Narrator:Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh
وَحَدَّثَنِي عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ وَهْبِ بْنِ كَيْسَانَ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، أَنَّهُ قَالَ بَعَثَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بَعْثًا قِبَلَ السَّاحِلِ فَأَمَّرَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَبَا عُبَيْدَةَ بْنَ الْجَرَّاحِ وَهُمْ ثَلاَثُمِائَةٍ . قَالَ وَأَنَا فِيهِمْ - قَالَ - فَخَرَجْنَا حَتَّى إِذَا كُنَّا بِبَعْضِ الطَّرِيقِ فَنِيَ الزَّادُ فَأَمَرَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ بِأَزْوَادِ ذَلِكَ الْجَيْشِ فَجُمِعَ ذَلِكَ كُلُّهُ فَكَانَ مِزْوَدَىْ تَمْرٍ - قَالَ - فَكَانَ يُقَوِّتُنَاهُ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ قَلِيلاً قَلِيلاً حَتَّى فَنِيَ وَلَمْ تُصِبْنَا إِلاَّ تَمْرَةٌ تَمْرَةٌ فَقُلْتُ وَمَا تُغْنِي تَمْرَةٌ فَقَالَ لَقَدْ وَجَدْنَا فَقْدَهَا حِينَ فَنِيَتْ - قَالَ - ثُمَّ انْتَهَيْنَا إِلَى الْبَحْرِ فَإِذَا حُوتٌ مِثْلُ الظَّرِبِ فَأَكَلَ مِنْهُ ذَلِكَ الْجَيْشُ ثَمَانِيَ عَشْرَةَ لَيْلَةً ثُمَّ أَمَرَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ بِضِلَعَيْنِ مِنْ أَضْلاَعِهِ فَنُصِبَا ثُمَّ أَمَرَ بِرَاحِلَةٍ فَرُحِلَتْ ثُمَّ مَرَّتْ تَحْتَهُمَا وَلَمْ تُصِبْهُمَا
Yahya related to me from Malik from Wahb ibn Kaysan that Jabir ibn Abdullah said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent a delegation to the coast. Abu Ubayda ibn al- Jarrah was in command of them. There were 300 people and I was among them. We went out until we had gone part of the way and our provisions were finished. Abu Ubayda ordered that the provisions of the army be gathered up and they amounted to two containers of dates. He used to give us a little provision from it each day until it was finished, and we used to have only a single date each. I said, 'What use is one date?' He said, 'We will certainly feel its loss when they are finished.' "
Jabir continued, "Then we reached the sea and there was a fish like a small mountain. The army ate from it for eighteen nights. Then Abu Ubayda ordered two ribs from it to be set up. Then he commanded that a camel be ridden underneath them and it did not touch them."
Reported by Malik (No. 1697) and Al-Bukhari (No. 2483, 4360).