Two in the Cave

It was noon in Makkah, the hottest part of the day. Abu Bakr, the dearest companion of the Prophet ﷺ, was at home when someone said to him, "Here comes the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, with his head covered, at an hour he never visits."

"By Allah," Abu Bakr said at once, "he has not come at this hour except for a great need."

For years, the Prophet ﷺ had called the people of Makkah to worship Allah alone, and many of their leaders had turned against him. Now it was no longer safe for him to stay. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came in and said, "I have been given permission to migrate."

"Shall I come with you?" Abu Bakr asked.

"Yes."

Abu Bakr had been waiting for this day. For four whole months he had been feeding two camels, keeping them ready for this very journey.

Now everyone set to work quickly. Food for the road was packed, but Abu Bakr's daughter Asma could find nothing to tie up the food bag and the water skin, except her own waist belt. "Cut it into two pieces," her father said, "and tie the water skin with one piece and the food bag with the other." She did, and from that day on she was known as "the one with the two belts".

Then the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr left Makkah behind and made their way to a rocky mountain called Thawr. High on the mountain there was a cave, and there they hid.

They had planned everything carefully.

Every night, Abu Bakr's son Abdullah, a clever young man, stayed with them in the cave. Before dawn he slipped back to Makkah, so that by morning he was among the people as if he had slept at home. There he kept in mind every plan that was made against them, and when darkness fell, he brought the news back to the cave.

Amir ibn Fuhayra, who looked after Abu Bakr's sheep, brought the flock to the cave a little after nightfall. So there was fresh milk to drink, warmed by dropping hot stones into it. Before daybreak he led the sheep away again.

And a guide who knew the desert roads had promised to bring the camels to the cave after three nights.

They had done their part. The rest was in Allah's care.

Back in Makkah, the leaders sent men out across the hills to search for them, and promised a huge reward to anyone who caught the two travellers.

Then the searchers came to Thawr.

Inside the cave, Abu Bakr raised his head and saw feet. The feet of the searchers, very close, right above them.

Abu Bakr was worried. "O Messenger of Allah ﷺ," he said, "if one of them looks down at his feet, he will see us."

The Prophet ﷺ answered, "O Abu Bakr, what do you think of two, the third of whom is Allah?"

And Allah tells us in the Quran what the Prophet ﷺ said to his companion in that cave: "Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us."

The scholars explain that Abu Bakr's worry was not for himself; he was afraid that harm might reach the Prophet ﷺ. Two men in a cave on a mountain, with the searchers so close. Yet they were not two alone. Allah was with them, seeing everything, hearing everything, helping them and protecting them. The Quran tells us that Allah sent down His sakinah, a deep and settling calm, and supported His Messenger ﷺ with soldiers that people could not see.

The searchers did not find them. In time they gave up and went back to Makkah.

For three nights the two stayed hidden, while the stars turned slowly over the mountain. On the morning after the third night, the guide came with the camels, just as he had promised. The Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr set out on the long road to Madinah, following the coast, towards a city where many believers were waiting to welcome them. That journey is called the Hijrah, and Muslims still count the years of the Islamic calendar from it.

Tonight you are not hiding in a cave on a mountain; you are tucked up in your own bed. But perhaps something is on your mind: a test, a new class, a friend who was unkind. Do your part, the way they did. Then leave the rest with Allah, and whisper, "I trust You, ya Allah." Whatever tomorrow brings, you will not face it alone. Allah is with you, seeing you, hearing you and caring for you all night long, so you can close your eyes and rest.