His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "If you do not support him, Allah has supported him when those who disbelieved drove him out, being the second of two, when they were in the cave, when he said to his companion, 'Do not grieve, indeed Allah is with us.' So Allah sent down His tranquility upon him and supported him with armies you did not see, and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the word of Allah is the highest. And Allah is Exalted in Might, Wise." This is also a condition and a response, and the response is in the 'fa' of His saying: 'Indeed' and in what follows. Al-Naqqash said: This is the first verse revealed from Surah At-Tawbah. The meaning of the verse is: If you leave supporting him, Allah is responsible for him, as He has supported him in a situation of fewness and isolation and the abundance of the enemy. Therefore, His support for him today is more certain than it was then. And His saying: "When those who disbelieved drove him out" means: they committed acts that led to his being driven out, and He attributed the driving out to them as the intended purpose is to blame them. And since Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith's intention was pride in his saying: 'Whoever I drove out, I drove out every outcast,' the Prophet did not confirm him. The reference is to the Messenger of Allah's migration from Makkah to Madinah, and with him was Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him. The summary of the story is that the Messenger of Allah was waiting for Allah's command, exalted and majestic is He, regarding the migration from Makkah. And when Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, left the protection of Ibn al-Dughunnah, he intended to leave Makkah. The Messenger of Allah said to him: 'Be patient, perhaps Allah will make it easy in companionship.' When Allah permitted His Messenger to leave, he prepared from the house of Abu Bakr and they both left. They remained in the cave on Mount Thawr, west of Makkah, for three nights. The polytheists went out in pursuit of them until they reached the cave, and their trace was concealed from them. Abu Bakr said to the Prophet: 'If one of them were to look at his feet, he would see us.' The Prophet said to him: 'What do you think of two, Allah is their third?' It is narrated that a spider wove a web at the entrance of the cave, and it is narrated that a dove nested at the entrance of the cave. It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah commanded Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, to place a cover at the entrance of the cave, so the polytheists imagined it was vegetation, and Allah diverted them from it. It is mentioned in 'Al-Dala'il' in the hadith of the Prophet that a plant grew at the entrance of the cave, which Allah commanded at that time. Al-Asma'i said: Its plural is 'ra' and it is from the vegetation of the plain.

It is narrated that Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, when he entered the cave, tore his garment and used it to block the opening of the cave so that no animal would harm the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. It is also narrated that one opening remained, so he blocked it with his foot, and Allah, the Exalted, protected them. And 'Amir ibn Fuhairah, the freedman of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, would bring them milk. And His saying: ﴿Second of two﴾ means: one of two. This is like saying third of three and fourth of four. If the wording differs, and you say: 'fourth of three,' the meaning is: he made the three by himself four. The majority of people read: 'Second of two' with the 'ya' of 'second' being in the accusative case. Abu Hatim said: nothing else is known. A group read: 'Second of two' with the 'ya' of 'second' being silent. Abu al-Fath said: Abu Amr ibn al-Ala narrated it, and his reasoning is that he made the 'ya' silent likening it to the 'alif.'

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is like the reading: 'What remains of usury' and like the saying of Jarir:

He is the caliph, so be pleased with what He has pleased for you ∗∗∗ The past of determination has no deviation in its ruling.

And his companion Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, it is narrated that one day while he was on the pulpit, he said: Which of you memorizes Surah At-Tawbah? A man said: I do. He said: Recite. So he recited, and when he reached the saying of Allah, the Exalted: ﴿When he says to his companion: 'Do not grieve, indeed Allah is with us'﴾ he cried and said: I swear by Allah, I am his companion. And Al-Layth said: No one accompanied the Prophets like Abu Bakr As-Siddiq. And Sufyan ibn Uyaynah said: Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, emerged from this verse of admonition which is in the saying of Allah, the Exalted: ﴿If you do not aid him﴾.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: I say: Rather, everyone who witnessed the Battle of Tabuk and did not lag behind has emerged from it. The admonition is only for those who lagged behind. However, this verse is an indication of Abu Bakr, ruling in his precedence and superiority in Islam, may Allah be pleased with him.

And His saying: ﴿Indeed Allah is with us﴾ means by it victory, salvation, and kindness. And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿So Allah sent down His tranquility upon him﴾, the verse, Habib ibn Abi Thabit said: The pronoun in 'upon him' refers to Abu Bakr because the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, remained calm and assured in trust in Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And this is the saying of one who does not see tranquility except as the stillness of the soul and the calmness. The majority of the people said: The pronoun refers back to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and this is stronger. Tranquility, in my view, is what Allah sends down upon His Prophets as protection for them and the special qualities that are only suitable for them, like His saying, 'In it is tranquility from your Lord' [Al-Baqarah: 248]. It is possible that His saying, 'So Allah sent down His tranquility' until the end of the verse refers to what Allah did for His Prophet until the time of Tabuk, from victories and conquests, not that this verse is specific to the story of the cave and the escape to the city. Based on this, the angelic armies that descended at Badr and Hunayn would be included. Whoever sees that the verse is specific to that story said: The armies are angels who brought him the news of safety and that the disbelievers would not succeed in their efforts. In the Mushaf of Hafsah, may Allah be pleased with her, it is written: 'So Allah sent down His tranquility upon them and supported them.' Mujahid read: 'and supported him' with two alifs, while the majority read: 'and supported him' with the emphasis on the yaa.

And His saying, 'And made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest' means by its humiliation, refutation, and disgrace, 'and the word of Allah is the highest.' It was said: He means: 'There is no deity but Allah,' and it was said: the entire Shari'ah. The majority of the people read: 'And the word' in the nominative as a beginning. Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan and Ya'qub read: 'And the word' in the accusative, on the assumption of: 'And made the word.' Al-Amash said: I saw in the Mushaf of Anas ibn Malik attributed to Ubayy ibn Ka'b: 'And made His word the highest.'