The Shaykh’s explanation of the twenty-ninth hadith from the book on Encouraging the Life of the Salaf – from al-Mundhiri’s al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib – narrated by Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

The Shaykh : And our last lesson reached the twenty-ninth hadith from the book on Encouraging the Life of the Salaf, the twenty-ninth in my copy, which is the Muniriyyah edition. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “It was narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .”
The point of this hadith that is relevant to the chapter we are in is its second part, namely his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): , meaning except a little of dry bread and barley, as you have learned from previous hadiths. This hadith, whether by its second part or its first, is an allusion, indeed a clear proof, of the severity of what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was tested with in the path of his call to the truth, the call to the oneness of Allah, for which he struggled against the polytheists for more than twenty years, and in which he encountered hardships, difficulties, and hunger. This is what he described about himself (peace and blessings be upon him) when he said that he was afflicted with an affliction like which no one else was afflicted, and he feared a fear like which no one else feared (peace and blessings be upon him). He also encountered hunger that is hardly imaginable: thirty days, by their nights and days, passed over him (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him), and he found no food except what Bilal, his servant and caller to prayer, carried under his armpit. This is an allusion that this food he carried was a small amount; what can a person carry under his armpit for such a long period except pieces of bread or dates from the dates of that land? So we must take from this hadith, and from similar hadiths that have come before and will come after, an example from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). We must be patient in the path of the call, and we do not seek out hardship and fatigue, because that is not a desirable thing in the Shari'ah. However, if we encounter some of that fatigue and hardship in the path of our call, we must be patient with hunger, thirst, and affliction. The matter is as the Exalted said: . The example of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is not limited to following him in his prayer, fasting, and other acts of worship only. Rather, the example of him (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him) encompasses all aspects of life: the example of him in his worship, but also in his character, and in that, in his patience and his bearing of hardships in the path of his call. All of this is what we must take our Prophet (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him) as a good example for. This hadith is authentic. The Hafiz, the author, said: “It was narrated by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, and al-Tirmidhi said: ‘It is a good, authentic hadith.’” The author said: “The meaning of this hadith is that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) fled from Makkah with Bilal, the only food Bilal had was what he carried under his armpit.”