He began to break the bread into morsels, while Umm Sulaym squeezed the little skin-container of butter and used the liquid that came out as a relish. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then pronounced over the food whatever Allah willed him to say and added:
“Admit ten.”
Ten men entered, ate until they were satisfied, and left. He again said,
“Admit ten,”
so ten more came in, ate to their fill, and departed. A third time he said,
“Admit ten,”
and again they ate and left. Then he said,
“Admit ten,”
and in this manner everyone present ate—seventy or eighty men in all.
Bukhārī records this incident in several places of his Ṣaḥīḥ, and Muslim relates it as well through other chains from Mālik (1).
Another chain of transmission from Anas ibn Mālik —may Allah be pleased with him
Abū Yaʿlā relates: Hudbah ibn Khālid told us; Mubārak ibn Faḍālah told us; Bukayr and Thābit al-Bunnānī told us, from Anas, that Abū Ṭalḥah noticed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ suffering from hunger. He went to Umm Sulaym and said, “I have just seen the Messenger of Allah ﷺ hungry. Do you have anything?” She replied, “We have nothing but roughly a mudd of flour and some barley.” He said, “Knead it and prepare it; perhaps we can invite the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to eat with us.”
She kneaded the dough, baked it, and produced a single loaf. Abū Ṭalḥah then said, “O Anas, invite the Messenger of Allah.” I went to him and found him accompanied by several men—Mubārak said, “I think he mentioned about eighty-odd.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, Abū Ṭalḥah invites you.” He turned to his companions and said,
“Answer the call of Abū Ṭalḥah.”
I hurried back, distressed, to inform Abū Ṭalḥah that the Prophet was bringing his companions. Bukayr said: he outpaced his people; Thābit added that Abū Ṭalḥah remarked, “The Messenger of Allah knows better than I what is in my house.”
Abū Ṭalḥah went out to receive him and said, “O Messenger of Allah, we have nothing but this one loaf. I saw you hungry and asked Umm Sulaym to make it for you.”
The Prophet ﷺ asked for the loaf and for a large bowl, placed the loaf in it, and said,
“Is there any fat?”
Abū Ṭalḥah answered, “There was a little in the skin.” The skin was brought, and the Messenger of Allah and Abū Ṭalḥah squeezed it until some butter came out. The Prophet wiped his forefinger with it, touched the loaf, and it swelled. Saying, “In the name of Allah,” he continued wiping, and the loaf kept expanding until I saw it almost melting in the bowl.
He then said,
“Invite ten of my companions.”
I invited ten; the Messenger of Allah ﷺ placed his hand in the middle of the loaf and said, “Eat in the name of Allah.” They ate from around the loaf until they were full. He said,
“Invite another ten,”
and they did likewise. He kept summoning them ten by ten to eat from that same loaf until more than eighty men had eaten their fill, while the very center where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had placed his hand remained just as it was (2).
This chain is sound according to the criteria of the compilers of the Sunan, though they did not include it. Allah knows best.