Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (8/372)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

As for his statement, “There is no merit in the cave,” the answer is that the merit associated with the cave is evident from the explicit wording of the Quran, for Allah Most High says:

“When he said to his companion, ‘Do not grieve; indeed, Allah is with us.’” [Surah al-Tawbah: 40]

The Messenger [may Allah bless him and grant him peace] (1) thus stated that Allah was with him and his companion, just as He said to Moses and Aaron:

“Indeed, I am with you both; I hear and I see.” [Surah Tā Hā: 46]

The two compilers related (2) in their Sahīh collections, through Anas, that Abū Bakr al-Siddīq—may Allah be pleased with him—said: “I looked at the feet of the polytheists above our heads while we were in the cave, and I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, if any one of them were to look down at his feet, he would see us.’ He replied, ‘O Abū Bakr, what do you think of two whose third is Allah?’” (3)

Not only have the scholars of hadith unanimously agreed that this hadith is authentic, accepting it and affirming its truth—with no two of them differing on this—but its meaning is also attested by the Quran, which says:

“When he said to his companion, ‘Do not grieve; indeed, Allah is with us.’” [Surah al-Tawbah: 40]

In Allah’s Book, His being with others is of two kinds: general and particular. The general kind is exemplified by His words, Most High:

(1) “May Allah bless him and grant him peace” is an addition in (م). (2) ن, س, ب: “They both related it.” (3) The hadith narrated by Anas ibn Mālik—may Allah be pleased with him—is recorded in al-Bukhārī, 5/4 (Book of the Virtues of the Prophet’s Companions…, chapter: “The Merits and Excellence of the Emigrants, Among Them Abū Bakr…”); Muslim, 4/1854 (Book of the Virtues of the Companions, chapter: “Some of the Virtues of Abū Bakr…”).

أَمَّا قَوْلُهُ: " لَا فَضِيلَةَ فِي الْغَارِ " . فَالْجَوَابُ: أَنَّ الْفَضِيلَةَ فِي الْغَارِ ظَاهِرَةٌ بِنَصِّ الْقُرْآنِ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: {إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا} [سُورَةُ التَّوْبَةِ: ٤٠] فَأَخْبَرَ الرَّسُولُ [- صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -] (١) أَنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَهُ وَمَعَ صَاحِبِهِ كَمَا قَالَ لِمُوسَى وَهَارُونَ: {إِنَّنِي مَعَكُمَا أَسْمَعُ وَأَرَى} [سُورَةُ طه: ٤٦] . وَقَدْ أَخْرَجَا (٢) فِي الصَّحِيحَيْنِ مِنْ حَدِيثِ أَنَسٍ عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرِ الصِّدِّيقِ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ -، قَالَ «نَظَرْتُ إِلَى إِقْدَامِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ عَلَى رُؤُوسِنَا وَنَحْنُ فِي الْغَارِ، فَقُلْتُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَوْ أَنَّ أَحَدَهُمْ نَظَرَ إِلَى قَدَمَيْهِ لَأَبْصَرَنَا فَقَالَ: " يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ مَا ظَنُّكَ بِاثْنَيْنِ اللَّهُ ثَالِثُهُمَا» " (٣) . وَهَذَا الْحَدِيثُ مَعَ كَوْنِهِ مِمَّا اتَّفَقَ أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ بِالْحَدِيثِ عَلَى صِحَّتِهِ وَتَلَقِّيهِ بِالْقَبُولِ وَالتَّصْدِيقِ فَلَمْ يَخْتَلِفْ فِي ذَلِكَ اثْنَانِ مِنْهُمْ، فَهُوَ مِمَّا دَلَّ الْقُرْآنُ عَلَى مَعْنَاهُ يَقُولُ: {إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا} [سُورَةُ التَّوْبَةِ: ٤٠] . وَالْمَعِيَّةُ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ عَلَى وَجْهَيْنِ: عَامَّةٌ وَخَاصَّةٌ؛ فَالْعَامَّةُ كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى:

(١) - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -: زِيَادَةٌ فِي (م) (٢) ن، س، ب: أَخْرَجَاهُ (٣) الْحَدِيثُ عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ - فِي: الْبُخَارِيِّ ٥/٤ (كِتَابُ فَضَائِلِ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ. . . بَابُ مَنَاقِبِ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَفَضْلِهِمْ مِنْهُمْ أَبُو بَكْرٍ. . .) ، مُسْلِمٌ ٤/١٨٥٤ (كِتَابُ فَضَائِلِ الصَّحَابَةِ، بَابٌ: مِنْ فَضَائِلِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ. . .) .