Explanation

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) set forth from Madīnah with his Companions to meet the caravan of Abu Sufyān that had come from Syria heading toward Makkah. The Muslims did not set out to fight; however, Allah made them encounter their enemies without prior planning on their part. Hence, some Companions did not take part in this battle and the Prophet did not reprimand any of them. Then the Prophet camped in Badr before the disbelievers of Quraysh reached the place. He took his position there and when the disbelievers of Quraysh arrived, he said to the Companions: ''Let no one of you advance to anything unless I am ahead of him'", meaning that he forbade them from advancing toward anything until he was closer than them to that thing so that every possible advantage unknown to them could be utilized. Then the Prophet urged the Companions to hasten to a Paradise that was as wide as the heavens and earth, meaning that they should not delay in sacrificing their lives for the sake of Allah, for their promised reward was a Paradise as wide as the heavens and earth. With this he encouraged and motivated them to fight the disbelievers. ‘Umayr ibn al-Humām al-Ansāri was amazed to hear that and asked the Prophet about it again, saying: "O Messenger of Allah, a Paradise as wide as the heavens and earth?!" The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Yes.' Thereupon, ‘Umayr said: "Bakhin! Bakhin!" which is an Arabic expression reflecting astonishment. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) asked him why he said that; i.e. what motivated him to say it, was it fear? He replied: "No, by Allah, O Messenger of Allah, but I only hoped to be one of its people." Thereupon, the Prophet assured him that he was one of them. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) gave his Companions glad tidings to motivate them to exert themselves in doing the deeds that would make them deserve Paradise. On hearing such glad tidings from the most truthful and most trusted who does not speak from his own inclination, ‘Umayr took out some dates from his quiver and started to eat them. But then he felt that life was too long and said: "If I lived until I finished eating these dates of mine, it would be a long life indeed." So he threw away the dates and proceeded to fight until he was killed.