Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) narrated from his father Imam Baqir (peace be upon him), and he from his father Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him), that when Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari conveyed the message of his grandfather the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) to his son al-Baqir (peace be upon him), Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon him) said to him: "O Jabir, were you present at the hadith of my grandfather the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) on the day of the cave?" Jabir said: "No, O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)!" He said: "Then I shall tell you, O Jabir!" He said: "May I be your ransom, tell me, for indeed I hear it from your grandfather." He said: "When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) fled from the polytheists of Quraysh to the cave — when they had attacked his house to kill him and said, 'Go to his bed so that we may kill him in it' — the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) had said to the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him): 'O my brother! Indeed the polytheists of Quraysh will attack me suddenly tonight and go to my bed. O Ali, what will you do?' The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said to him: 'I [O Messenger of Allah] will sleep in your bed, and let Khadija (peace be upon her) remain in a corner of the house. You go out and remain in Allah's protection so that your life is preserved and you are safe.' The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'May I be your ransom [O Abul Hasan]! Prepare my she-camel al-Adba' for me so I may mount her and flee from the polytheists of Quraysh towards Allah, and do whatever you see fit, and Allah is my successor over you and over Khadija (peace be upon her).' The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) came out, mounted the camel, and set off, and Jibril came to meet him and said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Indeed Allah has commanded me to accompany you on your journey and in the cave which you will enter, and to return with you to Madina, until you make your camel kneel at the door of the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari.' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) set off. On the way he met Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr said: 'O Messenger of Allah, may I come with you?' He said: 'Woe to you, I do not want anyone to notice me.' He said: 'O Messenger of Allah! I fear the polytheists will make me swear an oath about meeting you, and I will be forced to tell them the truth.' The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) said to him: 'Woe to you [Abu Bakr], would you do that?' He said: 'By Allah, yes, so that I am not killed; and if I swear falsely I will break that oath.' The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'Woe to you [O Abu Bakr], your accompanying me will not benefit you.' Abu Bakr said to him: 'But you may be deceiving me, and you fear that I will guide the polytheists to you.' He said to him: 'If you wish, come along.' When they reached the cave, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) dismounted from his she-camel al-Adba' and made her stop before the entrance of the cave, and he entered together with Jibril and Abu Bakr. Khadija (peace be upon her) was in a corner of the house weeping over the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was sleeping on the bed of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) in order to sacrifice himself for him. The polytheists came to the house at night, climbed over the wall and entered, and went towards the bed of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and found that the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was lying on it. They roused him and said: 'O son of Abu Kabsha! Your sorcery, soothsaying and the service of jinn to you have not benefited you. Today we will quench our weapons with your blood.' The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) pushed their hands away from himself, sat up in the bed, and said: '[O polytheists of Quraysh]! What is the matter with you? I am Ali ibn Abi Talib!' They said to him: 'Then where is Muhammad, O Ali?' He said: 'Wherever Allah wills.' They said: 'Who is in the house?' He said: 'Khadija (peace be upon her).' They said: '[Khadija (peace be upon her)] was a noble beloved woman, were she not the wife of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family). O Ali, by al-Lat and al-Uzza, were it not for the sanctity of your father Abu Talib and his great standing in Quraysh, we would have plunged our swords into you.' The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said: 'O polytheists of Quraysh! Indeed your great number has deceived you. By the Splitter of the seed and the Fashioner of souls, nothing happens except what Allah wills, and if I wished to destroy your assembly, that would be easier for me than the moths of a lamp — for there is nothing weaker than them.' The polytheists laughed mockingly and said to one another: 'Leave Ali out of respect for his father's sanctity, and go in pursuit of Muhammad.' Meanwhile the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was in the cave, with Jibril and Abu Bakr with him. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was worried about Ali (peace be upon him) and Khadija (peace be upon her). Jibril said: 'لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللهَ مَعَنَا [Grieve not, indeed Allah is with us].' Then the veil was lifted before him and he saw Ali (peace be upon him) and Khadija (peace be upon her), and he also saw the ship of Jafar ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) and his companions moving upon the sea. So Allah sent down His "sakina" (tranquillity) upon His Prophet, and the sight of Ali (peace be upon him) and Khadija (peace be upon her) removed his worry about them, and Allah the Blessed and Exalted revealed this verse: ثَانِیَ اثْنَیْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِی الْغَارِ [being the second of the two, when they were both in the cave] — and what He meant [by "the two"] was [Jibril]; إِذْ یَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللهَ مَعَنَا فَأَنْزَلَ اللهُ سَکِینَتَهُ عَلَیْهِ [when he said to his companion: Grieve not, indeed Allah is with us; so Allah sent down His tranquillity upon him]... And if it were Abu Bakr who felt worried, then he would have been more deserving of being given tranquillity than the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), [he should have been given tranquillity instead of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)] if the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) did not feel worry. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said to Abu Bakr: 'O Abu Bakr, indeed I see Ali (peace be upon him) and Khadija (peace be upon her), and the polytheists of Quraysh and their conversation, and the ship of Jafar ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) and his companions moving upon the sea, and I see the company of the Ansar showing joy in Madina.' Abu Bakr said: '[O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)], [do] you see them on this night and at this hour, while you are in the cave and in this darkness, and the distance between you and them is (the same distance as) Madina from Makka?!' The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: '[O Abu Bakr] indeed I will show you so that you may believe.' And he passed his hand over his eyes, then said: '[O Abu Bakr] look at the polytheists of Quraysh, and at my brother who is in my bed and his conversation with them, and Khadija (peace be upon her) in the corner of the house, and look at the ship of Jafar (may Allah have mercy on him) which is moving upon the sea.' Abu Bakr looked at all these scenes and fell into intense terror and fear, and said: 'O Messenger of Allah! I cannot bear to look at what I have seen. So return my veil to me.' The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) passed his hand over his eyes, and thus he was veiled from what the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) had shown him. The polytheists set off in pursuit of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) until they reached the entrance of the cave. Allah made the camel disappear from their sight and they did not see it, and they said: 'This is the footprint of the camel of Muhammad and the place where it knelt at the entrance of the cave.' So they entered, and at the entrance of the cave they saw a spider's web that had cast its shade over it. They said: 'Do you not see the web of this spider at the entrance of the cave — so how could Muhammad have entered it?!' So Allah kept them away from him and they turned back. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) came out of the cave and migrated to Madina, and Abu Bakr came out and informed the polytheists of his story with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and said to them: 'You cannot contend with the sorcery of Muhammad,' along with stories whose explanation would be long." Jabir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "[O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)]! By Allah, thus did your grandfather the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) tell it to me, without adding or omitting even a single letter."