عن أبي عبدِ الله جابر بن عبد الله رضي الله عنهما قال: بَعَثَنَا رسولُ الله صَلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّم وَأَمَّرَ عَلَينَا أَبَا عُبَيْدَةَ رضي الله عنه نتَلَقَّى عِيرًا لِقُرَيْشٍ، وَزَوَّدَنَا جِرَابًا مِنْ تَمْرٍ لَمْ يجِدْ لَنَا غَيْرَهُ، فَكَانَ أَبُو عُبَيْدةَ يُعْطِينَا تَمْرةً تَمْرَةً، فَقِيل: كَيْف كُنْتُمْ تَصْنَعُونَ بِهَا؟ قال: نَمَصُّهَا كَمَا يَمَصُّ الصَّبِيُّ، ثُمَّ نَشْرَبُ عَلَيهَا مِنَ المَاءِ، فَتَكْفِينَا يَوْمَنَا إِلى اللَّيْلِ، وكُنَّا نَضْرِبُ بِعِصِيِّنا الخَبَطَ، ثُمَّ نَبُلُّهُ بِالمَاءِ فَنَأْكُلُهُ، قال: وانْطَلَقْنَا على ساحِلِ البَحْرِ، فرُفعَ لنَا على ساحِلِ البَحْرِ كهَيْئَةِ الكَثِيبِ الضَّخْمِ، فَأَتيْنَاهُ فَإِذا هِيَ دَابَّةٌ تُدْعى العَنْبَرَ، فقال أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ: مَيْتَةٌ، ثُمَّ قال: لا، بلْ نحْنُ رُسُلُ رسُولِ الله صَلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّم، وفي سبيلِ اللهِ، وقَدِ اضْطُرِرْتُمْ فَكُلُوا، فَأَقَمْنَا علَيْهِ شَهْرًا، وَنَحْنُ ثَلاثُ مِئَةٍ، حتَّى سَمِنَّا، ولقَدْ رَأَيتُنَا نَغْتَرِفُ مِنْ وَقْبِ عَيْنِهِ بالْقِلالِ الدُّهْنَ، ونَقْطَعُ منْهُ الفِدَرَ كَالثَّوْرِ -أَو كقَدْرِ الثَّوْرِ- ولَقَدْ أَخَذَ مِنَّا أَبُو عُبيْدَةَ ثَلاثَةَ عَشَرَ رَجُلًا فأَقْعَدَهُم في وقْبِ عَيْنِهِ، وَأَخَذَ ضِلَعًا منْ أَضْلاعِهِ فأَقَامَهَا، ثُمَّ رَحَلَ أَعْظَمَ بَعِيرٍ مَعَنَا، فمرَّ منْ تَحْتِهَا، وَتَزَوَّدْنَا مِنْ لحْمِهِ وَشَائِقَ، فَلمَّا قدِمنَا المديِنَةَ أَتَيْنَا رسول الله صَلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّم، فَذكْرَنَا ذلكَ له، فقال: «هُوَ رِزْقٌ أَخْرَجَهُ اللهُ لَكُمْ، فَهَلْ معَكمْ مِنْ لحْمِهِ شَيْءٌ فَتطْعِمُونَا؟» فَأَرْسلْنَا إلى رسول الله صَلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّم مِنْهُ فَأَكَلَهُ. رواه مسلم.
Abu Abd Allah Jabir ibn Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with both of them) reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) dispatched us, appointing Abu Ubaydah (may Allah be pleased with him) as our commander, to intercept a caravan of Quraysh. He provisioned us with a sack of dates, finding nothing else for us. Abu Ubaydah would give us one date at a time. It was asked: What did you do with it? He said: We would suck it as a child sucks, then drink water upon it, and it would suffice us for our day until night. We would also strike down leaves with our staffs, then moisten them with water and eat them. He said: We set out along the seashore, and there rose up for us on the seashore something like a great sand dune. We came to it, and behold, it was a creature called the anbar (sperm whale). Abu Ubaydah said: It is carrion. Then he said: No — rather, we are the envoys of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), in the path of Allah, and you are compelled by necessity, so eat. We stayed feeding on it for a month, and we were three hundred men, until we grew fat. I recall that we would scoop oil from the socket of its eye with jugs, and cut from it slabs of flesh like a bull — or the size of a bull. Abu Ubaydah took thirteen men of us and seated them in the socket of its eye; he took one of its ribs and set it upright, then saddled the largest camel we had with us, and it passed beneath it. We took provision from its flesh as dried strips. When we reached Madinah, we came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned this to him, and he said: "It is provision that Allah brought forth for you. Have you any of its flesh with you that you might feed us?" So we sent some of it to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he ate it. Reported by Muslim.
الشرح · explanation
عيرًا: العير القافلة من الجمال التي تحمل الطعام. جِرَابًا: وِعاء مِنْ جِلْد. الخَبط: وَرَقُ شَجَرٍ، تَأْكُلُهُ الإِبلُ. الكَثِيب: التَّلُّ مِنَ الرَّمْل. العنبر: سمكة يبلغ طولها خمسين ذراعًا. وَقْب عينه: نُقْرَةُ العيْن. القِلالُ: الجِرَار. الفِدَر: القِطع. وشَائِق: اللَّحْمُ الذي يقدَّد، أي يجفَّف.
A caravan (iran): a caravan of camels carrying food. A sack (jirab): a vessel made of leather. Leaves (al-khabat): tree leaves that camels eat. Sand dune (al-kathib): a mound of sand. The anbar: a fish reaching fifty cubits in length. The socket of its eye (waqb): the hollow of the eye. Jugs (al-qilal): large earthenware jars. Slabs (al-fidar): pieces. Dried strips (washa'iq): meat that is cured, that is, dried.
الدروس · lessons
ما كان عليه الصحابة من قوّة الإيمان، والزهد في الدنيا والتقلّل منها، والصبر على الجوع وخشونة العيش. أنّ البركة تكون سببًا في الشبع بالأكل القليل. جواز الاجتهاد للعالم ومن له الأهلية، وقد يتغير اجتهاد العالِم فقد نهاهم أبو عبيدة أولًا عن الأكل من السمكة ثم تغير اجتهاده فأمرهم بالأكل منها، وسبب اجتهادهم أنهم لم يكونوا قد علموا بحل ميتة البحر. رعاية الله للصحابة وإكرامه لهم بأن ساق لهم هذا الرزق لما علم حاجتهم وإخلاصهم. حل ميتة البحر سواء مات بنفسه أو بالاصطياد. حسن معاشرة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لأصحابه وملاطفته لهم، بسؤاله لهم عن شيء من اللّحم ليطعموه منه.
The strength of faith the Companions possessed, their asceticism in this world and their taking little of it, and their patience with hunger and roughness of living. That blessing can be a means of satiety from little food. The permissibility of independent reasoning (ijtihad) for the scholar and the one qualified for it, and that a scholar's reasoning may change: Abu Ubaydah first forbade them from eating the fish, then his reasoning changed and he commanded them to eat it. The reason for their reasoning was that they did not yet know that sea carrion is lawful. Allah's care for the Companions and His honoring of them by driving this provision to them when He knew their need and their sincerity. The lawfulness of sea carrion, whether it dies of itself or by being caught. The excellence of the Prophet's companionship with his Companions and his kindness toward them (peace and blessings be upon him), in his asking them for some of the flesh that he might eat of it.