Whoever shoots an arrow in the cause of Allah will receive the same reward of freeing a slave
Authentic hadithعن عمرو بن عَبَسَة رضي الله عنه قال: سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: «من رمى بسهم في سبيل الله فهو له عِدْلُ مُحَرَّرَةٍ».
‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever shoots an arrow in the cause of Allah will receive the same reward of freeing a slave."
Explanation
Whoever shoots an arrow at the enemies of Allah the Exalted, he will have the reward of the one who freed a slave in the cause of Allah, whether his arrow hit the enemy or not, as in the narration of An-Nasā'i: "Whoever shoots an arrow in the cause of Allah, the Exalted, whether it hit the enemy or not..." If his arrow does hit the enemy, then he would attain a (higher) degree in Paradise as mentioned in the narration of Abu Dawūd: "Whoever hits the enemy with an arrow in the cause of Allah, the Exalted, will attain a degree," and the narration of Ahmad adds: "in Paradise".
Source · Narrated by At-Termedhy - An-Nasaa’i - Narrated by Abu Daoud - Narrated by Ahmad
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).