sea-shore an expedition ofthree hundred men, underthe command of Abu
Ubaidah (ra) in 8 A.H. He gave them a bag full of dates for their
rations. They had been hardly out for fifteen days when theyran short
of rations. In order to provide the contingent with food, Qais(ra)
began buying three camels daily from his own men, to feed the
Mujahideen, with a promise to pay on return to Madinah. The Amir
seeing that the slaugther of camels would deprive the party of their
only means of transport, prohibited him to do so. He collected the
dates thathad been left with each person and stored them ina bag. He
would issue one date to each man as his daily ration. When Jabir (ra)
later on narrated this story to the people, one ofhis audience
inquired:
"How did you manage to live upon one date only for the whole day?" He
replied: "We longed even for that one date, when the whole stock was
exhausted. We were on the verge of starvation. We moistened the dry
tree-leaves with water and ate them."
When they reached this stage, Allah had mercy on them for He always
brings ease after every hardship, provided it is endured patiently. A
big fish knownas "Ambar" was thrown out of the sea for them. The fish
was so big that they lived on it for eighteen days altogether. They
also filled their satchels with the remaining portion, which lasted
them right up to Madinah. When the episode was narrated to the Prophet
(peace be upon him), he said: "The fish was a provision arranged for
you by Allah."
Source: From the book"Stories of the Sahabah" by Shaikh Muhammad
Zakariyya Kandhalvi.
We are Muslims today because of such sacrifices by the companions of
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). We should remember these events
as a source of comfort whenever we too are faced with difficulties
regarding practising Islam.
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