Sahih al-Bukhari #2387
Partnership
The Arabic includes the chain of narration (sanad) and the collector's commentary; the English translation shows the Prophet's words only.
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ يُوسُفَ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَالِكٌ، عَنْ وَهْبِ بْنِ كَيْسَانَ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ أَنَّهُ قَالَ بَعَثَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بَعْثًا قِبَلَ السَّاحِلِ، فَأَمَّرَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَبَا عُبَيْدَةَ بْنَ الْجَرَّاحِ وَهُمْ ثَلاَثُمِائَةٍ وَأَنَا فِيهِمْ، فَخَرَجْنَا حَتَّى إِذَا كُنَّا بِبَعْضِ الطَّرِيقِ فَنِيَ الزَّادُ، فَأَمَرَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ بِأَزْوَادِ ذَلِكَ الْجَيْشِ فَجُمِعَ ذَلِكَ كُلُّهُ فَكَانَ مِزْوَدَىْ تَمْرٍ، فَكَانَ يُقَوِّتُنَا كُلَّ يَوْمٍ قَلِيلاً قَلِيلاً، حَتَّى فَنِيَ فَلَمْ يَكُنْ يُصِيبُنَا إِلاَّ تَمْرَةٌ تَمْرَةٌ. فَقُلْتُ وَمَا تُغْنِي تَمْرَةٌ فَقَالَ لَقَدْ وَجَدْنَا فَقْدَهَا حِينَ فَنِيَتْ. قَالَ ثُمَّ انْتَهَيْنَا إِلَى الْبَحْرِ فَإِذَا حُوتٌ مِثْلُ الظَّرِبِ، فَأَكَلَ مِنْهُ ذَلِكَ الْجَيْشُ ثَمَانِيَ عَشْرَةَ لَيْلَةً، ثُمَّ أَمَرَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ بِضِلَعَيْنِ مِنْ أَضْلاَعِهِ فَنُصِبَا، ثُمَّ أَمَرَ بِرَاحِلَةٍ فَرُحِلَتْ ثُمَّ مَرَّتْ تَحْتَهُمَا فَلَمْ تُصِبْهُمَا.
"Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) sent an army towards the east coast and appointed Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah as their
chief, and the army consisted of three-hundred men including myself. We marched on till we reached
a place where our food was about to finish. Abu- 'Ubaida ordered us to collect all the journey food and
it was collected. My (our) journey food was dates. Abu 'Ubaida kept on giving us our daily ration in
small amounts from it, till it was exhausted. The share of everyone of us used to be one date only." I
said, "How could one date benefit you?" Jabir replied, "We came to know its value when even that too
finished." Jabir added, "When we reached the sea-shore, we saw a huge fish which was like a small
mountain. The army ate from it for eighteen days. Then Abu 'Ubaida ordered that two of its ribs be
fixed and they were fixed in the ground. Then he ordered that a she-camel be ridden and it passed
under the two ribs (forming an arch) without touching them."
Narrated by Narrated Jabir bin `Abdullah:
Context
This hadith describes an expedition led by Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah, appointed by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The army faced a severe shortage of food, relying on minimal rations of dates until they reached the sea, where they encountered a massive fish that sustained them for eighteen days. This situation highlights the importance of resourcefulness and faith in divine provision during challenging times.
Modern Application
In today's world, this hadith teaches us about the value of patience and resourcefulness in difficult situations. When facing scarcity, we can learn to appreciate what we have and trust that solutions will come, just as they did for the army with the arrival of the fish.
Topics
This hadith is tagged with Hospitality in Islam and Blessings in Food because it illustrates the importance of sharing resources and recognizing the blessings that come from Allah in times of need.
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سُورَةُ الكَهۡفِ
Al-Kahf (The Cave)
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
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فَلَمَّا جَاوَزَا قَالَ لِفَتَىٰهُ ءَاتِنَا غَدَآءَنَا لَقَدْ لَقِينَا مِن سَفَرِنَا هَٰذَا نَصَبًۭا
So when they had passed beyond it, [Moses] said to his boy, "Bring us our morning meal. We have certainly suffered in this, our journey, [much] fatigue."
