The effect of sincerity to Allah in righteous deeds and of seeking Allah’s aid through them

3468 — (Three men were in a cave when a rock fell over the entrance and sealed them in. One of them said, “Recall which of you has done a good deed, so that perhaps Allah, in His mercy, will have mercy on us.”

One of them said: “I once did a good deed. I had labourers working for me, and more workers came to me. I hired each man for a specified wage. One day, a man came to me in the middle of the day, and I hired him for half the wage of his companions. He worked for the remainder of that day as each of them had worked throughout his entire day. I felt obliged not to give him less than what I had hired his companions for, because of the effort he had exerted in his work. One of them said, ‘Are you giving this man the same as you gave me, when he worked only half a day?’ I replied, ‘O servant of Allah, I have not withheld anything from you of what was stipulated for you; it is simply my wealth, which I may dispose of as I wish.’ He became angry, left, and abandoned his wages.

“I set his due aside in one part of the house for as long as Allah willed. Then, after that, some cattle came my way, and I bought a calf (1) with it; and it multiplied as Allah willed. After some time, a frail old man whom I did not recognize came to me and said, ‘I have a right due from you.’ He reminded me of it until I recognized him. I said, ‘You are the one I have been looking for; this is your due,’ and I presented all of it to him. He said, ‘O servant of Allah, do not mock me! If you are not being truthful with me, then give me what is due to me.’ I said, ‘By Allah, I am not mocking you. It is indeed yours; none of it belongs to me.’ So I handed all of it over to him. O Allah, if I did that for Your sake, then relieve us!’” He said: “Then the rock split apart until they could see out through it