Why did Allah Almighty not say: "Then Allah sent down His tranquility upon both of them," in the verse: "If you do not support him - then Allah has already supported him when those who disbelieved expelled him, he being the second of two; when they were in the cave and he said to his companion, "Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us." And Allah sent down His tranquility upon him and supported him with forces you did not see and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the word of Allah - that is the highest. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise"?

The verse speaks about the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and the pronoun in "upon him and strengthened him" refers back to him. This is the opinion of many scholars and was favored by Ibn Ashour. However, Al-Razi and Abu Hayyan preferred the pronoun to refer back to Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him. It is also possible that the pronoun refers to both of them, and it was singularized due to their close companionship. What supports this interpretation is what is found in Hafsa's Mushaf: "So Allah sent down His tranquility upon them both and strengthened them both." Ibn al-Jawzi mentioned the three opinions, attributing the third opinion to Ibn al-Anbari.