"One night, Quraish consulted together in Mecca. Some said they should tie him up (i.e., the Prophet) in the morning; others said they should rather kill him; and others said they should rather expel him. God informed His prophet about that, so `Ali spent that night on the Prophet's bed, and the Prophet went out till he came to the cave. The polytheists spent the night keeping guard on `Ali, thinking he was the Prophet, and in the morning, they rushed on him, but when they saw `Ali, God had turned away their guile. They asked, "Where is this companion of yours?" and he replied, "I do not know." They tracked him but when they reached the mountain his tracks became confused, so they went up the mountain and passed by the cave. They saw a spider's web at the entrance and said, "If he had entered here there would not have been a spider's web at the entrance." He stayed in it for three nights. Ahmad transmitted it.