The conquest of Khaybar proved to be one of the occasions on which God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, demonstrated his uniqueness in recognizing the potentials, skills and shortcomings of each of his followers. When the siege was prolonged, God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, declared: Tomorrow I will hand the standard to one who loves God and His Messenger and is loved by them. (7) This was indeed a great honour, and all of the Companions desired earnestly to deserve it. The next day came and God’s Messenger asked for ‘Ali. ‘He has sore eyes’, he was told. The Messenger then sent for ‘Ali and applied his saliva to ‘Ali’s eyes, which, as he swore by God, never again troubled him. (8)

Despite ‘Ali’s youth, God’s Messenger preferred him on account of his great skills in combat and in taking command. He took the standard and succeeded in conquering the stronghold of Khaybar, which was very formidable.

Whoever God’s Messenger gave a job to, that person became successful in doing it. For example, he described Khalid ibn Walid as ‘a sword among the swords of God’, (9) and Khalid never tasted defeat during his whole lifetime. Likewise, besides such great soldiers and invincible commanders as Qa’qa’a, Hamza and Sa‘d, he also made ‘Usama ibn Zayd a commander over a great army in which were leading Muslims such as Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, Talha and Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas. ‘Usama was the son of Zayd, a black Muslim, and emancipated slave of God’s Messenger, and was only seventeen years old or so when he was made the commander. His father, Zayd, had also commanded the Muslim army in the Battle of Mu’ta against the Byzantines and was martyred.

God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, was twenty-five years old when he married Khadija, the daughter of Huwaylid, a widow fifteen years his senior. He did not marry another woman until Khadija’s death in the tenth year of his Prophethood. All his subsequent marriages, after the age of fifty, were directly related to his mission. One of the important reasons for them was that his wives had different characters and temperaments and could therefore convey to other Muslim women the rules of Islam related to women. Each of them proved a guide and teacher for womanhood, and, besides, even the leading figures in the generations following the Companions such as Masruq, Tawus ibn Kaysan and Ata’ ibn Rabah benefited considerably from them. The science of Hadith is especially indebted to ‘A’isha, who related from God’s Messenger more than five thousand Traditions. ‘A’isha was also a great jurist.

Subsequent events proved how wise and apt were all the choices of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, not least in the matter of marriage.