81 — The Eighth
On the authority of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him)—ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUthmān ibn ʿĀmir ibn ʿAmr ibn Kaʿb ibn Saʿd ibn Taym ibn Murrah ibn Kaʿb ibn Luʾayy ibn Ghālib, the Qurashī al-Taymī (may Allah be pleased with him), whose father and mother were also Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all):
He said, “I could see the feet of the idolaters while we were in the cave and they were right above our heads. I whispered, ‘Messenger of Allah, if one of them were merely to look beneath his feet, he would spot us.’ He replied, ‘O Abū Bakr, what do you think of two men when Allah is the third of them?’” Agreed upon.
Explanation
His words, “What do you think, O Abū Bakr, of two men when Allah is their third?” mean: what do you imagine—can anyone overpower them or cause them harm?
This event occurred when the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) migrated from Mecca to Medina. After he had proclaimed the message publicly, invited the people, and many followed him, the idolaters grew alarmed, opposed his call, and persecuted him by word and deed. Allah therefore permitted him to emigrate from Mecca to Medina, accompanied only by Abū Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), along with a guide and a servant. They set out by Allah’s command, and Abū Bakr went with him.
When the idolaters heard that he had left Mecca, they offered two hundred