Saturday, August 22, 2026

The Blessed Prophet’s ﷺ Hunger and Miraculous Feeding of His Companions

1. Feast at home of Sayyidunā Jābir رَضِیَ اللّٰهُ عَنْہُ

Sayyidunā Jābir , one of the renowned companions, has narrated: During the battle of Khandaq, while we were digging the trench, a big boulder was unearthed. The companions approached the Holy Prophet and told him that they had encountered a very hard boulder. The Beloved and Blessed Prophet replied, I am coming (into the trench). The Holy Prophet then rose. He had stones bound to his blessed stomach. We also had not eaten anything for three days. The Noble Rasūl then took a pickaxe and struck the boulder, breaking it into pieces and turning it into a heap of sand. I said, 'O the Beloved and Blessed Prophet ! Please give me permission to go home.'

On arriving home, I said to my wife that I could no longer bear to see the Noble Prophet in this starving condition. Do you have anything to eat? She replied that there was some barley and a small goat. I slaughtered the little goat, kneaded the barley (into dough) and started cooking the food. When the food and breads were about to be prepared, I approached the Beloved and Blessed Prophet and said, 'O the Noble Prophet ! I have a little food; please come along with a few companions.' He asked, 'How much food is there?'

I told him the quantity of food. He replied, 'The food is delicious and sufficient.' He then said, 'Tell (her) neither to open the pot nor to remove the bread from the oven until I arrive.' The Holy Prophet ordered the companions to accompany him. I went to my house and told my wife, 'May you be blessed, the Beloved and Blessed Prophet is coming to our home with the Muhājirīn, the Anṣār and some other people.' She asked whether the Holy Prophet asked about the quantity of food, I replied, 'yes.'

After a short while, the Noble Prophet arrived and ordered the companions to enter the house without causing a crowd. Then, the Holy Prophet himself began to break the bread with his own blessed hands and place meat on it. Whenever he took any bread or meat, he immediately closed the oven and the pot and distributed the food among the companions. He continued to take meat from the pot and bread from the oven till every companion ate to full stomach, but the food still remained. He then said to me, 'Eat and give away the people (this food) as a gift because people are hungry.'

(Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, vol. 5, pp. 55, Ḥadīš 4101)

May Allah have mercy on them and forgive us without accountability for their sake!

صَلُّوْا عَلَى الْحَبِيْبِ ۞ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

Dear Islamic brothers! The foregoing parable clearly indicates that the Holy Prophet adopted intentional hunger. On one hand, he tied stones to his blessed stomach due to hunger and, on the other hand, he fed a large number of companions with just a little amount of food.

There are thousands of Madanī pearls in this Prophetic miracle¹. One of these pearls is that our Holy Prophet is not helpless. By the grace of Allah , he possesses the treasures of both worlds and has the authority to distribute them.

The aforementioned Madanī parable also highlights the spirit and passion of the companions for spreading the 'call to righteousness' despite facing severe hardships and starvation even by binding stones on their blessed stomachs. We, on the other hand, are not prepared to bear even a little difficulty in the path of Allah despite having all conveniences and comforts. Without doubt, no Prophet will come now. It is now the duty of the Muslims to invite others towards righteousness. By Allah ! Today the condition of the Muslims has been very miserable. When a true devotee of Islam sees the empty Masājid, his heart sheds tears of blood. Here is an admonitory parable in this respect.

2. Madanī Qāfilaĥ inhabited Masjid

An Islamic brother has stated our Madanī Qāfilaĥ travelled from Bāb-ul-Madīnaĥ (Karachi) to Punjab for twelve days in order to learn and spread Sunnaĥ. When we arrived in the town of Sohawa, we discovered that the Masjid where we were to stay was closed. After obtaining the key and opening the Masjid, we noticed that everything was full of dust. It looked as if the Masjid had been closed for a very long time.

