Sahih Muslim Book - 34, Hadith - 4998

حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ يُونُسَ ، حَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرٌ ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الزُّبَيْرِ ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ (ح) وَحَدَّثَنَاهُ يَحْيَى بْنُ يَحْيَى ، أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو خَيْثَمَةَ ، عَنْ أَبِي الزُّبَيْرِ ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ ، قَالَ : بَعَثَنَا رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَأَمَّرَ عَلَيْنَا أَبَا عُبَيْدَةَ ، نَتَلَقَّى عِيرًا لِقُرَيْشٍ ، وَزَوَّدَنَا جِرَابًا مِنْ تَمْرٍ لَمْ يَجِدْ لَنَا غَيْرَهُ ، فَكَانَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ يُعْطِينَا تَمْرَةً تَمْرَةً ، قَالَ : فَقُلْتُ : كَيْفَ كُنْتُمْ تَصْنَعُونَ بِهَا ؟ قَالَ : نَمَصُّهَا كَمَا يَمَصُّ الصَّبِيُّ ، ثُمَّ نَشْرَبُ عَلَيْهَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ ، فَتَكْفِينَا يَوْمَنَا إِلَى اللَّيْلِ ، وَكُنَّا نَضْرِبُ بِعِصِيِّنَا الْخَبَطَ ، ثُمَّ نَبُلُّهُ بِالْمَاءِ فَنَأْكُلُهُ ، قَالَ : وَانْطَلَقْنَا عَلَى سَاحِلِ الْبَحْرِ ، فَرُفِعَ لَنَا عَلَى سَاحِلِ الْبَحْرِ كَهَيْئَةِ الْكَثِيبِ الضَّخْمِ ، فَأَتَيْنَاهُ فَإِذَا هِيَ دَابَّةٌ تُدْعَى الْعَنْبَرَ ، قَالَ : قَالَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ : مَيْتَةٌ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ : لاَ ، بَلْ نَحْنُ رُسُلُ رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ ، وَقَدِ اضْطُرِرْتُمْ فَكُلُوا ، قَالَ : فَأَقَمْنَا عَلَيْهِ شَهْرًا وَنَحْنُ ثَلاَثُ مِئَةٍ حَتَّى سَمِنَّا ، قَالَ : وَلَقَدْ رَأَيْتُنَا نَغْتَرِفُ مِنْ وَقْبِ عَيْنِهِ بِالْقِلاَلِ الدُّهْنَ ، وَنَقْتَطِعُ مِنْهُ الْفِدَرَ كَالثَّوْرِ ، أَوْ كَقَدْرِ الثَّوْرِ ، فَلَقَدْ أَخَذَ مِنَّا أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ ثَلاَثَةَ عَشَرَ رَجُلاً ، فَأَقْعَدَهُمْ فِي وَقْبِ عَيْنِهِ ، وَأَخَذَ ضِلَعًا مِنْ أَضْلاَعِهِ فَأَقَامَهَا ثُمَّ رَحَلَ أَعْظَمَ بَعِيرٍ مَعَنَا ، فَمَرَّ مِنْ تَحْتِهَا وَتَزَوَّدْنَا مِنْ لَحْمِهِ وَشَائِقَ ، فَلَمَّا قَدِمْنَا الْمَدِينَةَ أَتَيْنَا رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، فَذَكَرْنَا ذَلِكَ لَهُ ، فَقَالَ : هُوَ رِزْقٌ أَخْرَجَهُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ ، فَهَلْ مَعَكُمْ مِنْ لَحْمِهِ شَيْءٌ فَتُطْعِمُونَا ؟ قَالَ : فَأَرْسَلْنَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْهُ فَأَكَلَهُ.

It was narrated that Jabir said: "The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) sent us on an expedition and appointed Abu 'Ubaidah in charge of us, to intercept a caravan of the Quraish. He supplied us with a bag of dates, and we had no other provisions apart from that. Abu 'Ubaidah used to give them to us, one date at a time." He (the narrator) said: "I said: 'What did you do with it?' He said: 'We used to suck it like a child, then drink water after that, and it would suffice us for that day until night. And we used to knock down leaves with our sticks, then soak them in water and eat them. We set off along the coast and there appeared before us on the shore something like a huge mound. We came to it and saw that it was a beast called Al' Anbar (sperm whale). Abu 'Ubaidah said: "It is dead meat." Then he said: "No, we are the envoys of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w), (striving) in the cause of Allah, and we are compelled (by hunger); eat." We lived on it for a month, three hundred of us, until we grew fat. And I remember that we extracted pitchers of fat from its eye socket, and we cut out pieces of meat like that of a bull. Abu 'Ubaidah called out thirteen of us and made them sit in its eye socket, and he took one of its ribs and set it up, then he saddled the largest camel we had with us and passed beneath it. And we supplied ourselves with preserved pieces of its meat. When we reached Al-Madinah, we came to the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) and told him all of that. He said: "It is provision that Allah brought forth for you. Do you have any of its meat with you that you can give us to eat?" We sent some of it to the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) and he ate it."'