2425 – ʿĪsā ibn ʿAlī told us; he said: ʿAbd Allah ibn Muḥammad al-Baghawī told us; he said: Dāwūd ibn ʿAmr narrated to us; he said: Nāfiʿ ibn ʿUmar narrated to us, from Ibn Abī Mulaykah:

When the Prophet ﷺ set out with Abū Bakr and the two of them reached the cave on Mount Thawr, Abū Bakr said, “Stay where you are while I put my hand inside, tidy it up, and inspect it; if there is any creature in there, it will strike me before it reaches you.” Nāfiʿ added, “It reached me that there was a hole inside the cave, so Abū Bakr plugged that hole with his foot, fearing that some creature—or anything else—might emerge from it and harm the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”