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Sahih al-Bukhari 5494 (Book 72, Hadith 20) #5270
The Army of Khabt and the Fish Al-Anbar

SUMMARY: The Prophet (ﷺ) sent a group of three hundred warriors to ambush a caravan of the Quraish. They were so hungry that they ate desert bushes, and then were saved by a huge fish called Al-Anbar which provided them with food for half a month. Abu Ubaida forbade one man from slaughtering more camels when hunger became severe.

Narrated Jabir: The Prophet ﷺ sent us as an army unit of three hundred warriors under the command of Abu 'Ubaida to ambush a caravan of the Quraish. But we were struck with such severe hunger that we ate the Khabt (desert bushes), so our army was called the Army of the Khabt. Then the sea threw a huge fish called Al-Anbar and we ate of it for half a month and rubbed our bodies with its fat till our bodies became healthy. Then Abu Ubaida took one of its ribs and fixed it over the ground and a rider passed underneath it. There was a man amongst us who slaughtered three camels when hunger became severe, and he slaughtered three more, but after that Abu 'Ubaida forbade him to do so.
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ عَمْرٍو، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ جَابِرًا، يَقُولُ بَعَثَنَا النَّبِيُّ ﷺ ثَلاَثَمِائَةِ رَاكِبٍ وَأَمِيرُنَا أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ نَرْصُدُ عِيرًا لِقُرَيْشٍ فَأَصَابَنَا جُوعٌ شَدِيدٌ حَتَّى أَكَلْنَا الْخَبَطَ، فَسُمِّيَ جَيْشَ الْخَبَطِ وَأَلْقَى الْبَحْرُ حُوتًا يُقَالُ لَهُ الْعَنْبَرُ فَأَكَلْنَا نِصْفَ شَهْرٍ وَادَّهَنَّا بِوَدَكِهِ حَتَّى صَلَحَتْ أَجْسَامُنَا قَالَ فَأَخَذَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ ضِلَعًا مِنْ أَضْلاَعِهِ فَنَصَبَهُ فَمَرَّ الرَّاكِبُ تَحْتَهُ، وَكَانَ فِينَا رَجُلٌ فَلَمَّا اشْتَدَّ الْجُوعُ نَحَرَ ثَلاَثَ جَزَائِرَ، ثُمَّ ثَلاَثَ جَزَائِرَ، ثُمَّ نَهَاهُ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ‏.‏
TOPICS
hunger  *  caravan  *  warriors  *  fish  *  khabt

QUICK LESSONS:
Have faith in God's mercy & provision; Be patient; Avoid wastage & extravagance; Obey orders given by superiors/leaders/elders etc.; Respect nature/animals etc.; Show gratitude towards God’s blessings etc..

EXPLANATIONS:
This hadith is about an army unit of three hundred warriors sent by the Prophet ﷺ to ambush a caravan of the Quraish. During their mission they faced extreme hunger and resorted to eating desert bushes known as Khabt in Arabic. However, Allah provided them with sustenance in form of an enormous fish called Al-Anbar which was thrown up by the sea and provided them with food for half a month. Abu Ubaida also forbade one man from slaughtering more camels when hunger became severe as it was not necessary anymore due to Allah's provision through Al-Anbar. This hadith teaches us that we should always have faith in Allah's mercy and provision even during times of difficulty or hardship as He will always provide us with sustenance if we are patient enough to wait for it. It also teaches us that we should not be wasteful or extravagant even if our situation is dire because Allah will provide us with what is necessary without any excesses or extravagance on our part.

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