When the Prophet (ﷺ) and Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) arrived at the cave in Jabal al-Thawr (Ghar al-Thawr), Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) entered first to clear away anything that might injure the Prophet (ﷺ). He found a few holes and stuffed them with pieces of cloth. The Prophet (ﷺ) then entered and went to sleep on Abu Bakr’s (رضي الله عنه) lap.
Suddenly, something stung Abu Bakr’s (رضي الله عنه) foot, but he did not twitch, fearing he would wake the Prophet (ﷺ). The pain was so intense that tears began to run down his cheeks and onto the Prophet’s (ﷺ) face. The Prophet (ﷺ) woke up and saw that Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) was in pain. He applied his spittle on the injury and the pain disappeared.
For three consecutive nights the Prophet (ﷺ) and Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) remained hidden in the cave. During this period, Abu Bakr’s (رضي الله عنه) son, Abdullah, would pass his nights nearby. The young man would return to Makkah very early in the morning so that the Quraysh had no idea that he had slept elsewhere. Each day in Makkah he collected information about the activities of the Quraysh, and each night went back to Jabal al-Thawr to inform the Prophet (ﷺ) and his father Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه).
Abu Bakr’s (رضي الله عنه) slave, Amir bin Fuhayra (رضي الله عنه), would graze Abu Bakr’s (رضي الله عنه) goats near the cave so that both men could drink fresh milk. Early the next morning Amir would drive the goats back to Makkah along the same route that Abu Bakr’s (رضي الله عنه) son took, to obscure his footprints.
