Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) related that his uncle was absent from the battle of Badr; he said: I was absent from the first fighting the Prophet (SAW) did; if Allah would have me be present with the Prophet (SAW), truly Allah would see how I would strive. So he showed up for the day of Uhud. The people were defeated, and he said: Oh Allah! I apologize to you for what these people have done – meaning the Muslims – and I am absolved to you for what the Idolaters have brought. And he went forward with his sword, and encountered Sa’d ibn Mu’adh, and said: Where are you going, oh Sa’d? Indeed I can smell the aroma of Jannah in front of Uhud! Then he proceeded ahead and was killed. And no one recognized him until his sister recognized him by a birthmark or by his fingertips. There were eighty-something stabs, strikes, and arrow pierces on him.
- Sahih Al-Bukhari, The book of military raids

Ibn Battal and others said: This implies that it is correct and that he indeed perceived the aroma of Jannah or perceived a pleasant aroma, the scent of which reminded him of the scent of Jannah. It is probable that he wanted to call to mind the Jannah that has been prepared for martyrs, and he pictured it in the place where he was fighting. And so the meaning is: “Indeed I know that Jannah is attained in this place, and I long for it.”
- Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani, Fath Al-Bari, The book of jihad

In the story of Anas ibn Al-Nadr [the uncle of Anas] there are several things worth pointing out: the permissibility of someone sacrificing himself in jihad, the virtue of loyalty to commitment, even if it overwhelms one’s self to the point of bringing it to destruction, and that the prohibition against throwing oneself into ruin does not apply to seeking martyrdom in jihad. And in this there is clear excellence in Anas ibn Al-Nadr, and the genuine belief, great yearning, self-restraint, and strength of assurance that drove him on.