The bravery of the Messenger of Allah (swt)

What the Prophet (saw) might have lacked in terms of physical strength- and by all accounts, he certainly was strong- he more than amply made up for with bravery and fearlessness, qualities he possessed because he feared no one but Allah (swt). In those days, battles were frightening affairs. Granted, war is always brutal, but in the Prophet’s time, the soldiers did not fire bullets at one another from distances; instead they physically clashed against one another with swords raised; with heads flying in the air at the scene of the battle; with limbs being chopped off with powerful strokes of the sword; and with blood staining people’s skin, clothings and armor - not to mention pools of blood that formed on the ground. Just voluntarily walk onto such a battlefield requires a great deal of fortitude and courage. But the Prophet (saw) did not just walk onto the battlefields, standing safely behind rows of soldiers; on the contrary, he fought in the front row, quite often being nearer to the enemy than any other Muslim soldier.

The Prophet (saw) never once fled from a battle; more telling, to be sure, is the fact that he never even retreated: If others defensively moved back a few feet or more when the enemy attacked, the Prophet (saw) maintained his position, refusing to give up even an inch of ground to the enemy. At times, the Prophet (saw) acted as commander, supervising the proceedings of a battle from a command post. But when fighting intensified, when body parts flew into the air and blood sprayed out from exposed wounds, and when the decisive stages of battle were taking place- the Prophet (saw) was, without fail, at the forefront of his army, with calm nerves and with complete trust in his Lord.

In the early days of his migration to Madeenah, the Prophet (saw) hid in a cave with Abu Bakr as Siddeeq (ra); neither of them was armed, and they were surrounded by polytheists who had unsheathed swords coupled with malevolent hearts, the most dangerous of combinations. These were the men who wanted nothing more than to kill the Prophet (saw). Upon seeing an expression of fear on Abu Bakr’s face, the Prophet (saw) said: “O Abu Bakr, what do you think of two (people), when Allah is the third (member) of their group.” {Related by Bukhari (3653, 4663) and Muslim (2381),  on the authority of Abu Bakr.} 

That, without a doubt, is the pinnacle of bravery. 

Muhammad: As If You Can See Him

By A’id al-Qarni

(page 106-107)