It was a time when Muslims were preparing for the Battle of Ahzab. The trench was being dug around Madinah. Many Companions of the Prophet (saw) had had nothing to eat for days. They had strapped pieces of rocks to their stomachs, so that they could overcome the hunger pangs and keep on digging the trench.
Sister of Nauman bin Bashir (rtam) narrated that her mother called her, gave her a handful of dates and asked her to take it to her father and uncle, who were busy digging the trench. These dates would serve as their lunch.
The sister took the dates and went in search of her father and uncle. On the way, she met the Prophet (saw), who asked her, whom she was looking for. She showed him the dates and said that these had been sent by her mother as lunch for her father and uncle.
The Prophet (saw) took the dates from her. They barely filled his whole hand. Then, he (saw) ordered for a piece of cloth to be laid out. On that cloth, he spread out those few dates and ordered a man to call all those companions, who were digging the trench, to come and have their lunch.
There were about one to three thousand companions, digging the trench at the time. They all came, sat down around the cloth and started eating the dates. And even when every single companion had eaten his fill, there were still enough dates for everyone on the cloth. When the companions went back to work after lunch, the dates were so many that they were still falling out of the cloth.
Moral of the Story
- When we bear hardships for the sake of Allah (swt), He (swt) helps us, too.
- We must have faith in Allah (swt) at all times.
- We must follow the footsteps of early Muslims, who are our true role models. This can be done by learning more about them and their lives.
- We must try to do noble deeds today to regain our past glory.
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