The Prophet (PBUH) placed entering Islam before anything else

“A man came to the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, (in a battle) wearing an iron armor, and he said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, should I fight, or become Muslim?’ The Prophet of Allah,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Become Muslim and then fight.’ So the man became Muslim, and then fought until he was killed. The Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘A little work, but a great reward.’Ibn Hajar (a scholar) said: “This narration shows that one could receive a great reward over a small action out of the bounty of Allah.”It was said that the man in this narration was named ‘Amr ibn Thaabit ibn Waqash

Ibn Hajar (a scholar) said

“This narration shows that one could receive a great reward over a small action out of the bounty of Allah.” It was said that the man in this narration was named ‘Amr ibn Thaabit ibn Waqash. Abu Hurayrah used to ask, “Tell me about the man who entered Paradise but never prayed once.” If the people did not know, they would ask who the man was, and he would say, “’Usayrim of the tribe of Abdul Ash-hal: ‘Amr ibn Thaabit ibn Waqash.” They asked: ‘What is the story of ‘Usayrim?’ Abu Hurayrah said: “He refused to become Muslim like his people until the battle of Uhud. When the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, went out to Uhud, he changed his mind and decided to become Muslim. So he took his sword and went to the battle and he fought until he was severely wounded. When the tribe of ‘Abdul Ash-hal went to look for those who were killed from their tribe after the battle, they were surprised to find him, and said: “By Allah, this is Usayrim (the nickname of ‘Amr), but what brought him here? We left him rejecting this affair (Islam).” They asked him, “O ‘Amr, what brought you here? Was it your concern for your people or a desire to enter Islam?” He said: “The desire to enter Islam. I believe in Allah and His Messenger. I became Muslim and then took my sword, and I fought with the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, until this happened to me.” Then he died a short while after in their arms. The mentioned this to the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, so he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “He is from the people of Paradise.”