Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 2272
sahih

Narrated `Abdullah bin `Umar:

I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying, "Three men from among those who were before you, set out together till they reached a cave at night and entered it. A big rock rolled down the mountain and closed the mouth of the cave. They said (to each other), Nothing could save you from this rock but to invoke Allah by giving reference to the righteous deed which you have done (for Allah's sake only).' So, one of them said, 'O Allah! I had old parents and I never provided my family (wife, children etc.) with milk before them. One day, by chance I was delayed, and I came late (at night) while they had slept. I milked the sheep for them and took the milk to them, but I found them sleeping. I disliked to provide my family with the milk before them. I waited for them and the bowl of milk was in my hand and I kept on waiting for them to get up till the day dawned. Then they got up and drank the milk. O Allah! If I did that for Your Sake only, please relieve us from our critical situation caused by this rock.' So, the rock shifted a little but they could not get out." The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "The second man said, 'O Allah! I had a cousin who was the dearest of all people to me and I wanted to have sexual relations with her but she refused. Later she had a hard time in a famine year and she came to me and I gave her one-hundred-and-twenty Dinars on the condition that she would not resist my desire, and she agreed. When I was about to fulfill my desire, she said: It is illegal for you to outrage my chastity except by legitimate marriage. So, I thought it a sin to have sexual intercourse with her and left her though she was the dearest of all the people to me, and also I left the gold I had given her. O Allah! If I did that for Your Sake only, please relieve us from the present calamity.' So, the rock shifted a little more but still they could not get out from there." The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "Then the third man said, 'O Allah! I employed few laborers and I paid them their wages with the exception of one man who did not take his wages and went away. I invested his wages and I got much property thereby. (Then after some time) he came and said to me: O Allah's slave! Pay me my wages. I said to him: All the camels, cows, sheep and slaves you see, are yours. He said: O Allah's slave! Don't mock at me. I said: I am not mocking at you. So, he took all the herd and drove them away and left nothing. O Allah! If I did that for Your Sake only, please relieve us from the present suffering.' So, that rock shifted completely and they got out walking.

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْيَمَانِ، أَخْبَرَنَا شُعَيْبٌ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، حَدَّثَنِي سَالِمُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، أَنَّ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏"‏ انْطَلَقَ ثَلاَثَةُ رَهْطٍ مِمَّنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ حَتَّى أَوَوُا الْمَبِيتَ إِلَى غَارٍ فَدَخَلُوهُ، فَانْحَدَرَتْ صَخْرَةٌ مِنَ الْجَبَلِ فَسَدَّتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْغَارَ فَقَالُوا إِنَّهُ لاَ يُنْجِيكُمْ مِنْ هَذِهِ الصَّخْرَةِ إِلاَّ أَنْ تَدْعُوا اللَّهَ بِصَالِحِ أَعْمَالِكُمْ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنْهُمُ اللَّهُمَّ كَانَ لِي أَبَوَانِ شَيْخَانِ كَبِيرَانِ، وَكُنْتُ لاَ أَغْبِقُ قَبْلَهُمَا أَهْلاً وَلاَ مَالاً، فَنَأَى بِي فِي طَلَبِ شَىْءٍ يَوْمًا، فَلَمْ أُرِحْ عَلَيْهِمَا حَتَّى نَامَا، فَحَلَبْتُ لَهُمَا غَبُوقَهُمَا فَوَجَدْتُهُمَا نَائِمَيْنِ وَكَرِهْتُ أَنْ أَغْبِقَ قَبْلَهُمَا أَهْلاً أَوْ مَالاً، فَلَبِثْتُ وَالْقَدَحُ عَلَى يَدَىَّ أَنْتَظِرُ اسْتِيقَاظَهُمَا حَتَّى بَرَقَ الْفَجْرُ، فَاسْتَيْقَظَا فَشَرِبَا غَبُوقَهُمَا، اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتُ فَعَلْتُ ذَلِكَ ابْتِغَاءَ وَجْهِكَ فَفَرِّجْ عَنَّا مَا نَحْنُ فِيهِ مِنْ هَذِهِ الصَّخْرَةِ، فَانْفَرَجَتْ شَيْئًا لاَ يَسْتَطِيعُونَ الْخُرُوجَ ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ وَقَالَ الآخَرُ اللَّهُمَّ كَانَتْ لِي بِنْتُ عَمٍّ كَانَتْ أَحَبَّ النَّاسِ إِلَىَّ، فَأَرَدْتُهَا عَنْ نَفْسِهَا، فَامْتَنَعَتْ مِنِّي حَتَّى أَلَمَّتْ بِهَا سَنَةٌ مِنَ السِّنِينَ، فَجَاءَتْنِي فَأَعْطَيْتُهَا عِشْرِينَ وَمِائَةَ دِينَارٍ عَلَى أَنْ تُخَلِّيَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ نَفْسِهَا، فَفَعَلَتْ حَتَّى إِذَا قَدَرْتُ عَلَيْهَا قَالَتْ لاَ أُحِلُّ لَكَ أَنْ تَفُضَّ الْخَاتَمَ إِلاَّ بِحَقِّهِ‏.‏ فَتَحَرَّجْتُ مِنَ الْوُقُوعِ عَلَيْهَا، فَانْصَرَفْتُ عَنْهَا وَهْىَ أَحَبُّ النَّاسِ إِلَىَّ وَتَرَكْتُ الذَّهَبَ الَّذِي أَعْطَيْتُهَا، اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتُ فَعَلْتُ ذَلِكَ ابْتِغَاءَ وَجْهِكَ فَافْرُجْ عَنَّا مَا نَحْنُ فِيهِ‏.‏ فَانْفَرَجَتِ الصَّخْرَةُ، غَيْرَ أَنَّهُمْ لاَ يَسْتَطِيعُونَ الْخُرُوجَ مِنْهَا‏.‏ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَقَالَ الثَّالِثُ اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي اسْتَأْجَرْتُ أُجَرَاءَ فَأَعْطَيْتُهُمْ أَجْرَهُمْ، غَيْرَ رَجُلٍ وَاحِدٍ تَرَكَ الَّذِي لَهُ وَذَهَبَ فَثَمَّرْتُ أَجْرَهُ حَتَّى كَثُرَتْ مِنْهُ الأَمْوَالُ، فَجَاءَنِي بَعْدَ حِينٍ فَقَالَ يَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ أَدِّ إِلَىَّ أَجْرِي‏.‏ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ كُلُّ مَا تَرَى مِنْ أَجْرِكَ مِنَ الإِبِلِ وَالْبَقَرِ وَالْغَنَمِ وَالرَّقِيقِ‏.‏ فَقَالَ يَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ لاَ تَسْتَهْزِئْ بِي‏.‏ فَقُلْتُ إِنِّي لاَ أَسْتَهْزِئُ بِكَ‏.‏ فَأَخَذَهُ كُلَّهُ فَاسْتَاقَهُ فَلَمْ يَتْرُكْ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا، اللَّهُمَّ فَإِنْ كُنْتُ فَعَلْتُ ذَلِكَ ابْتِغَاءَ وَجْهِكَ فَافْرُجْ عَنَّا مَا نَحْنُ فِيهِ‏.‏ فَانْفَرَجَتِ الصَّخْرَةُ فَخَرَجُوا يَمْشُونَ ‏"‏‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 37, Hadith 12
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 3, Book 36, Hadith 472 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
Imploring Allah, Exalted is He, by virtue of one’s good deeds that were devoted exclusively to Him is a way to have all one’s distress and calamities relieved. In this hadeeth, the Prophet ﷺ related that three men, who belonged to the previous nations, set out on a journey. The Arabic word used in the hadeeth is ‘Raht’ which literally means a group of men whose number is below ten. They sought shelter in a cave to spend their night. The version recorded in Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree and Saheeh Muslim stated that they entered it because of the rain. A big rock rolled down the mountain and blocked the mouth of the cave, and they were trapped inside. They said (to each other), ‘Nothing could save you from this rock but to invoke Allah, Exalted is He, by virtue of a righteous deed that you have done (and devoted exclusively to Him),' to ensure that your supplications would be most likely answered and the rock would be moved. “One of them said, 'O Allah! I had old parents and I never served milk to my own dependents before them,’ meaning he never served the milk at night to anyone else before them, not even his own family, and this indicated his dutifulness towards them, putting them before his own family and children. He added that he came back once late due to some needs to find his parents asleep. He prepared the milk that they usually drank before going to bed, but when he went home, he found them asleep; he disliked