In a hadith of Muādh, transmitted both as his own statement and as traced back to the Prophet, and recorded in the Sunan collections, it is stated:

“Military campaigns are of two kinds. In one, Allah’s countenance is sought, the commander is obeyed, the finest possessions are spent, one’s companion is treated considerately, wrongdoing is avoided, and misappropriation of the spoils is guarded against. Nothing can equal such a campaign. In the other, Allah’s countenance is not sought, the commander is not obeyed, the finest possessions are not spent, one’s companion is not treated considerately (1), wrongdoing is not avoided, and misappropriation of the spoils is not guarded against. All its participant can hope for is to return with neither gain nor loss.” (2)

One of the early Muslims was told, “The pilgrims are many.”

He replied, “Those merely making the journey are many, but the true pilgrims are few.” There are many similar examples.

The effacement and expiation of sins occur through deeds that are accepted. Most people fall short in performing good deeds—even in their prayers themselves. Fortunate among them is the one for whom half of his prayer is recorded, while they commit many sins. Thus, some sins are expiated by whatever is accepted of the five daily prayers, others by whatever is accepted of the Friday prayer, and still others by whatever is accepted of the fast of Ramadan. The same applies to all other deeds. Not every good deed effaces every sin. Rather, effacement sometimes applies to minor sins and [at times] (3) to major sins, depending on their relative weight.

A person may perform one and the same kind of deed in such a way that his