The Verse: “It is He who expelled the ones who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture from their homes at the first gathering. You did not think that they would leave, and they thought that their fortresses would protect them from Allah; but [the penalty of] Allah came to them from where they had not expected,
and He cast terror into their hearts [so] they destroyed their houses with their own hands and the hands of the believers. So take warning, O people of vision.”] 1
[144] It is recorded in the treatise Al-Misriyya, authored by Muhammad bin Muqatil al-Qati'i (may Allah sanctify him), that our Master, the Commander of the Faithful (exalted be his might), said to the Master Messenger (exalted be his might): "O Messenger of Allah, place me in the basket of the catapult." The Messenger said to him: "Do as you wish." So our Master, the Commander of the Faithful, sat in the basket of the catapult and was launched toward the fortress.
Our Master, the Commander of the Faithful, disappeared into the air and ascended toward the fortress. There remained between them [the catapult and the fortress] forty cubits; he took a step in the air, then swooped down from the sky toward the fortress. The Jews did not perceive him until he was in the middle of the fortress, standing upon a rock. They began to leap from inside the fortress, but our Master (exalted be his might) dispersed them,