In short: During the migration to Madinah, the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr hid in a cave. Abu Bakr said: if one of them looked down at his feet, he would see us. The Prophet ﷺ answered: what do you think of two, when Allah is their third? (Sahih al-Bukhari 3653).
The story
When the Prophet ﷺ left Makkah for Madinah, he travelled with Abu Bakr, and the two hid in a cave while the people of Quraysh searched for them. Abu Bakr himself narrated what happened: he said to the Prophet ﷺ that if any of them looked under his feet, he would see them.
The Prophet ﷺ replied: “O Abu Bakr, what do you think of two, the third of whom is Allah?” (Bukhari 3653).
Allah mentions this moment in the Quran: “…the second of two, when they were in the cave and he said to his companion: Do not grieve, indeed Allah is with us” (Quran 9:40).
The well-known details of a spider’s web and a nesting dove at the cave come through a report whose chain scholars dispute, so we have left them out. The authentic account is the one above.
What we can take from it
- “Do not grieve, Allah is with us.” Worth saying to yourself when you feel cornered.
- Trust in Allah came after taking every means: they planned the journey, hid and travelled carefully.
- A true friend stays beside you in the cave.