33 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi Badr narrated to us; Yazid ibn Harun informed us; Sulayman al-Taymi informed us, saying:

I heard a man relating, in the gathering of Abu ʿUthman al-Nahdi, from ʿUbayd, the freedman of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, that two women from the Ansar once fasted in the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. One of them sat with the other and they began to eat people’s flesh—that is, to backbite.

A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, “Messenger of Allah, there are two women here who are fasting, and they are close to dying of thirst.” The Prophet ﷺ turned away from him, so the man fell silent. A little later—​I think he said it was around midday—​the man returned and said, “Messenger of Allah, by Allah, they have died, or they are about to die.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “Bring them to me.”

He called for a large bowl, or a cup, and then said to one of them, “Vomit.” She vomited pus, blood, and foul matter until she filled the vessel. He then said to the other, “Vomit,” and she too brought up pus, blood, and foul matter until the vessel was full. The Prophet ﷺ then said, “These two abstained from what Allah had made lawful for them, yet they broke their fast with what Allah had forbidden. One sat with the other, and together they set about eating the flesh of people.”