where?” His story has already been related.
Can anyone with even the slightest sense doubt that only someone with the utmost loyalty and love for the Messenger and his message would act in this way? Or that his loyalty and love led him to oppose his own people, endure their persecution, and spend his wealth on his fellow believers who needed his help?
Many people are loyal to someone, yet will not share his trials and hardships, incur people’s hostility alongside him, or openly agree with him on the very things for which people oppose him. It is another matter, however, if someone openly follows him and agrees with him on the very things for which most people oppose him, endures his enemies’ persecution, and spends his wealth in support of him without any worldly incentive to do so. For supporting him in Mecca (1) brought him no worldly gain—neither wealth nor leadership nor anything else. Rather, all it brought him in this world was harm, hardship, and tribulation.
A person may outwardly agree with someone either to obtain something from him or to achieve some other purpose by doing so, such as intending to kill him or deceive him. None of this applied in Mecca. Those who intended to harm the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, were among the fiercest enemies of Abū Bakr once he believed in the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. He had no connection with them whatsoever that might prompt such conduct. Nor did they need Abū Bakr for anything of this kind; indeed, they were better able to do it themselves. Yet the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, never suffered any harm from Abū Bakr, despite their being alone together, meeting by night and day, and his having the opportunity to do whatever a deceiver might wish to do, such as administering poison, killing him, or anything else.