The Shaykh’s 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 to intercept a caravan”
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The Shaykh : As for the hadith that follows it, which is the sixty-fourth, it is authentic. It is narrated 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. 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, ‘What did you do with them?’ They said, ‘We would suck them as a child sucks, then drink water over them, and that would suffice us from day until night. And we would strike the trees with our sticks to make the leaves fall, then moisten them and eat them.’”
This is 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 a caravan of Quraysh, a caravan containing provisions and the like. With what did the Messenger (peace be upon him) provision them? He said: ‘He provisioned us with a small sack of dates, finding nothing else for us. Abu ‘Ubaydah would give us one date at a time. They were asked, ‘What did you do with them?’ They said, ‘We would suck them as a child sucks, then drink water over them, and that would suffice us from day until night.’”
In addition to this, they added to the dates and water what he clarified by saying: “And we would strike the trees with our sticks to make the leaves fall.” This means they struck the trees that had leaves, and these leaves were fodder for camels. So they would strike the trees, the leaves would fall, they would moisten them with water and eat them. This would supplement the dates, which were 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 of the large amount of tree leaves they ate from this striking, their lips split, because it appears to be a hard thing and something with heat. It comes in other hadiths that when they went out to relieve themselves, they would emit a solid substance like sheep dung, because there was nothing soft in 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 of Warning, the requirement from these hadiths is to train the Muslim soul not to rush after this world and neglect 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 in... it must remember the biography of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the biography of these Companions, and be content with its living, because it is not better than the Master of Mankind (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Master of people after the prophets, who are 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 an example.
This is 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 a caravan of Quraysh, a caravan containing provisions and the like. With what did the Messenger (peace be upon him) provision them? He said: ‘He provisioned us with a small sack of dates, finding nothing else for us. Abu ‘Ubaydah would give us one date at a time. They were asked, ‘What did you do with them?’ They said, ‘We would suck them as a child sucks, then drink water over them, and that would suffice us from day until night.’”
In addition to this, they added to the dates and water what he clarified by saying: “And we would strike the trees with our sticks to make the leaves fall.” This means they struck the trees that had leaves, and these leaves were fodder for camels. So they would strike the trees, the leaves would fall, they would moisten them with water and eat them. This would supplement the dates, which were 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 of the large amount of tree leaves they ate from this striking, their lips split, because it appears to be a hard thing and something with heat. It comes in other hadiths that when they went out to relieve themselves, they would emit a solid substance like sheep dung, because there was nothing soft in 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 of Warning, the requirement from these hadiths is to train the Muslim soul not to rush after this world and neglect 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 in... it must remember the biography of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the biography of these Companions, and be content with its living, because it is not better than the Master of Mankind (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Master of people after the prophets, who are 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 an example.