Hazrat Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) set out for the Battle of Tabuk, he appointed Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) as his deputy in Madinah. Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“Are you leaving me among children and women?”The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,“Are you not pleased that you are to me as Harun (Aaron) was to Musa (Moses)? But the difference is that there will be no prophet after me.”

Hazrat Sahl bin Sa’d Sa’idi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said on the day of the battle of Khaybar that he would give the Islamic flag into the hand of such a person through whom Allah would grant victory. Now everyone was waiting to see who would receive the flag. When morning came, all the prominent people hoped that perhaps they would be given the flag, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) inquired,“Where is Ali?”It was submitted that he was suffering from an eye ailment. Eventually, at your (peace and blessings be upon him) command, he was called. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) applied his blessed saliva to Ali’s eyes, and immediately he was cured, as if there had never been any pain. Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“We will fight them (the Jews) until they become like us (Muslims).”But the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,“Wait, first go down into their field and invite them to Islam, and inform them of what is obligatory upon them. (Then if they do not accept, fight them.) By Allah! If even one person is guided through you, it is better for you than red camels.”

Narrated Salamah bin Al-Akwa’ (may Allah be pleased with him): On the occasion of the Battle of Khaybar, Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) did not come along with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He was suffering from pain in his eyes. Then he said,“Shall I not participate in Jihad with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?”So he set out and joined the Prophet. On the evening of that night, the morning of which Khaybar was conquered, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“I will give the Islamic flag to a person, or (he said) tomorrow the Islamic flag will be in the hand of a person whom Allah and His Messenger love.”Or he said:“Who loves Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and Allah will grant victory at his hands.”Then Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) also came, although we had no hope of his coming (because he was suffering from eye inflammation). The people said,“Here is Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) also,”and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave him the flag, and Allah granted victory at his hands.

Hazrat Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to the house of Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) and saw that Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was not present in the house. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked,“Where is your cousin?”She replied,“There was something unpleasant between me and him, and he became upset with me and went out somewhere, and he has not even taken a nap here.”After that, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to a person,“Go and look for Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), where is he?”He came and informed that he was sleeping in the mosque. Then the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came there. Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was lying down, his cloak had slipped from his side, and there was dust on his body. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was wiping the dust from his body and saying,“Get up, Abu Turab, get up.”