Three nights in the Cave of Thawr

Part oneGoing the wrong way

Anyone who wanted to reach Yathrib from Makkah would go north. The Quraysh knew it, so the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) did the opposite. They left the city that night and went south, towards Yemen, to Mount Thawr, a rugged peak a few kilometres away. Near its top was a small cave. They went in and settled there to wait.

Everything had been planned. Abu Bakr's son Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) was a sharp young man who spent his days in Makkah listening to what the Quraysh were saying. After dark he came up to the cave and told them what he had heard, then slipped back into the city before dawn, so that in the morning he appeared among the Quraysh as though he had spent the night in Makkah. Abu Bakr's daughter Asma (may Allah be pleased with her) brought food each evening. Amir ibn Fuhayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), a shepherd who worked for Abu Bakr, grazed his flock over the paths around the mountain so that the sheep covered the footprints of the others. At dusk he brought fresh milk.

They had also found a guide. Abdullah ibn Urayqit knew the desert tracks well. He was not a Muslim, but both men trusted him. He took the two riding camels and agreed to bring them back to the cave when the three nights had passed.

Abu Bakr had taken all the money he had with him, several thousand dirhams, to pay for the road. His father Abu Quhafah, who was old and blind, came to ask the family whether he had left them with nothing. Asma told the old man that her father had left them plenty. She put a pile of stones in the niche where the money used to lie, covered it with a cloth, and let her grandfather feel it with his hand. He was satisfied. She said later that she only wanted to quiet him, since in truth Abu Bakr had left them nothing.

Part twoThe search

In the morning the men outside his house discovered that he was gone. The leaders of the Quraysh were furious and afraid. They sent searchers out in every direction and announced a reward of one hundred camels for anyone who brought him back. Many parties took the road to the north, since that was the obvious way. Abu Jahl came to Abu Bakr's house, and when Asma would not tell him where her father had gone, he slapped her.

Some of the searchers followed the tracks as far as Mount Thawr. They came right up to the cave. Abu Bakr whispered to the Prophet ﷺ that if one of them only looked down at his own feet, he would see them. The Prophet ﷺ answered calmly. He asked Abu Bakr what he thought of two people when Allah was the third with them.

The Quran records this moment, when the Messenger told his companion not to grieve, because Allah was with them. Allah sent down His calm on him and supported him with forces the searchers could not see. The men outside turned away. The same verse reminds the Muslims that Allah had already helped His Messenger when the unbelievers drove him out, with only one companion at his side. It speaks of Abu Bakr as the companion of the Messenger in the cave. That is a special honour, and it belongs to him alone.

From the Quran

إِلَّا تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ثَانِىَ ٱثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِى ٱلْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَـٰحِبِهِۦ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَنَا ۖ فَأَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُۥ عَلَيْهِ وَأَيَّدَهُۥ بِجُنُودٍ لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ٱلسُّفْلَىٰ ۗ وَكَلِمَةُ ٱللَّهِ هِىَ ٱلْعُلْيَا ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ ۝٤٠

˹It does not matter˺ if you ˹believers˺ do not support him, for Allah did in fact support him when the disbelievers drove him out ˹of Mecca˺ and he was only one of two. While they both were in the cave, he reassured his companion, “Do not worry; Allah is certainly with us.” So Allah sent down His serenity upon the Prophet, supported him with forces you ˹believers˺ did not see, and made the word of the disbelievers lowest, while the Word of Allah is supreme. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.

From the hadith

Narrated Abu Bakr:

I said to the Prophet (ﷺ) while I was in the Cave. "If any of them should look under his feet, he would see us." He said, "O Abu Bakr! What do you think of two (persons) the third of whom is Allah?"

Part threeOut of the cave

The cave can still be reached today by a steep path up the mountain. Three nights is a long time to stay silent in a small space. The Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr were not safe at any hour, and they depended on the people who looked after them. Every person who helped them did so quietly, took a risk, and was never asked to explain.

By the third night the search had become less urgent, and the number of men on the roads had fallen. At the agreed time, Abdullah ibn Urayqit arrived at the cave with the two camels. Asma came as well with the last of their provisions. The Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr climbed down from the mountain and mounted. Amir ibn Fuhayrah rode behind Abu Bakr as a servant, and Abdullah ibn Urayqit led them off the main route and towards the coast.

They had a long road ahead of them. They had prepared with great care, and they had trusted Allah.

Every person who helped them did so quietly, took a risk, and was never asked to explain.

WatchLectures for this chapter

Lecture Towards EternityO Messenger, Ep. 5: The Hijrah (opens on YouTube)

Lecture Islamic GuidanceThe Hijrah, Part 1: The Heroism Of Abu Bakr (Seerah of Muhammad, part 42) (opens on YouTube)

The mapWhere it happened

• Makkah
• Mount Thawr (the cave)
• the coast road north

This map is a simple sketch to help you picture where events took place. Positions, distances and borders are approximate, so please use it for reference only, not as an accurate map.

SourcesSources for this chapter