and so he appointed Aaron over all his people. When the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—set out for the expedition to Tabūk, he took all the Muslims with him except those with a valid excuse (1). He left Alī in charge only of the dependents and a few men (2). His appointment was therefore not equivalent to Moses’s appointment of Aaron. Rather, he entrusted responsibility to him during his absence, just as Moses entrusted it to Aaron (3) during his absence. The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—thus made clear to him that appointing someone as deputy does not imply any deficiency in that person’s standing; rather, it may be due to his trustworthiness, just as Moses appointed Aaron over his people. Alī had gone out to him weeping and said, “Will you leave me behind with the women and children?” It appears that he disliked remaining behind when the Prophet departed.

It has also been said that some of the hypocrites maligned him. The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—therefore made clear to him that this position did not signify any deficiency in the standing of the person appointed as deputy; for had it done so, Moses would not have appointed Aaron (4).

[Response to the Rāfidī’s claim that the Prophet said to Alī, “Medina cannot function properly without either me or you”]

As for his statement, “The Prophet said [to him] (5), ‘Medina cannot function properly without either me or you,’” this is a lie attributed to the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—and is unknown in works of scholarship (6) regarded as authoritative (7). Another indication of its falsity is that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—departed from