are two well-known kinds of desert trees.

506 – Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “O Allah, grant the family of Muhammad only such provision as will suffice them.” Agreed upon.

The scholars of language and philology explain that qūtan here means the bare minimum that wards off hunger.

507 – Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

“By Allah, besides whom there is no god, I would sometimes press my liver to the ground because of hunger, and at other times I would tie a stone to my stomach because of hunger. One day I sat on the road along which they came out, and the Prophet ﷺ passed by me. He smiled when he saw me, having recognised from my face and what was in my heart what I was suffering. Then he said, ‘Abā Hirr!’ I replied, ‘Here I am, O Messenger of Allah.’ He said, ‘Come along,’ and went on; so I followed him. He entered (his house), asked permission, and allowed me in. Inside he found a cup of milk and asked, ‘Where did this milk come from?’ They said, ‘So-and-so—man or woman—sent it to you as a gift.’ He said, ‘Abā Hirr!’ I replied, ‘Here I am, O Messenger of Allah.’ He said, ‘Go to the people of the platform (ahl al-ṣuffah) and summon them for me.’

(The people of the platform were the guests of Islam: they had no family, no wealth, and no patron to stay with. Whenever alms reached him, he sent it to them and did not partake of it; when a gift came to him, he sent for them, ate from it, and shared it with them.)

This saddened me, and I said to myself, ‘What is this bowl of milk among the people of the platform? I have more right to a single draught of it to strengthen myself. But if they come and he instructs me, then I must serve it to them—what will reach me of this milk?’ Yet there was no escaping obedience to Allah and to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. So I went to them and summoned them. They came, asked permission, and he admitted them; they took their seats in the house.

He said, ‘Abā Hirr!’ I replied, ‘Here I am, O Messenger of Allah.’ He said, ‘Take it and give it to them.’ So I took the cup and began handing it to a man; he would drink until he was satisfied, then return the cup to me. I would give it to the next man, who would drink until he was satisfied, then hand it back—until I came to the Prophet ﷺ and all the people had drunk their fill. He took the cup, set it in his hand, looked at me, and smiled.

He said, ‘Abā Hirr!’ I replied, ‘Here I am, O Messenger of Allah.’ He said, ‘Only you and I remain.’ I said, ‘You have spoken the truth, O—’