(251) It is related that when the Messenger of God—exalted be his glory—prepared the catapult, Salman the Persian—peace be upon him—threw three stones from it. The third fell within the fortress. Our Master said to the Messenger—exalted be his glory: "O Messenger of God, place me in the cradle of the catapult." The Messenger said to him: "Do as you wish." Our Master Amir Almuminin—exalted be his glory—sat in the cradle of the catapult and was thrown into the fortress. Amir Almuminin—exalted be his glory—vanished into the air and appeared over the fortress. There had remained forty cubits between them, and he stepped through the air; none steps through the air but the Lord—Exalted. Then he descended from the sky toward the fortress. The Jews perceived him not until he was in the center of the fortress standing upon a rock. They began to dig from inside the fortress out of fear of our Master—exalted be his glory—while the Muslims dug from outside the fortress to look upon our Master—exalted be His power—and what would become of him. God the Almighty said as a disclosure to those of understanding: {It is He who expelled those who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture from their homes at the first gathering. You did not think they would leave, and they thought that their fortresses would protect them from God; but God came to them from where they did not expect, and He cast terror into their hearts. They destroyed their houses by their own hands and the hands of the believers. So take warning, O people of vision.}¹ And God the Almighty is not to be taken as a warning; rather, one takes warning from His actions.

(252) It is related by consensus regarding the Day of Khaybar that the Messenger of God—exalted be his glory—entrusted a banner to Abu Bakr, but it returned defeated. The next day, he entrusted a banner to Umar, and it also returned defeated. Sa'd ibn Ubada said to the Messenger of God—exalted be his glory: "O Messenger of God, tomorrow I am returning to Medina, whether you permit me or not."