It was a year so harsh that it consumed everything, until they were driven to eat bones, dogs, and even al-ʿilhiz, a putrid mixture scraped from hides. Abu Sufyān then came to intercede with him, asking that he call upon Allah for them; he did so, and the affliction was lifted.

Al-Bukhārī relates:
“Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad told us; Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Anṣārī told us; my father ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Muthannā told us, from Thumāmah ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Anas, from Anas ibn Mālik, that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb—whenever drought struck—would seek rain through al-ʿAbbās, saying:
‘O Allah, we used to seek a means to You by means of our Prophet and You would send us rain; now we seek a means to You by the uncle of our Prophet, so send us rain.’
Anas said: and they would be granted rain.”
This report is unique to al-Bukhārī.

Section: Earthly Miracles
Some of his miracles concern inanimate objects, while others involve living creatures. Among those related to inanimate things is his multiplication of water on several occasions and in various ways. We shall present these events with their chains of transmission, Allah willing, beginning with them because they follow naturally after what we have just mentioned of his prayers for rain and Allah’s response to them.

Al-Bukhārī also narrates:
“ʿAbd Allāh ibn Maslama told us, from Mālik, from Isḥāq ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Ṭalḥah, from Anas ibn Mālik, who said:
‘I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when the time for the ʿAṣr prayer had come. The people searched for water to make wuduʾ but found none. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was brought a small vessel of water. He placed his hand inside it and instructed the people to perform their ablution from it. I saw water gushing from between his fingers until everyone, to the very last person, had completed his ablution.’”
Muslim, al-Tirmidhī, and al-Nasāʾī also recorded it through various chains from Mālik, and al-Tirmidhī graded it “sound and authentic.”

Another chain on Anas’s authority: Imām Aḥmad reports:
“Yūnus ibn Muḥammad told us; Ḥazm told us; I heard al-Ḥasan say: Anas ibn Mālik related that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went out one day on an errand accompanied by some of his Companions. They walked on until the time for prayer arrived, but the group could not find water for ablution. They said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, we have no water with which to perform ablution,’ and he noticed the unease on their faces. Then one of the men went off and returned with a small cup containing only a little water.”