The story of the three men who entered the cave.

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The Shaykh : And among them is the story of the three companions of the cave. I will narrate it to you, or is it already known? Yes?
The student: Narrate it.

The Shaykh : Fine, I will narrate it. Whoever does not know it will learn it, and whoever knows it will review it. These are

Three men

ثلاثة نفر

the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) told us about them

They took refuge in a cave to spend the night in it

آووا إلى غار يبيتون فيه

Do you know what a cave is, my brother? Sit down... You are not getting any sleep, what is wrong?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Well done, rest. A cave is an opening in the mountain

They took refuge in a cave to spend the night in it and come out in the morning. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) intended to send a huge rock to the door of this cave

آووا إلى غار ليبيتوا فيه ويخرجوا في الصباح أراد الله عز وجل أن يرسل على باب هذا الغار صخرة عظيمة

meaning a large stone

They could not move it. So some of them said to others: Let us seek nearness to Allah (the Exalted) through our deeds

لا يستطيعون أن يزحزحوه فقال بعضهم لبعض نتوسل إلى الله تعالى بأعمالنا

because righteous deeds save a person in times of hardship. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Abdullah ibn Abbas in what he advised him:

Know Allah in times of ease

تعرف إلى الله في الرخاء

What?

He will know you in times of hardship

يعرفك في الشدة

One of them mentioned his dutifulness to his parents, great dutifulness to his parents. He mentioned

That he had two elderly parents

أن له أبوين شيخين كبيرين

"parents" means what? Does one have two parents? What? A father and a mother, but the fatherhood predominates because the father is male and the mother is female, and maleness predominates over femaleness. Fine.

Two elderly parents, two very old parents. And whenever he went out with the sheep and returned and milked, the first ones he gave to were his parents before his family and children. He says: So one day he took me far away seeking wood

أبوين كبيرين شيخين كبيرين وكان إذا سرح بالغنم ورجع وحلب أول من يعطي أبويه قبل أهله وأولاده يقول فنأى بي يوما طلب الشجر

"He took me far away" means he distanced me. There was no pasture around him, so he went further.

And he was delayed. When he came to his place, he milked the milk and found his parents sleeping

وتأخر لما قدم إلى مكانه حلب الحليب فوجد أبويه نائمين

Why? Because he was delayed, so they slept.

So he placed the vessel in his hand and did not wake them

فجعل الإناء على يده ولم يوقظهما

So as not to upset them.

He placed the vessel in his hand until dawn broke, and the children were around him crying from hunger

جعل الإناء على يده حتى طلع الفجر والصبية حوله يتضاغون من الجوع

But no one is to be placed before the parents in terms of great dutifulness.

until they stood up and drank, and then he gave the children to drink

حتى قاما وشربا ثم سقى الصبية

This is a righteous deed. He said:

O Allah! If I did that for Your Sake only, please relieve us from the present calamity.

اللهم إن كنت فعلت ذلك ابتغاء وجهك فافرج عنا ما نحن فيه

Sahih al-Bukhari 2272

Look, Allah is the Greatest. Sincerity is important.

If I did that seeking Your face, then turn away from us and relieve us from what we are in. The rock split open, but they could barely get out

إن كنت فعلت ذلك ابتغاء وجهك فاصرف عنا فافرج عنا ما نحن فيه انفرجت الصخرة لكن قليلا ما يستطيعون الخروج

The second mentioned, for example, the utmost in chastity. You are with us, pay attention. No, no, no, you are not standing up. You are present.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : No, no, I am saying you are present, or not? I do not want you to narrate to us. Are you present or not? Are you present, or is your heart elsewhere? You are present. Fine.
The second gave an example of extreme chastity.

He had a cousin’s daughter, and he loved her intensely. He would try to seduce her, but she would refuse. One day, necessity forced her hand, and she came to him to ask for his help. He refused to help her unless she allowed him to have her, but she refused. Her need grew more severe, so she came to him and agreed to let him have her

كان له بنت عم وكان يحبها حبا شديدا وكان يراودها عن نفسها وتأبى فألجأتها الحاجة ذات يوم وجاءت إليه تطلبه حاجة فأبى عليها إلا أن تمكنه من نفسها فأبت فاشتدت بها الحاجة فجاءت اليه ووافقت على أن تمكنه من نفسها

Stay with me, walking with me. Fine. Did you agree? Why? For the necessity of dire need. He says:

When she sat in the position of a wife with him, she said to him: Fear Allah, and do not break the seal except with its right

فلما جلست منها مجلس الرجل من امرأته قالت له : اتق الله ولا تفض الخاتم إلا بحقه

A word that makes the skin shiver.

Fear Allah, and do not break the seal except with its right. He said: So I got up from her, and although she was the most beloved of people to me

اتق الله ولا تفض الخاتم إلا بحقه يقول :فقمت منها وإنها لأحب الناس إلي

But what prevented him? The fear of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) that he would break the seal of this woman, and he gave her what she asked for. This, my brothers, is extreme chastity. He said:

O Allah! If I did that for Your Sake only, please relieve us from the present calamity.

اللهم إن كنت فعلت ذلك ابتغاء وجهك فافرج عنا ما نحن فيه

Sahih al-Bukhari 2272

So the rock split open, but they could not, they could not get out. And what remains? The third gave an example of extreme trustworthiness.

He hired people and paid them their wages, except for one who did not take his wage

استأجر أناسا فأعطاهم أجورهم إلا واحدا لم يأخذ أجره

The wage, what is the wage? This is dirhams, meaning he hired them to do work for him and gave them their wages, except for one whom he did not pay. What did the man do?

He began to trade with the worker’s wage, trading with it until he had a valley of cattle, sheep, and slaves

صار يتجر بأجرة العامل اتجر بها حتى كان عنده واد من البقر والغنم والرقيق

Glory be to Allah. Is he trading with it for himself or for the worker? For the worker, seeking the Face of Allah. And for this reason, Allah blessed his effort. So the worker came after to demand his right. He said:

Everything you see of sheep, camels, and slaves is yours. He said: O man, fear Allah and do not mock me, do not mock me

كل ما ترى من الغنم والإبل والرقيق لك قال يا رجل اتق الله ولا تستهزئ بي ولا تستهزئ بي

Because your wage was what? Very little, a few dirhams, but this is all for him.

Fear Allah and do not mock me. He said: No, I am not mocking you. This is your wage, and it has grown until it became this. So he drove away what he saw. Then he said: O Allah, if I did that for Your sake, then relieve us from what we are in. The rock split open until they walked out

اتق الله لا تستهزئ قال لا ما أستهزئ بك هذا أجرك قد نما حتى صار إلى هذا فاستاق ما رأى فقال : اللهم إن كنت فعلت ذلك من أجلك فافرج عنا ما نحن فيه فانفرجت الصخرة حتى خرجوا يمشون

Allah is the Greatest. Do you know that if you know Allah in times of ease, He will know you in times of hardship? O Allah, make us known to You in times of hardship. O Allah, make us known to You in times of hardship, and make our ending good, O Lord of the worlds.

Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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