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰه عَزَّوَجَلَّ! We all cleaned the Masjid and then visited the town calling the folks towards righteousness and pleading them to come to the Masjid. Regretfully, no one came to the Masjid because of the lack of our sincerity. We, however, did not give up hope. With our trust in Allah , we entered a nearby playground where we anxiously gave an invitation to the youngsters who were busy playing. اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰه! Their hearts softened and some of them accompanied us to the Masjid on the spot. They offered Ṣalāĥ and listened to the Sunnaĥ-Inspiring speech. At our request, they also made the intention of coming to the Masjid regularly. Looking at this faith-refreshing scene, an approximately 70-year-old man said, 'I used to advise people to come to the Masjid but they turned a deaf ear. اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰه عَزَّوَجَلَّ! Today people have once again started attending the Masjid regularly and offering Ṣalāĥ due to the blessing of the Madanī Qāfilaĥ.'

¹ Prophetic miracle means Mu'jizaĥ.

3. Eighty companions رَضِیَ اللّٰهُ عَنْہُم and a little food

Sayyidunā Anas has narrated that Sayyidunā Abū Ṭalḥaĥ once came home and told Sayyidatunā Umm-e-Sulaym , 'I have heard the low voice of the Holy Prophet which indicates his extreme hunger. Do you have anything to eat?' She replied that she had a few pieces of barley bread. She wrapped them in a part of her scarf and placed it under my (Sayyidunā Anas') clothing and covered me with the other part of the scarf. Then, she sent me to the Holy Prophet . When I reached the Masjid, I saw that the Beloved and Blessed Prophet was sitting with a large group of people. I also stood over there. Seeing me, the Holy Prophet asked (revealing the knowledge of Ghayb), 'Did Abū Ṭalḥaĥ send you?' I replied, 'Yes, Yā Rasūlallāĥ.' 'For food?' He further asked. I replied, 'Yes! O Beloved Prophet .' The Holy Prophet then asked his companions to accompany him and I began to walk ahead of them till I reached the house and informed Sayyidunā Abū Ṭalḥaĥ of the situation. Sayyidunā Abū Ṭalḥaĥ said, 'O Umm-e-Sulaym ! The Noble Prophet is coming along with many people. We do not have enough food to serve all of them.' She replied, 'Allah and His Prophet know better.'

Sayyidunā Abū Ṭalḥaĥ went and took the Prophet of Raḥmaĥ, the Intercessor of Ummaĥ to his house. The Holy Prophet said, 'O Umm-e-Sulaym !' Bring whatever you have.' She presented the same pieces of bread. On the instruction of the Holy Prophet , the breads were broken up. Sayyidatunā Umm-e-Sulaym poured some clarified butter on breads which was used as gravy. The Holy Prophet then read what Allah willed and blew on them. He then said, 'Let ten of them enter.' Therefore, ten entered, ate the bread till their stomach became full and then left. He ordered again, 'Call another ten.' Another ten came, ate and left. He kept calling companions in the group of ten until all of them ate and their hunger was satisfied. There were about seventy or eighty companions.

(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, vol. 2, pp. 178, Ḥadīš 2040)

According to another narration, ten would enter and ten would exit until none of them remained hungry, and all of them ate till they were full. When the Beloved and Blessed Prophet finally gathered the food, the amount of food was the same as in the beginning. Another narration says, ten companions ate food at a time until all the eighty companions ate. After this, the Holy Prophet and the household consumed food but it still remained. In another narration, it is also stated that the remaining food was given to the neighbours.

(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, vol. 2, pp. 178, Ḥadīš 2040)

May Allah have mercy on them and forgive us without accountability for their sake!

صَلُّوْا عَلَى الْحَبِيْبِ ۞ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

Dear Islamic brothers! This was indeed the miracle of the Holy Prophet that no reduction took place in the apparent small amount of food despite 80 companions' eating it. How great is the status of the Holy Prophet that he remains hungry himself but makes his devotees eat innumerable foods. There is a faith-refreshing Ḥadīš. Therefore, he said, 'Allah bestows and I distribute.'

(Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, vol. 1, pp. 30, Ḥadīš 71)

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