قَالَ أَرَءَيْتَ إِذْ أَوَيْنَآ إِلَى ٱلصَّخْرَةِ فَإِنِّى نَسِيتُ ٱلْحُوتَ وَمَآ أَنسَىٰنِيهُ إِلَّا ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ أَنْ أَذْكُرَهُۥ ۚ وَٱتَّخَذَ سَبِيلَهُۥ فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ عَجَبًۭا
He said, "Did you see when we retired to the rock? Indeed, I forgot [there] the fish. And none made me forget it except Satan - that I should mention it. And it took its course into the sea amazingly".
سُورَةُ البَقَرَةِ
Al-Baqara (The Cow)
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
1 ayah
فَلَمَّا فَصَلَ طَالُوتُ بِٱلْجُنُودِ قَالَ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مُبْتَلِيكُم بِنَهَرٍۢ فَمَن شَرِبَ مِنْهُ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّى وَمَن لَّمْ يَطْعَمْهُ فَإِنَّهُۥ مِنِّىٓ إِلَّا مَنِ ٱغْتَرَفَ غُرْفَةًۢ بِيَدِهِۦ ۚ فَشَرِبُوا۟ مِنْهُ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا مِّنْهُمْ ۚ فَلَمَّا جَاوَزَهُۥ هُوَ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَعَهُۥ قَالُوا۟ لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا ٱلْيَوْمَ بِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِۦ ۚ قَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُم مُّلَٰقُوا۟ ٱللَّهِ كَم مِّن فِئَةٍۢ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةًۭ كَثِيرَةًۢ بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ مَعَ ٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ
And when Saul went forth with the soldiers, he said, "Indeed, Allah will be testing you with a river. So whoever drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste it is indeed of me, excepting one who takes [from it] in the hollow of his hand." But they drank from it, except a [very] few of them. Then when he had crossed it along with those who believed with him, they said, "There is no power for us today against Goliath and his soldiers." But those who were certain that they would meet Allah said, "How many a small company has overcome a large company by permission of Allah. And Allah is with the patient."
سُورَةُ المَائـِدَةِ
Al-Maaida (The Table)
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
1 ayah
أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ صَيْدُ ٱلْبَحْرِ وَطَعَامُهُۥ مَتَٰعًۭا لَّكُمْ وَلِلسَّيَّارَةِ ۖ وَحُرِّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ صَيْدُ ٱلْبَرِّ مَا دُمْتُمْ حُرُمًۭا ۗ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِىٓ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ
Lawful to you is game from the sea and its food as provision for you and the travelers, but forbidden to you is game from the land as long as you are in the state of ihram. And fear Allah to whom you will be gathered.
سُورَةُ الحَجِّ
Al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage)
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
1 ayah
وَٱلْبُدْنَ جَعَلْنَٰهَا لَكُم مِّن شَعَٰٓئِرِ ٱللَّهِ لَكُمْ فِيهَا خَيْرٌۭ ۖ فَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱسْمَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهَا صَوَآفَّ ۖ فَإِذَا وَجَبَتْ جُنُوبُهَا فَكُلُوا۟ مِنْهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا۟ ٱلْقَانِعَ وَٱلْمُعْتَرَّ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ سَخَّرْنَٰهَا لَكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
And the camels and cattle We have appointed for you as among the symbols of Allah; for you therein is good. So mention the name of Allah upon them when lined up [for sacrifice]; and when they are [lifeless] on their sides, then eat from them and feed the needy and the beggar. Thus have We subjected them to you that you may be grateful.
Common Words
139 total115 unique11 repeated
ٱلله6x
لكم5x
قال4x
من4x
فلما3x
إلا3x
ٱلبحر2x
منه2x
منى2x
فئة2x
صيد2x
جاوزا1x
لفتىه1x
ءاتنا1x
غداءنا1x
لقد1x
لقينا1x
سفرنا1x
هذا1x
نصبا1x
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About Sahih al-Bukhari
This hadith is #2387 from Sahih al-Bukhari, in the Book of Partnership. It is graded Sahih and narrated by Narrated Jabir bin `Abdullah:.