If it had not been for the Commander of the faithful...

If it had not been for the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, and his action, it would not have been possible for the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family, to propagate and carry out (his mission), nor would he have remained alive and continued to survive. Thus through him he overcame the envy (of the people) and his enemies. In the morning when the people were intending to rush upon him, he, peace be on him, rushed towards them.

They scattered from him when they recognized him and departed. Their plot against the Prophet, peace be on him and his family, had gone wrong. The preparations they had made to kill him had been destroyed. Their plans had been betrayed and their hopes brought to nought. In this way was the faith properly set up, Satan humiliated and the people of unbelief and enmity betrayed.

None of the people of Islam share this achievement with the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, nor is any equal to it in any circumstance known, nor is there anything approaching it in merit according to any correct consideration. Concerning the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, and the night he spent on the (Prophet's) bed, God, glory be to Him, revealed: Whoever among the people sells his life out of a desire to please God, God is kind to (such) servants (II 207).

The Commander of the Faithful fulfils the Prophet's Obligations in Mecca (Another example) of that is that the Prophet, may God bless him and his family, was the one trusted by the Quraysh with the things which they wished to deposit. When the situation occurred which required his sudden flight from Mecca, he could not find anyone among his people and his family to entrust (the things) which he had been entrusted with except the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him. He appointed him (i.e.

the Commander of the faithful) as his deputy to return the things deposited with him to their owners and to pay the debts which he owed.6 Then he gathered his daughters, the womenfolk of his family and his wives and their emigration was entrusted to him for he did not consider that anyone could take his (i.e. the Commander of the faithful's) place among all the people.

Thus he set his trust on his faithfulness, depended upon his courage and bravery, and in the defence of his family and his close associates he relied upon his fearlessness and his ability. He rested upon his reliability to look after his family and his womenfolk.