them.
Consider ʿUmayr ibn al-Ḥumām al-Anṣārī—may Allah be pleased with him. On the Day of Badr the Prophet ﷺ announced: “Whoever fights them seeking Allah’s reward, advancing and not retreating, will be granted a Garden whose breadth is like that of the heavens and the earth.” ʿUmayr asked, “Messenger of Allah, a Garden whose breadth is like that of the heavens and the earth?” He replied, “Yes.” ʿUmayr then took a handful of dates from his provision-pouch—the small container in which a warrior keeps his food—began to eat, and then felt that even living long enough to finish them was too much delay. He said, “By Allah, if I live long enough to finish these dates, that would be a long life indeed!” He advanced, fought, and was killed—may Allah be pleased with him—and the Prophet ﷺ testified that he is in Paradise.
The same spirit was shown by Anas ibn al-Naḍr—may Allah be pleased with him. He met Saʿd ibn Muʿādh during the Battle of Uḥud and told him, “I can smell the fragrance of Paradise wafting from beyond Uḥud.” Ibn al-Qayyim commented: “This is one of the honors with which Allah favors whomever He wills among His servants—that a person senses the scent of Paradise while still on earth, though Paradise is in the heaven—so that Allah may strengthen his certainty until he perceives it as a tangible reality.” Anas fought until he was killed; he had missed the Battle of Badr. Many of the Companions had not gone out for Badr because they originally set out only to intercept Abu Sufyān’s caravan that was coming from Syria to Mecca—they had not gone out intending to fight.