—when the battle grew fierce, we would shield ourselves behind him, and the bravest among us was the one who could stand shoulder to shoulder with him (meaning the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib said: “On the Day of Badr we defended ourselves against the idolaters by staying close to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. He was the fiercest of people in combat, and no one drew nearer to the enemy than he did.” Al-Bayhaqī reports this with a sound chain.

In the two Ṣaḥīḥ collections it is narrated from Anas who said: “I served the Messenger of Allah for ten years, and by Allah he never once said to me, ‘Uff,’ nor did he ever say to me—”