It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Three men set out (on a journey), and rain overtook them, so they took shelter in a cave. While they were inside it, a rock suddenly rolled down from the middle of the mountain and fell onto the mouth of the cave (blocking the way out).
The men said to one another: 'The rain has stopped, the tracks have been wiped out, and no one sees you except Allah. So let each one of you recall the best deed he has ever done, then supplicate to Allah by means of it.'
So one of them said: 'O Allah, if You know that I was dutiful to my parents, and that I used to bring them their evening milk and give it to them to drink (every day), and one night I brought them their milk and found that they had gone to their beds and fallen asleep, so I disliked waking them, and I also disliked going back (to drink it myself or give it to my family) before giving it to them; and that remained my state and theirs until dawn broke. So if You know that I did this only out of fear of You, then relieve us of this hardship.'" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "So the rock moved (a little) until light came in to them.
The second said: 'O Allah, I pursued a woman and was infatuated with her, and I spent my wealth on her, until, when I had her in my power and sat with her as a man sits with a woman, she said to me: "It is not lawful for you to break the seal (of chastity) except by its right (marriage)." So I got up and left her (out of fear of Allah). So if You know that I did this only out of fear of You, then remove this difficulty from us.' So the rock moved further, until, had the men wanted to get out, they could have got out.
Then the third said: 'O Allah, if You know that I hired some labourers, and they did a job for me, and I paid them their wages in full, except for one man who left his wage behind, until (from his money) the wealth grew many times over. Then he came some time later and asked for his wage, and I said to him: "Here, all that is before you is your full wage." So if You know that I did this out of fear of You, then deliver us from this.'" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "So the rock moved aside and rolled away, and they all went out embracing one another (in joy)."
Imam al-Tabarani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "No one narrated this hadith from Dawud bin Abi Hind except Abdullah bin Aradah, and Dahir bin Nuh is alone in narrating it."
Hadith Referenceالمعجم الأوسط / باب العين / 4597
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسناده ضعيف، والبلاء فيه من عبد الله بن عرادة
Hadith Takhrij«قال ابن عدي: عامة ما يرويه لا يتابع عليه «الكامل في الضعفاء، ج 5، ص 332»» «قال ابن عدي: ولم يكتب هذا الحديث إلا عن عبدان عن داهر وليس البلاء في هذا الحديث من أبي العالية ولا داود إنما البلاء من عبد الله بن عرادة «الكامل في الضعفاء، ج 4، ص 98»» «أخرجه ابن حبان فى «صحيحه» برقم: 971، والضياء المقدسي فى «الأحاديث المختارة» برقم: 2461، 2462، وأحمد فى «مسنده» برقم: 12649، 12650، 12651، والطيالسي فى «مسنده» برقم: 2126، وأبو يعلى فى «مسنده» برقم: 2937، 2938، والبزار فى «مسنده» برقم: 6685، 7189، 9498، 9556، والطبراني فى «الأوسط» برقم: 2454»