his absence has fought in battle” [ Reported by al- Bukhārī and Muslim from Zayd Ibn Khālid ].
The Salaf and Forty Days of Ribāt
A man from the Ansār came to‘ Umar Ibn al- Khattāb( radiyallāhu‘ anh).‘ Umar asked him,“ Where have you been?” He replied,“ On ribāt.” He asked,“ How many days of ribāt did you perform?” He answered,“ Thirty days.” He told him,“ Why did you not complete it by performing forty?” [ Musannaf‘ Abdir-Razzāq ].
A son of Ibn‘ Umar( radiyallāhu‘ anhuma) performed ribāt for thirty nights and then returned. So Ibn‘ Umar told him,“ I insist that you go back and perform ribāt for ten more nights until you complete the forty!” [ Musannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah ].
Abū Hurayrah( radiyallāhu‘ anhu) said,“ Complete ribāt is forty days” [ Musannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah ].
Because of these āthār and others, when Imām Ahmad was asked,“ Is there a( preferred) length of time for ribāt?” He answered,“ Forty days.” Ishāq Ibn Rāhawayh commented,“ It is as he said” [ Masā’ il al-Imām Ahmad wa Ishāq Ibn Rāhawayh ]. These āthār indicate that when one performs ribāt it is best( not obligatory) that he does so for at least forty days or even more before returning for rest. This is ribāt upon the methodology of the Salaf.
The Virtue of Dying While on Ribāt
Allah’ s Messenger( sallallāhu‘ alayhi wa sallam) said,“ The deeds of every dead person come to a halt with his death except the one who is a murābit for Allah’ s cause. His deeds will be made to go on increasing for him until the Day of Resurrection. And he will be secured from the trial of the grave” [ Sahīh: Reported by Abū Dāwūd and at-Tirmidhī from Fadālah Ibn‘ Ubayd ].
The prophetic hadīth reported by Muslim from Salmān al-Fārisī( radiyallāhu‘ anh) was mentioned earlier:“ If he( the murābit) dies during ribāt, he will go on receiving his reward for his deeds perpetually, he will receive his provision, and he will be saved from the tribulation( of the grave).”
This death is of the noblest deaths and this reward is guaranteed for the murābit who passes away during ribāt even if his death is due to disease, elderliness, or some accident. How much more noble is his death when it is shahādah caused by the airstrikes of the crusaders and their apostate allies?
The reward of one’ s deed growing after death was mentioned in another hadīth.“ If the son of Ādam dies, his deeds stop except for three: an ongoing charity, knowledge being benefitted from, and a righteous son who supplicates for him” [ Reported by Muslim from Abū Hurayrah ]. The reward for this charity, knowledge, or son continues as long as the charity exists, the knowledge is benefitted from, and the son supplicates for his father, as implied by this hadīth and as made explicit by others, whereas the reward for dying while on ribāt continues to grow independent of any other condition, and this is only for the murābit! This reward is not mentioned for the battleground shahīd but for the murābit who might have died during his ribāt due to old age and while sleeping for rest! So how noble of a death is this? And how much of an encouragement is this for one to supplicate for the noblest death – shahādah – while on ribāt!
Ribāt and the Best Jihād
Ibn‘ Abbās( radiyallāhu‘ anhumā) said that Allah’ s Messenger( sallallāhu‘ alayhi wa sallam) said,“ The first of this affair is prophethood and mercy. Then will come khilāfah and mercy. Then will come kingship and mercy. Then they will bite each other over the Dunyā like the donkeys do. Therefore, adhere to jihād. And indeed the best jihād of yours( then) is ribāt. And indeed the best ribāt of yours( then) is in‘ Asqalān” [ Reported by at-Tabarānī with a hasan isnād ].‘ Asqalān is a city in Palestine.
Similar narrations were reported with differences in wording( as well as additions and omissions)
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