- Abu ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:
‘Three men from those who came before you were overtaken by nightfall and sought refuge in a cave. A rock then rolled down from the mountain and blocked the entrance. They said, “Nothing will save you from this rock but to call upon Allah, Most High, through your righteous deeds.”
One of them said, “O Allah, I had two elderly parents, and I never used to give the evening drink to my family or my servants before them. One day I went far afield in search of firewood and did not return to them until they had fallen asleep. I milked their evening portion and found them sleeping. I disliked waking them, and I also disliked offering the drink to my family or my servants before them, so I remained—bowl in hand—waiting for them to wake up until dawn broke, while my children were crying at my feet from hunger. When they awoke they drank their portion. O Allah, if I did that seeking only Your Face, then relieve us of this rock.” The stone shifted a little, but they were still unable to exit.
Another said, “O Allah, I had a cousin who was the dearest of people to me—in another narration: I loved her with the strongest love a man can have for a woman. I sought intimacy with her, but she refused me until a year of hardship befell her. She then came to me and I gave her one hundred and twenty dinars on the condition that she allow me access to herself. She agreed, and when I prevailed upon her—in another narration: when I sat between her legs—she said, ‘Fear Allah, and do not break the seal except lawfully.’ I withdrew from her, though she was the most beloved of people to me, and I left her the gold I had given her. O Allah, if I did that seeking only Your Face, then relieve us of what we are in.” The rock shifted further, yet they still could not get out.'