3. Hijrat to the Prophet’s Death
In Medina also ‘Alī wasconstantly in the company of the prophet in
private andin public. The Prophet gave Fātima, his beloved daughter
from Khadijah, to ‘Alī as his wife in the 2nd year of the Hijrah.
When the Prophet was creating bonds of brotherhood among the
MuslimsofMedinaandthe MuslimswhohadmigratedtoMedina, he
selected‘Alīashisownbrother.Hesaid,“O‘Alī,youaremybrotherin
this world as well as the hereafter.”
‘AlīwaspresentinallthewarsinwhichtheProphetparticipated,ex-
ceptthebattleofTabukwhenhewasorderedtostayinMedinainplace
oftheProphet.Hedidnotretreatinanybattlenordidheturnhisface
away from any enemy. He never disobeyed the Prophet, so that the
Prophetsaid,“‘AlīisneverseparatedfromtheTruthnortheTruthfrom
‘Alī.”
Thecourageof‘Alīwasproverbial.Inallthewarsinwhichheparti-
cipatedduringthelifetimeoftheProphet,andalsoafterward,henever
displayed fear or anxiety. Although in many battles such as those of
Uhud,Hunayn,KhaybarandKhandaqtheaidestotheProphetandthe
Muslimarmytrembledinfearordispersedandfled,heneverturnedhis
backtotheenemy.Never didawarriororsoldierengage‘Alīinbattle
andcomeoutof italive. Yet,with full chivalryhewould neverslaya
weak enemynor pursuethose who fled. He would not engagein sur-
prise attacks or in turning streams of water upon the enemy.
Inthe Battle ofKhandaq, the Muslimshadduga ditcharoundtheir
encampment.AverybraveandfamousArabwarrior,‘Amrbin‘Ubayd,
jumpedover the ditch with his horse andchallenged the Muslims for
combatwith him.Hiscourageandbraverywassowell-knownthat no
oneamongtheMuslimsdaredtoanswerhischallenge.Theonlyperson
whoreadilyagreedtoface‘Amrwas‘AlībinAbiTālib.When‘Alīwas
goingtoface‘Amr,theProphetsaid,“Todaythetotalfaith(imān)isgo-
ing to facethe total disbelief(kufr).” ‘Alī defeated ‘Amr, and all other
brave warrior’s of the enemy retreated.
Inthe Battle ofKhaybar, theMuslim armyattacked the fortressesof
the Jews for many days but was not successful. Finally the Prophet