I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say: 'Three men from those before you set out, and night forced them to take shelter in a cave. They entered it.'
Then a rock fell down from the mountain and blocked the entrance of the cave.
They said: 'Nothing will save you from this rock except that you call upon Allah by mentioning your righteous deeds.'
One of them said: 'O Allah, I had elderly parents, and I never provided drink to my family or wealth before them.'
One day, I was delayed by seeking wood and did not return to them until they had fallen asleep. I milked their evening drink for them, but I found them asleep and disliked to wake them or to serve my family or wealth before them.
So I waited with the vessel in my hand until dawn broke, and the children were crying at my feet. They then awoke and drank their evening drink.
O Allah, if I did that seeking Your face, then relieve us from the situation we are in with this rock.
The rock then moved slightly, but they could not exit.
The other one said: 'O Allah, I had a cousin whom I loved most dearly.'
In a narration, I used to love her as intensely as men love women.
I returned her to her own custody, but she withheld herself from me until a year of the years befell her. Then she came to me and I gave her one hundred and twenty dinars on the condition that she relinquish between me and her self; she did so, until when I gained power over her.
In another version: 'When I sat between her legs, she said: Fear Allah and do not break the seal except with its due right. So I refrained from her though she was the most beloved to me, and I left the gold that I had given her.'
O Allah, if I did that seeking Your face, then relieve us from this situation we are trapped in. The rock moved slightly, but they still could not exit.
The third said: 'O Allah, I hired laborers and paid them their wages except for one man who left without taking his pay. I invested his wages until they multiplied into wealth.'
After some time, he returned to me and said: 'O Servant of Allah, return my wages to me.' I said: 'Look at everything you see; it is all from your wages: camels, cows, sheep, and servants.'
He said: 'O Servant of Allah, do not mock me!' I replied: 'I am not mocking you.' So he took everything and drove it all away, leaving nothing behind.
O Allah, if I did that seeking Your face, then relieve us from this situation we are in. The rock moved, and they exited, walking.
