"The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) dispatched us, and there were three-hundred of us. We were carrying our provisions on our shoulders. Then our provisions ran out such that each man among us could eat only a date per day." It was said to him: "O Abu 'Abdullah! How could one date be enough for a man?'" He said: "We realized its value when we did not even have that. Then we came to the sea where we saw a whale that the sea had tossed (on the shore). So we ate as much as we liked from it for eighteen days."
حَدَّثَنَا هَنَّادٌ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدَةُ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ وَهْبِ بْنِ كَيْسَانَ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ بَعَثَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَنَحْنُ ثَلاَثُمِائَةٍ نَحْمِلُ زَادَنَا عَلَى رِقَابِنَا فَفَنِيَ زَادُنَا حَتَّى إِنْ كَانَ يَكُونُ لِلرَّجُلِ مِنَّا كُلَّ يَوْمٍ تَمْرَةٌ . فَقِيلَ لَهُ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ وَأَيْنَ كَانَتْ تَقَعُ التَّمْرَةُ مِنَ الرَّجُلِ فَقَالَ لَقَدْ وَجَدْنَا فَقْدَهَا حِينَ فَقَدْنَاهَا وَأَتَيْنَا الْبَحْرَ فَإِذَا نَحْنُ بِحُوتٍ قَدْ قَذَفَهُ الْبَحْرُ فَأَكَلْنَا مِنْهُ ثَمَانِيَةَ عَشَرَ يَوْمًا مَا أَحْبَبْنَا . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ صَحِيحٌ وَقَدْ رُوِيَ مِنْ غَيْرِ وَجْهٍ عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ . وَرَوَاهُ مَالِكُ بْنُ أَنَسٍ عَنْ وَهْبِ بْنِ كَيْسَانَ أَتَمَّ مِنْ هَذَا وَأَطْوَلَ .
Tirmizi
Chapters on the description of the Day of Judgement, Ar-Riqaq, and Al-Wara' • Hadith 2565