Explanation of the hadith of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent us and appointed Abu 'Ubaydah (may Allah be pleased with him) as our leader..."

The Shaykh : As for the hadith that follows, which is the sixty-fourth, it is authentic. It states: And from Jabir ibn 'Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent us and appointed Abu 'Ubaydah (may Allah be pleased with him) as our leader to intercept a caravan of Quraysh, and he provisioned us with a sack of dates, finding nothing else for us. Abu 'Ubaydah would give us one date at a time. They were asked: How did you make use of them? They said: We would suck on them as a child does, then drink water over them, and that would suffice us for the day until night. We would also strike the *khabat* with our sticks, then moisten it and eat it."
This was the life of the Companions, truly the life of the mujahideen who carried Islam to these lands and to others.
This hadith was narrated by Muslim in his *Sahih*. Jabir says: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent us and appointed Abu 'Ubaydah as our leader to intercept... He sent us to intercept a caravan of Quraysh, a caravan containing... provisions and so on. So what did the Messenger (peace be upon him) provision them with? He said: 'He provisioned us with a sack of dates.' A small pouch containing dates. He found nothing else for us. Abu 'Ubaydah would give us one date at a time. They were asked: How did you make use of them? They said: We would suck on them as a child does, then drink water over them, and that would suffice us for the day until night."
In addition to this, they added to the date and water what he mentioned and clarified by saying: "And we would strike the *khabat* with our sticks." This means they would strike the trees that had leaves, and these leaves were fodder for camels. They would strike the trees so the leaves would fall, then moisten them with water and eat them. This would serve as a supplement to the date, which was their meal for the day and night.
It will come in some other hadiths, and in the next lesson, if Allah wills, that in some of the battles or expeditions, because they ate so much of this *khabat* (tree leaves), their lips cracked; because it is apparently a hard substance and something that generates heat. It also comes in other hadiths that when they went out to relieve themselves, they would cover themselves with dung like that of sheep, a solid substance; because there was nothing in which they could fill their stomachs.
This was the life of the Companions. And as I told you at the beginning of this lesson, which is the Book of Asceticism from the book *Al-Targhib*, the purpose of these hadiths is to train the Muslim soul not to rush after this world in a way that diverts it from performing what is obligatory upon it regarding its religion and its community. And if it is afflicted with some hardship in living, whether it is not accustomed to it or it is part of its habit, it must remember the biography of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and the biography of these Companions, and be content with its life; because it is not better than the Master of Mankind (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Master of people after the prophets, namely the noble Companions.
So we ask Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) to inspire us to follow their example in everything that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has legislated for us as a model...