“I will give the flag tomorrow to a man that loves God and His Messenger, and God and His Messenger love him” the Prophet promised his companions this at Khaybar.
The Prophet’s voice would pierce through the silence, “Where is Ali?” he asked.
Ali was called to the Prophet ﷺ, “Take this flag, and carry on until God opens your path,” he said to Ali.
Ali walked toward the gates of Khaybar. Before reaching its enormous gates, Ali was met by their champion – the most feared warrior of the Jews – Marhab. Within moments, the warriors engaged in combat. Only after the second blow, Ali managed to strike Marhab on the helmet, splitting his skull in half and Marhab was immediately killed.
They say that Ali had lost the shield and had no tools to lift or pry open the gate of the fortress. Prior to Ali, over a dozen of the men had tried to pry open the gate, but were unsuccessful. Ali stood before the gate, and with his two bare hands, lifted the doors of the gate, prying it out from its hinges. Ali first held the gate with one hand as a shield from the enemies, and then jumped into the moat and made a bridge, using the pried door for the Muslims to make their way into the fortress.
After the battle, the Muslims would gather to eat and rest. Between the two or three different options of food, Ali made his choice – dry bread. That was a normal go-to for Ali. That, or a handful of dates, or perhaps a cup of yogurt. His diet was simple, and his portions were small. “One third for water, one third for food, and one third to breathe…” Ali used to say as his Prophet ﷺ used to say.
Ali took a piece of bread that was a bit larger than he wanted, so he decided to piece it in half. The bread was dry and hard and was not breaking between Ali’s two palms. So, Ali took the loaf of bread and broke it on his knee. The companions in his midst looked at him in disbelief. “O’ Ali, you just single-handedly yanked out the gate of Khaybar, a feat that dozens of men could not do together, but now, in this instance, we see you breaking a loaf of bread on your knee?” a companion inquired, perplexed.
Ali smiled.
“The strength I exerted at Khaybar was for God; here I break the bread for myself,” he replied simply.
Indeed Allah gives you the strength when one has putted his complete trust on Allah.
Alhamdulillah I really felt this strength of faith in physical work.
You've wrote this post very beautiful and clearly.
JazakAllah khair
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