Seventh Sign.Part2

F i f t h  E x a m p l e : As is recorded in the Six Books, Jabir al-Ansari related under oath: “During the Ahzab expedition on the celebrated day of Khandaq, about a thousand people ate from four handfuls of rye bread and a young cooked goat; yet food was still left over. That day the food had been cooked in my house, and after the one thousand people had left, the pot was still boiling with meat in it, and bread was being made from the dough; for the Prophet had wetted the dough and the pot with his blessed mouth, beseeching God for plenty.”

S i x t h  E x a m p l e : According to an authentic narration from Abu Talha, the uncle of Anas who served God’s Messenger, the Messenger fed seventy to eighty men with a small amount of rye bread that Anas had brought under his arm. The Messenger ordered: “Break the bread into small pieces!”, and prayed for increase. Because the house was small, they came ten at a time, and left having filled themselves.

S e v e n t h  E x a m p l e : It is related as authentic in accurate books such as Shifa’ al-Sharif and Muslim that Jabir al-Ansari narrated: “Once a man asked the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) for food for his household. The Messenger gave him a half load of barley. For a long time he ate of the barley together with his family and guests. They would look and see that it did not finish. So they measured it to see by how much it decreased. After that the blessing of abundance was gone and the barley began to dwindle rapidly. The man went to the Messenger and related what had happened. God’s Messenger replied: “If you had not put it to the test by measuring it, it would have lasted you a life-time.”

E i g h t h  E x a m p l e : According to accurate books such as Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, Bayhaqi, and Shifa’ al-Sharif, Samura b. Jundub related that a bowl of meat was brought to the Prophet (PBUH). From morning to evening, many groups of men came and ate from it.

In accordance with the explanation we gave in the introduction to this section, this is not the narration of Samura alone, since Samura narrated this incident on behalf of, and with the approval of, all those present.

N i n t h  E x a m p l e : It is also narrated by reli-able and trusted scholars such as the well-known author of Shifa’ al-Sharif, Ibn Abi Shayba, and Tabarani, that Abu Hurayra related: “The Noble Messenger commanded me, ‘Invite the poor Makkan migrants who have made the Bench [suffa] of the Mosque their home and who number more than a hundred.’ So I went and searched for them and gathered them together. A tray of food was set before us, and we ate as much as we wanted, then we arose. The dish remained full as it was when set down, only, the traces of fingers on the food were visible.

Thus, this incident is related by Abu Hurayra in the name of all the People of the Bench, supported by their confirmation. Hence, the incident is as definite as if all the People of the Bench had related it. Is it at all possible that if it had not been true those men of truth and perfection would have remained silent and not denied it?

T e n t h  E x a m p l e : According to an authen-tic narration from ‘Ali, the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) once gathered the Bani ‘Abd al-Muttalib. They were about forty, including some who would eat a young camel and drink a gallon of milk in one meal. Yet for them he had prepared only a handful of food. All ate and were satisfied, and the food remained just as it had been before. Later he brought milk in a wooden bowl that would have been sufficent for only three or four persons. They all drank their fill.

Thus, a miracle of plenty as definite as ‘Ali’s courage and loyalty!