To the Cave of Thawr
Meanwhile, the Noble Prophet ﷺ said to Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه:
«“Sleep on my bed and cover yourself with my Yemeni cloak.”»
Then, reassuring Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه, the Prophet ﷺ said:
«“Nothing unpleasant will happen to you.”»
Among the group of polytheists who had surrounded the house of the Prophet ﷺ were Hakim ibn Abi al-‘As, ‘Uqbah ibn Abi Mu‘ayt, Nasr ibn al-Harith, Asid ibn Khalaf, Zum‘ah ibn al-Aswad, and Abu Jahl as well. At that time, Abu Jahl was saying quietly to his companions:
«“Muhammad ﷺ says that if you accept his religion, you will gain the kingdom of the Arabs and the non-Arabs, and after death you will be given life again. There, you will have such gardens as the gardens of Jordan. But if you do not follow me, you will all be destroyed. When you are brought back to life after death, the Fire of Hell will be prepared for you, and you will be burned in it.”»
The Noble Prophet ﷺ heard these words. As he came out of the house, he said:
«“Yes! I certainly say this.”»
After that, the Prophet ﷺ took some soil in his fist and recited these verses:
Translation:
“Ya-Sin. By the Wise Qur’an, indeed you are surely among the Messengers, upon a straight path. This Qur’an has been sent down by the Almighty, the Most Merciful, so that you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, and therefore they are unaware. The word has already proved true against most of them, so they will not believe. Indeed, We have placed shackles around their necks, reaching up to their chins, leaving their heads raised. And We have placed a barrier before them and a barrier behind them, and We have covered them, so they cannot see.”
These are the translations of verses 1 to 9 of Surah Ya-Sin. Through the blessing of these verses, Allah Almighty temporarily blinded the disbelievers. They could not see the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passing in front of them.
The soil that the Prophet ﷺ had thrown fell upon the heads of all of them. Not a single person among them remained without soil falling upon him.
When the Quraysh came to know that the Prophet ﷺ had gone after throwing dust upon their heads, they all entered the house. Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه was sleeping on the bed of the Prophet ﷺ, covered with his cloak. Seeing this, they said:
«“By Allah, he is sleeping here covered with his cloak.”»
But when they turned the cloak over, they saw Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه on the bed. The polytheists were astonished. They asked Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه:
«“Where is your companion?”»
But he did not tell them anything. So they brought Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه outside while beating him and took him as far as Masjid al-Haram. They detained him there for some time and then released him.
Now the Prophet ﷺ had to set out on the journey of migration. He asked Hazrat Jibril عليه السلام:
«“Who will be the other person migrating with me?”»
In reply, Hazrat Jibril عليه السلام said:
«“Abu Bakr Siddiq will be.”»
At that time, the Prophet ﷺ was still wearing his cloak. In this condition, he reached the house of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنه. He knocked at the door, and Hazrat Asma رضي الله عنها opened it. Seeing the Prophet ﷺ, she informed her father, Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنه, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had arrived and was wearing a cloak.
As soon as he heard this, Abu Bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنه said:
«“By Allah! At this time, he must have come for some special matter.”»
Then he seated the Prophet ﷺ on his cot. The Prophet ﷺ said:
«“Ask the other people to leave here.”»
Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنه respectfully said in surprise:
«“O Messenger of Allah! These are all my family members.”»
The Prophet ﷺ then said:
«“I have been granted permission to migrate.”»
Abu Bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنه immediately exclaimed:
«“May my parents be sacrificed for you! Will I go with you?”»
In reply, the Prophet ﷺ said:
«“Yes! You will go with me.”»
Hearing this, Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنه began to weep out of happiness. Hazrat ‘Aishah Siddiqah رضي الله عنها says:
«“When I saw my father crying, I was astonished, because until that time I did not know that a person could also cry because of happiness.”»
Then Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنه said:
«“O Messenger of Allah! May my parents be sacrificed for you! Please take one of these two she-camels. I have prepared them especially for this journey.”»
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«“I can take it by paying its price.”»
Hearing this, Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنه began to cry and said:
«“O Messenger of Allah! May my parents be sacrificed for you! I and all my wealth belong to you.”»
The Prophet ﷺ took one of the she-camels.
Some narrations mention that the Prophet ﷺ paid the price of the she-camel. Its name was Qaswa. It remained with the Prophet ﷺ until his death. It died during the caliphate of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنه.
Sayyidah ‘Aishah Siddiqah رضي الله عنها says that we quickly prepared both she-camels for the journey. We placed provisions of food and drink in a leather bag. Hazrat Asma رضي الله عنها tore her cloak into two pieces. With one piece, she tied the food bag, and with the other piece, she tied the opening of the water container.
The Prophet ﷺ said to her:
«“In place of this cloak of yours, Allah Almighty will give you two cloaks in Paradise.”»
Because Hazrat Asma رضي الله عنها tore her cloak into two pieces and used them for the journey, she was given the title Dhat an-Nitaqayn, meaning “the woman with two waist-cloths.”
It should be remembered that nitaq refers to the cloth or wrap that Arab women would tie around their waists while working.
Then, at night, the Prophet ﷺ set out with Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنه and reached the vicinity of Mount Thawr.
During the journey, sometimes Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنه would walk ahead of the Prophet ﷺ, and sometimes he would walk behind him. The Prophet ﷺ asked:
«“Abu Bakr, why are you doing this?”»
He replied:
«“O Messenger of Allah! I am worried that someone might be hiding in ambush for you somewhere along the way.”»
There was a cave in this mountain. When both of them reached the entrance of the cave, Hazrat Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه said:
«“By the One Who sent you with the truth, please wait here! I will enter the cave first. If there is any harmful creature inside the cave, it might cause you some harm.”»
Accordingly, Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنه entered the cave. He began examining the cave by feeling around with his hands. Whenever he found a hole, he would tear off a piece of his cloak and block it.