Hadith 187

r did they shoot an arrow, nor stabbed with a spear, nor struck with a sword. They were cowards, and fearful and desired to remain alive. And they knew that Rasool-Allah-saww fought himself-saww personally, so he-saww killed Ubay Bin Khalaf and killed Masja’a Bin Awf who was one of the bravest of the people and severest in duels, and was the most deserving of that (to be killed). And they convincingly knew that there was no one from among them who could stand in my-asws place, or strive against the falsehood, or conquer the forts apart from myself, and there did not come down upon Rasool-Allah-saww any severity whatsoever, nor any unfavourable situation, nor any narrowness and difficulty from the affairs except that he-saww said: ‘Where is my-saww brother Ali-asws, where is my-saww sword, where is my-saww spear, where is the one who-asws takes away my-saww grief from my-saww face? ’
So he-saww would place me-asws forward, and I-asws would go forth sacrificing myself-asws for him-saww, and Allah-azwj Removed the grief from his-saww face by my-asws hand. And Allah-azwj Mighty and Majestic and His-azwj Rasool-saww Favoured me-asws by that and Guided me-asws to it. And one of them from what you have heard, never kept away the difficulties nor did he ever go forth, nor duelled, nor conquered a fort, nor helped even once, but he fled and showed his back to the enemy, and when he returned he accused his companions of cowardice and they accused him of it, and he had fled many times. And when it was during the prosperity and the (distribution) of the booty, he spoke and changed, and ordered and prevented. And Ibn Abd Wad had called out – on the Day of Khandaq – by his name, so he hid from him and fled with his companions to the extent that Rasool-Allah-saww smiled when he-saww saw him to be so horrified and he-saww said: ‘Where is my-saww beloved Ali-asws? Go forth O my-saww beloved, O Ali-asws’. And he was the one who told his four companions – his writers and his advisors, ‘By Allah-azwj, if we hand over Muhammad-saww to them outright, we will be safe from that’, and this was when we had enemies from the top of us and from underneath us, as Allah-azwj Said “and you were thinking the assumptions about Allah [33: 10] At that point the Momineen were Tried and were shaken with severe shaking [33: 11] And when the hypocrites and those who had a sickness in their hearts were saying, ‘Allah and His Rasool did not promise us except to deceive! ’ [33: 12]”. So his companion (Abu Bakr) said to him (Umar), ‘No, but we will t