Al-Zaynabī related to us; Hilāl al-Ḥaffār informed us; Ibn ʿAyyāsh narrated to us; Ḥafṣ ibn ʿAmr narrated to us; Sahl ibn Ziyād Abū Ziyād narrated to us; Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī—through Muḥammad—from Abū Hurayrah—who said:

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was once on campaign and the army suffered a shortage of food. He asked, ‘Abū Hurayrah, do you have anything with you?’

“I replied, ‘I have a few dates in a provision pouch of mine.’

“He said, ‘Bring it here.’

“So I brought the pouch. Then he said, ‘Fetch a leather mat.’

“I brought the mat and he spread it out. He put his hand inside the pouch and seized the dates; they were twenty-one in all. Then he said, ‘In the name of Allah.’

“He began placing each date on the mat, invoking the divine name over every single one, until he had taken them all out. Then he gathered them together and said, ‘Call So-and-so and his companions.’

“They came, ate until they were full, and left.

“He said, ‘Call So-and-so and his companions.’

“They ate, were satisfied, and left.

“Then he said, ‘Call So-and-so and his companions.’

“They ate, were satisfied, left—and some dates were still left over.

“He then said to me, ‘Sit down.’

“So I sat and ate, and even then some dates remained. He picked them up, put them back into the pouch, and said, ‘Abū Hurayrah, whenever you need something, reach in and take, but do not overturn it, lest it be overturned against you (1).’

“Whenever I needed dates I would reach in and take; I eventually carried off fifty wasq in the cause of Allah. The pouch used to hang behind my saddle until the time of ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān—then it finally came to an end.”