Al-Ṭabarānī likewise reports: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal told us; Saʿīd ibn Muḥammad al-Jarmī related to me; Abū Tumaylah related; from Nuʿaym ibn Saʿīd al-ʿAbdī, from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās who said:
When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered the trench to be dug, his Companions had tied stones to their stomachs because of hunger. Seeing their condition, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Can anyone direct us to a man who can give us a meal?”
One man replied, “Yes.”
He said, “Very well—go on then and show us the way.”
They set off for the man’s house, but found him still in the trench working on his allotted section. His wife sent word: “Come quickly, for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has arrived.” The man rushed over, saying, “May my father and mother be sacrificed for him!” He owned a she-goat with its kid; he sprang toward the goat, and the Prophet ﷺ said, “The kid is behind her.” He slaughtered the kid, while his wife took a measure of flour, kneaded it, and baked bread. When the stew was ready she crumbled the bread into a large bowl and brought it before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his Companions. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ placed a finger in the dish and said, “In the name of Allah. O Allah, bless it. Eat.”
They ate until they withdrew, though they had consumed only one-third of the food; two-thirds remained. The Prophet then sent off the ten men who were with him, saying, “Go and bring another ten in your place.” They went, and the next ten came and ate until they were full. When they had finished, he stood up, prayed for the lady of the house, invoked Allah’s name upon her and her household, and then walked back toward the trench.
He said, “Come, let us go to Salmān.” When they reached him, a boulder lay before him that had overpowered him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Leave it to me; let me be the first to strike it.” He said, “In the name of Allah,” struck it, and a third of it broke off. He exclaimed, “Allah is Most Great! By the Lord of the Kaʿbah—these are the palaces of Rome!” He struck a second time, another fragment fell, and he said, “Allah is Most Great! By the Lord of the Kaʿbah—these are the palaces of Persia!” At that the hypocrites remarked, “Here we are digging a trench for our very lives, and he promises us the palaces of Persia and Rome!”
Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Bayhaqī also said: ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbdān told us; Aḥmad ibn ʿUbayd aṣ-Ṣaffār narrated; Muḥammad ibn Ghālib ibn Ḥarb related; Hawdah related; ʿAwf related; from Maymūn ibn Ustādh az-Zuhrī, who said that al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib al-Anṣārī told him:
When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered us to dig the trench, we encountered within it a massive, solid rock that pickaxes could not penetrate. We complained to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. When he saw it, he took the pickaxe and said, “In the name of Allah.” He struck it once, shattering a third of it, and said, “Allah is Most Great! I have been given the keys of Syria; by Allah, I can already see its red palaces, if Allah wills.” He struck a second time and broke off another third, saying, “Allah is Most Great! I have been given the keys of Persia; by Allah, I can see the White Palace of al-Madāʾin.” He struck a third time, saying, “In the name of Allah,” and broke the remainder of the stone, then declared, “Allah is Most Great! I have been given the keys of Yemen; by Allah, I can see the gates of Ṣanʿāʾ from where I stand at this very moment.”