وعن أبي عبد الله جابر بن عبد الله رضي الله عنهما
قال: بعثنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأمر علينا أبا عبيدة رضي الله عنه، نتلقى عيرا لقريش، وزودنا جراباً من تمر لم يجد لنا غيره، فكان أبوعبيدة يعطينا تمرة تمرة، فقيل: كيف كنتم تصنعون بها؟
قال: نمصها كما يمص الصبي، ثم نشرب عليها من الماء، فتكفينا يومنا إلى الليل، وكنا نضرب بعصينا الخبط، ثم نبله بالماء فنأكله. قال: وانطلقنا على ساحل البحر، فرفع لنا على ساحل البحر كهيئة الكثيب الضخم، فأتيناه فإذا هي دابة تدعى العنبر، فقال أبو عبيدة: ميتة، ثم قال: لا، بل نحن رسل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وفي سبيل الله وقد اضطررتم فكلوا، فأقمنا عليه شهرا، ونحن ثلاثمائة، حتى سمنا، ولقد رأيتنا نغترف من وقب عينه بالقلال الدهن ونقطع منه الفدر كالثور أو كقدر الثور، ولقد أخذ منا أبوعبيدة ثلاثة عشر رجلا فأقعدهم في وقب عينه وأخذ ضلعا من أضلاعه فأقامها ثم رحل أعظم بعير معنا فمر من تحتها وتزودنا من لحمه وشائق، فلما قدمنا المدينة أتينا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فذكرنا ذلك له، فقال: «هو رزق أخرجه الله لكم، فهل معكم من لحمه شئ فتطعمونا؟ «فأرسلنا إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم منه فأكله
Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) sent us in an expedition under the command of Abu Ubaidah (radiyallahu anhu) to intercept a caravan of the Quraish. He provided us with a bag of dates, apart from which he found nothing for us. Abu Ubaidah (radiyallahu anhu) gave each of us one date (every day).
He (the narrator) was asked: “What did you do with that?” He said: We sucked that just like a baby and then drank water over that, and it was sufficient for us for the day until night. We beat off leaves with the help of our sticks, then drenched them with water and ate them. We then went to the seaside, when there appeared before us something like a big mound.
We came near it and we found that it was a beast called Al-Anbar. Abu Ubaidah (radiyallahu anhu) said: “It is dead (so it useless for us).” He then said: “No (but it does not matter), we have been sent by Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) in the way of Allah and you are hard-pressed (on account of the scarcity of food), so you can eat that.”
We, three hundred in number, stayed there for a month until we fattened up (having plenty to eat of that fish). He (Jabir) said: I saw how we extracted pitcher after pitcher full of fat from the cavity of its eye, and sliced from it compact piece of meat equal to a bull or almost like a bull. Abu Ubaidah (radiyallahu anhu) called thirteen men from us and he made them sit in the cavity of its eye, and he held one of its ribs and raised it erect and then saddled the biggest of the camels we had with us and it passed through it (the arched rib), and we carried large pieces of meat for use in our journey.
When we came back to Al-Madinah we went to Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and told him about that, whereupon he said, “That was a sustenance Allah had brought forth for you. Do you have any piece of meat left with you, for us to eat.”
Jabir (radiyallahu anhu) said: We sent to Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) some of that (meat) and he ate it.