and grant him peace—was the best of all people, the most generous of all people, and the bravest of all people. One night, the people of Medina were alarmed, so some men set off in the direction of the sound. The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—met them on his way back, having reached the source of the sound before them. He was riding Abū Talha’s unsaddled horse, with the sword hanging from his neck(1), and was saying, ‘Do not be alarmed.’ Al-Bukhārī said: He met them after he had ascertained what had happened” (2).
In the Musnad, Ali—may Allah be pleased with him—said:
“When the fighting became fierce, we would seek shelter with the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—for he was closer to the enemy than we were” (3).
Courage may be understood in two senses. The first is strength and steadfastness of heart in the face of danger. The second is the intensity(4) of bodily combat—killing many and wreaking great slaughter.
The former is courage properly so called; the latter indicates bodily strength and exertion. Not everyone with a strong body has a strong heart, nor vice versa. For this reason,
(1) M: “on [his neck].”
(2) The hadith narrated by Anas ibn Mālik—may Allah be pleased with him—is found in al-Bukhārī 4/39, 52 (Book of Jihad and Military Expeditions, chapter “Sword Straps and Hanging the Sword from the Neck,” chapter “The Imam’s Prompt Response in Times of Alarm,” and chapter “Hastening and Galloping in Times of Alarm”); 8/13 (Book of Manners, chapter “Good Character and Generosity, and the Reprehensibility of Miserliness”); Muslim 4/1802–1803 (Book of Virtues, chapter “The Prophet’s Courage and His Advancement into Battle”—peace be upon him); *Sunan al-Tirmidhī* 3/117–118 (Book of Jihad, chapter “What Has Been Related about Standing Firm in Combat”); *Sunan Ibn Mājah* 2/926 (Book of Jihad, chapter “Going Forth in Response to the Call to Arms”); and *al-Musnad* (al-Halabī ed.) 3/147, 185, 261, 271.
(3) This hadith, with some variation in wording, appears in two places in *al-Musnad* (al-Maārif ed.): 2/228 (no. 1042) and 2/343 (no. 1346). Shaykh Ahmad Shākir—may Allah have mercy on him—graded both reports authentic. The hadith also appears in an abridged form conveying the same meaning at 2/64 (no. 654), and its chain of transmission is likewise authentic.
(4) “Intensity” is absent from M.