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PROVISION FROM ALLAH

519

“The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, sent the Companions out under the leadership of Abu Ubaidah to an encounter with a Korayshi caravan.

Their provisions were a leather bag containing dried dates and nothing else. Abu Ubaidah gave them each one date a day. Jabir was asked: ‘How did you manage.’ He replied: ‘We sucked it in the way a child would and then drank some water afterwards. This kept us going until night. We would also pull down leaves from the trees with our staffs, dip them in water and eat them.

When we reached the coast we saw something that resembled a sand dune stretched out on the beach. We approached it and found it was a whale. Abu Ubaidah said: ‘This is carrion, we cannot eat it because it is forbidden.’ But upon reflection he added: ‘We have been sent by the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, and are engaged in the cause of Allah. We have been driven by necessity, therefore it is lawful for us to eat it.’ There were three hundred of us and we lived from it for a month and gained weight. We extracted skinfuls of oil through its eyes, and carved out pieces of meat as large as an ox.

On one occasion Abu Ubaidah told thirteen of us to sit in the socket of its eye. He took one of its ribs and stood it up and made our tallest camel walk under it. When we left we took large pieces of boiled meat with us for our provision. Upon our return to Medina we presented ourselves before the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, and told him about the whale. He said: ‘That was a provision sent to you by Allah. Have you any of its meat to give to us so that we may eat?’ So we sent some of it to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, and he ate from it.’"

Muslim with a chain up to Jabir, the son of Abdullah who related this hadith.