breaking his habit of serving them the milk first. Therefore, he did not drink milk that night nor did he serve it to his family. He said: ‘I waited for them holding the bowl of milk in my hand, and I kept on waiting for them to get up till the day dawned,’ he did not wake them up and chose to stay up all night until they woke up on their own. He said: “O Allah! If I did that for Your Sake only, I implore you to relieve us of our calamity caused by this rock,’ and grant us a way out of this cave. The Prophet ﷺ stated that the rock shifted a little but they could not get out. The second man said, 'O Allah! I had a cousin who was the most beloved of all people to me and I wanted to have illicit sexual intercourse with her but she refused. Later on, she had a hard time during a year of famine and came to me (for help). I gave her one hundred and twenty Dinars on the condition that she would not resist my desire (i.e., agree to have intercourse with me), and she complied. When I was about to approach her, she said: ‘O Servant of Allah! Fear Allah,’ as recorded in Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree and Saheeh Muslim. In this version, she said: ‘It is unlawful to deflower me except rightfully (by marriage),’ reminding him of Allah, Exalted is He, and urging him to fear Him. She asked him to keep away from her and not to have illicit intercourse with her and deflower her without marriage that Allah has deemed lawful. Thereupon, he did not touch her as she reminded him of the right of Allah. The man said: “So, I refrained from committing that sin (of Fornication) and left her though she was the most beloved of all the people to me,” and this indicated that his deep love for her would most likely drive him to have intercourse with her, yet he refrained from falling into this sin and left the money he had given her. He added: “O Allah! If I did that for Your Sake only, I implore you to relieve us of our present calamity.' The Prophet ﷺ stated that the rock shifted a little more but still they could not get out from there. The Prophet ﷺ added, "Then the third man said, 'O Allah! I employed a few laborers and I paid them their wages with the exception of one man who did not take his wages and went away. I invested his wages,’ meaning in trade, ‘and I earned great wealth thereby. (Then after some time) he came and,asked for his wages. He said to him: ‘All the camels, cows, sheep and slaves you see, are yours. He (the hired worker) said: ‘O Allah's slave! Do not mock me,’ as he could not believe that his wages would have generated such great wealth. The employer said: ‘I am not mocking you.’ The hired worker took all the wealth and drove them away and left nothing, and this indicates that the employer did not covet any of his wealth, and did not even aspire to a reward or compensation for investing his wages on his behalf. He said: “O Allah! If I did that for Your Sake only, I implore you to relieve us of this suffering.' Afterward, the Prophet ﷺ stated that rock shifted completely and they got out walking. It is deduced from the hadeeth that it is permissible to implore Allah, The Exalted, by virtue of one’s good deeds. It also highlights the virtue of sincerity and devoting one’s intentions and deeds exclusively to Allah, Exalted is He. It also underlines the merits of showing dutifulness towards the parents, and the virtues of giving preference to them over all one’s family members and relatives. It also underscores the virtue of abstaining from prohibitions, of mindfulness of Allah, Exalted is He, and of fearing Him. It also urges Muslims to do good to others without aspiring to a reward from them, and to beware of greed..
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