A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked, "What do you say about a man who fights in battle seeking both reward and renown? What will he get?"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, "He will get nothing."The man repeated the question three times, and each time the Messenger of Allah ﷺ told him, "He will get nothing."Then he said, "Allah accepts no deed except what is done sincerely for Him and seeking His face."
جاء رجل إلى النبي ﷺ فقال: أرأيت رجلا غزا يلتمس الأجر والذكر ما له؟ فقال رسول الله ﷺ: لا شيء له فأعادها ثلاث مرات، يقول له رسول الله ﷺ: لا شيء له، ثم قال: إن الله لا يقبل من العمل إلا ما كان له خالصا وابتغي به وجهه.
Nasai narrated it (3140) from Isa bin Hilal Himsi, who said, Muhammad bin Himyar narrated to us, who said, Muawiya bin Salam narrated to us, from Ikrima, from Shaddad Abu Ammar, from Abu Umama Bahili, and he mentioned it. Its isnad is hasan because of Isa bin Hilal Himsi, Muhammad bin Himyar, and Ikrima bin Ammar, for each of them is a narrator whose hadith is graded hasan. Iraqi graded its isnad hasan in Mughni an Haml Asfar, and Ibn Hajar graded it sound in Fath al-Bari (6/28).On this subject there is also what was narrated from Ubada bin Samit, who said, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Whoever fights in the cause of Allah intending nothing but a hobbling rope will have what he intended." Nasai narrated it (3138, 3139), Ahmad (22692), and Hakim (2/109) via the route of Hammad bin Salama, from Jabala bin Atiya, from Yahya bin Walid bin Ubada bin Samit, from his grandfather Ubada bin Samit, and he mentioned it. Hakim said, "This hadith has a sahih isnad." I say, in its isnad is Yahya bin Walid bin Ubada bin Samit, no narrator is known to have transmitted from him other than Jabala bin Atiya, and no one is reported to have authenticated him except that Ibn Hibban mentioned him among his trustworthy narrators, and for that reason Ibn Hajar said in Taqrib, "acceptable," meaning when corroborated, and I did not find any corroboration for him.On this subject there is also what was narrated from Abdullah bin Amr, who said, a rough, bold, and haughty Bedouin came and said, "O Messenger of Allah, tell us about emigration. Is it to you wherever you may be? Or to a known land? Or for a specific people? Or does it come to an end when I die?" He said, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ remained silent about him, then he said, "Where is the questioner?" He said, "Here I am, O Messenger of Allah." He said, "Emigration is that you abandon indecent deeds, both what is apparent of them and what is hidden, then you are an emigrant even if you die in your own homeland."Abdullah bin Amr said, then a man said, "O Messenger of Allah, tell us about the garments of the people of Paradise. Are they created as they are, or are they woven?" The Messenger of Allah ﷺ remained silent, and some of the people laughed, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Why are you laughing? Is it because an ignorant man is asking one who has knowledge?" Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Where is the questioner?" He said, "Here I am, O Messenger of Allah." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Rather, the fruits of Paradise split open to produce them, rather the fruits of Paradise split open to produce them," saying it twice. Then I said, "O Messenger of Allah, what do you say about emigration and jihad?" He said, "O Abdullah, begin with yourself and wage war upon it, begin with yourself and struggle against it, for if you are killed while fleeing, Allah will raise you fleeing, and if you are killed showing off, Allah will raise you showing off, and if you are killed patient and seeking reward, Allah will raise you patient and seeking reward."Abu Dawud Tayalisi narrated it (2391) from Muhammad bin Muslim bin Abu Wadah, from Ala bin Abdullah bin Rafi, from Hannan bin Kharija, from Abdullah bin Amr, and he mentioned it. Abu Dawud Sijistani narrated it (2519), and Hakim (2/85-86), via the route of Abdul-Rahman bin Mahdi, from Muhammad bin Wadah, with the same chain, but only the last part, and its wording is, Abdullah bin Amr said, "O Messenger of Allah, tell me about jihad and warfare." He said, "O Abdullah bin Amr, if you fight patient and seeking reward, Allah will raise you patient and seeking reward, and if you fight showing off and seeking to outdo others, Allah will raise you showing off and seeking to outdo others. O Abdullah bin Amr, whatever state you fight or are killed in, Allah will raise you in that state." Ahmad narrated it (7095) from Ibn Mahdi with the same chain at length, except that it does not contain the last part. Hakim said, "This hadith has a sahih isnad, and the two of them did not record it, and Muhammad bin Abu Wadah, the tutor, is trustworthy and reliable." I say, in its isnad is Hannan bin Kharija. Dhahabi said in Mizan (1/618), "He is not known, only Ala bin Abdullah bin Rafi narrated from him, and Ibn Qattan indicated that he graded him daif due to his obscurity." End of quote. I say, and Ibn Hibban mentioned him in Thiqat, and for that reason Hafiz said, "acceptable," meaning when corroborated, and I did not find any corroboration for him. As for what occurs in Ahmad (6890), that the narrator from Abdullah bin Amr is Farazdaq bin Hannan, this is an error, and the correct view, without doubt, is that the hadith belongs to Hannan bin Kharija, as Ibn Hajar said in Nukat Ziraf (6/287).As for what was narrated from Abu Hurairah, that a man said, "O Messenger of Allah, there is a man who wants to fight jihad in the cause of Allah while seeking some worldly gain." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "He has no reward." The people were greatly disturbed by that, and they said to the man, "Go back to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, perhaps you did not understand him." So he said, "O Messenger of Allah, there is a man who wants to fight jihad in the cause of Allah while seeking some worldly gain." He said, "He has no reward." They said to the man, "Go back to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ." So he asked him a third time, and he said to him, "He has no reward." Its isnad is not sahih. Abu Dawud narrated it (2516), Ahmad (7900, 8793), Ibn Hibban graded it sahih (4637), Hakim (2/85), and Bayhaqi (9/169), all of them by routes from Ibn Abu Dhib, from Qasim bin Abbas, from Bukayr bin Abdullah Ashaj, from Ibn Mukriz, a man from Syria, from Abu Hurairah, and he mentioned it. Hakim said, "Its isnad is sahih." I say, this isnad is daif because of Ibn Mukriz, and his name appears in Ahmad (8793) as Yazid bin Mukriz, and he is unknown, as Ibn Madini said. See the biography of Ayub bin Abdullah bin Mukriz in Tahzib Kamal.His name occurs in Mustadrak as "Ayub bin Mukriz," and in Sahih Ibn Hibban as "Mukriz" without the word "Ibn," even though the hadith in both of them comes via the route of Ibn Mubarak, and it is found in his book on jihad (227), where it reads "Ibn Mukriz." Abu Dawud also recorded it via the route of Ibn Mubarak, and there too it reads "Ibn Mukriz." So the correct reading in the narration of Ibn Mubarak is "Ibn Mukriz." Husayn bin Muhammad narrated it from Ibn Abu Dhib with the same chain, and he named him "Yazid bin Mukriz," as it appears in Ahmad (8793). Mizzi said, in the biography of Ayub bin Abdullah bin Mukriz in Tahzib Kamal (1/320), after pointing to the aforementioned narration of Ahmad, "It thus becomes clear that Ibn Mukriz, from whom Abu Dawud narrated, is an unknown man, as Ibn Madini said, and that he is not this Ayub bin Mukriz. Allah knows best." And even supposing that he is Ayub bin Abdullah bin Mukriz, he is likewise unknown, and Hafiz said in Taqrib, "obscure."