A man said to Abū al-Dardāʾ, “Advise me.” He replied, “Remember Allah in times of ease, and Allah, Mighty and Majestic, will remember you in times of hardship.”1.

It is also related that he, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “Call upon Allah on a day of ease; perhaps He will answer you on a day of hardship.”2.

One way of making oneself known to Allah in times of ease is for the servant, while enjoying ease, to strive to draw near to Allah, seek His pleasure, and perform abundant righteous deeds that bring him nearer to Him, such as doing good, maintaining kinship ties, giving charity, showing kindness, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and pursuing other forms of righteousness and paths of goodness. “The hadith of the three men who entered the cave and were sealed inside by a boulder attests to this. Allah delivered them when they invoked Him by virtue of the sincere righteous deeds they had performed in times of ease: dutifulness to their parents, abstaining from fornication, and faithfully discharging a private trust.”3.

Their hadith is well known. Imam al-Bukhārī reported it in several places in his Sahih, and Muslim and other leading scholars also reported it. The wording found in the chapter “The Story of the Cave,” in the Book of the Accounts of the Prophets in Sahih al-Bukhārī, is narrated from Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, that Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “While three men from the peoples before you were walking, rain overtook them. They sought shelter in a cave, but its entrance was sealed over them. Some of them said to the others, ‘By Allah, my friends, nothing will save you except truthfulness. So let