ALLAH IS WITH US

(This is a story of the time of the hijrah to Madina.)

The night was dark. It was already past midnight. In a few hours the first ray of sunshine would appear. Then the Quraysh would realize that Muhammad the Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam had slipped through their fingers and the chase would be on. They would leave no part of the city unsearched.

The Blessed Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam had already left his house and Ali radhiallahu ta'ala 'anh lay asleep in his bed. The house was being surrounded by 12 young men of the Quraysh who, jointly, had plotted to kill the blessed Prophet that night. He knew the time to emigrate had arrived. The preparations had already been made. From his own house the Blessed Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam came to Abu Bakr radhiyallahu ta'ala 'anh's house in Misfalah, the part of Makkah which lay just to the south of the Ka'bah. Although they wanted to reach Madinah in the north, they took the route to the south. They knew that the first place the enemy would look after realizing that Muhammad sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam had escaped, would be the way to Madinah and the house of Abu Bakr. So to confuse their pursuers
and gain time they went south.

Soon the Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam & Abu Bakr radhiallahu ta'ala 'anh came to the mountains and hills which lie south to Makkah. They began looking for a place where they could take refuge while the enemy was searching for them. After trudging up and down mountains paths, they found a cave on mount Thaur. It was desolate and isolated. It seemed never to have been visited by human beings before.

The night was still dark, except for the light from the stars. Abu Bakr radhiallahu ta'ala 'anh entered the cave first, cleared it of pebbles and stones, and began looking for snakes which might harm the Blessed Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam. He took off the garment he was wearing, tore it into strips and filled up every hole he could find . After making the cave safe & secure, he came out and invited the Blessed Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam to step inside.
Abu Bakr radhiyallahu ta'ala 'anh loved no one more then the Blessed Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam. He had faith in Him when few were prepared to believe. He spent all his money for the cause of Islam, and now he was given the honour of accompanying the Blessed Prophet on that memorable journey to Madinah which would change the course of human history.

Earlier, as they walked from Abu Bakr's house in Misfalah to the cave of Thaur, Abu Bakr sometimes fell behind and sometimes moved briskly on ahead .The Blessed Prophet Asked him why he didn't stay by his side. Abu Bakr replied, "I am on the lookout for any threat or danger".

"You mean," said the Blessed Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam, "you love me so much that you would face danger rather then let any harm come to me?"

"Yes, O Prophet," Abu Bakr replied.

By the time the Blessed Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam & Abu Bakr radhiyallahu ta'ala 'anh had settled in the cave it was dawn and back at Makkah the young men found out that the man who had been sleeping in the Blessed Prophet's bed was not the blessed Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam but Ali radhiallahu ta'ala 'anh. They became very angry and frustrated. Immediately they launched a search for the Blessed Prophet .Saddling their horses they galloped along the road to Madinah, but found no tracks, so they gave up and came back. Then they spread out around the city searching to the east, west and south. Finally they hired expert trackers to discover by which route the blessed Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam had left the city. Soon saddling up again, they headed for the mountains south to Makkah. Now they were on the right trail.

The blessed Prophet & Abu Bakr were huddled in the cave. Even though they had travelled in the opposite direction to confuse the Quraysh and were in a cave which they believed would not be easily discovered by their enemies, they still did not feel secure. Abu Bakr looked around again and again and, fearfully strained his ears for any sounds.

Eventually they heard footsteps. Quite a few people had arrived in the area. Accompanied by the trackers, they covered the hills on foot and by horseback, trying to find where the blessed Prophet(PBUH) and Abu Bakr were hiding. Finally they reached the mouth of the cave. But they found that a spider have woven a web over the entrance. Obviously, they concluded, no one could be inside. One of the trackers, Kurz bin Alqamah, remarked: 'The footsteps come to this point then vanish. Where did they go from here?'

"Let us go inside,' said another, "maybe they are here".

Ummayyah bin Khalf, a prominent Quraysh chief, was with them. He shook his head. 'There's no point in going inside the cave .What will you find there? No one has entered recently. The spider's web was woven long before Muhammad was born, I wager. Let's not waste any more time here.'

Another of the pursuers was standing so close to the mouth of the cave that the Blessed Prophet & Abu Bakr could see his feet. Abu Bakr was extremely worried & fearful, not for his own life, but in case any harm should come to the Blessed Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam .He kept a close watch on the mouth of the cave, while the Blessed Prophet prayed. When the Blessed Prophet had finished his prayer, Abu Bakr, with tears in his eyes, whispered: ' They are directly above us now. They will see us and come inside'.

The Blessed Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam smiled and looked with kindness at Abu Bakr. 'Why are you fearful, Abu Bakr?' He chided softly. 'There are not just the two of us here, Allah Himself is the third.'

Abu Bakr said I am not fearful for myself but for the harm they might do you before my eyes'.

The Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam replied, 'Grieve not, for God is with us.'

There was not the slightest sign of worry on the Blessed Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam's face, so real and intense was his faith in Allah, in His presence, in His succour .He saw with certainty that Allah was there with him, even though no physical or material help was in sight.

Indeed[said Allah in the Qura'n]Allah helped him when he was driven out by the Kafirs, He was one of the two when both of them were in the cave and he was saying to his companion: 'Grieve not for Allah is with us' .

026.083 "O my Lord! bestow wisdom on me,and join me with
the righteous;
026.085 And place me among the inheritors of the Garden of
Delight," (THE HOLY QUR'AN) ameen