Barakah in food shared with sincere heart

The whole family members have gathered at the dining table, eagerly waiting for the sound of adzhan to break fast. As usual, baby porcupine was the busiest person at the table, walking on chairs from one end of the table to another, tasting food happily and pinching her sister's cheek on the way. My husband looked a bit tired today. He told me there were some errands outside the office that he has to take care of and has been going in and out under the hot sun several times.

As we waited for adzhan, my mobile phone rang. It was my younger brother. He happened to be working somewhere close to our house and asked if he could join us for break fast. I invited him to come over and he said,

"Actually, I am already in front of your door"

Ah! That is so my brother!

Picture taken from http://www.thechediphuket.com/

To my surprise, when I opened the door, he was not alone. He has friends with him! Oh! No! I panicked. There will not be not enough food for all four of them! And there was not enough time to cook for more food! Nevertheless, I did not reject them. Instead, I invited all to come dine with us at the table. My husband easily detected this worry expression on my face. He told me to stay calm, everything will be fine.

Adzhan was soon on air and we ate. I kept praying that whatever we have on the table will be sufficient for all of us. I could not afford to see disappointed faces... O Allah, help me please!

Alhamdulillah, everything went on just fine, exactly as told by my husband. Everyone was satisfied. There was ample food for everyone. I breathed a sigh of relief when it was over. After maghrib prayer, I asked my husband what made him feel so confident that no one will leave the dining table still feeling hungry.  He smiled, got up, grab a book (contains the story of sahabah) and showed me a page on The Battle of Khandaq: 4th year of Hijrah, 626 AD:


At the end of the battle of Ohud when Abu Sofian was unable to hurt our Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), he returned to Makkah after promising that he will come back next year and will take revenge for the defeats of Badr and Ohud. This time it was not only the non-believers of Makkah who were with him. He had also taken the help of the Jews of Madinah to defeat Islam forever. The Jewish tribes of Madinah promised to help in two ways, one to send soldiers to fight in the battlefield and two to create fear among the women and children who were left in the town unprotected.

Picture courtesy of lighthousepatriot.blogspot.com

The Prophet’s companion Salman Farsi suggested that the muslims must dig a moat on the unprotected side of the town. The muslims took this advice and the moat was ready within 3 days in which the Prophet himself took part. When the enemy forces arrived at the scene they were unable to enter the city due to the newly dug moat and they stayed on the outerside.

Jabir bin Abdillah (r.a.), while digging the moat he observed that our Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) looked tired and hungry. Concerned about his condition, Jabir hurriedly went back home and told his wife to cook whatever they have in the house for the Prophet. His wife immediately took out the flour and started to knead dough to make bread. Jabir slaughtered a goat and immediately cooked it.

Once ready, he went out to invite our Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) to eat at his house. Before he left, his wife whispered to him,

“Please do not embarrass me in front of the muslims. This is the only food we have in the house and it is not enough for everyone out there. Be sure to invite only the Prophet to our house”

Jabir nodded and went off. He met our Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and invited him in secrecy with several other sahabahs to his house. To his surprise, suddenly our Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) stood up and called everyone to gather around him and said,

“O those who are digging the moat! Jabir has prepared us some food and drinks and invited us all to his house to eat”

Our Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) then turned to Jabir and told him to go home and remind his wife not to remove the cooking pot from the stove and not to bake the bread until they arrive.

When he told his wife what the Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) instructed them to do, she almost cried,

“This is your fault! I have told you there’s not enough food for everyone!”

Picture taken from www.everyculture.com

Soon after, our Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and the muslims flooded the house. The Prophet instructed Jabir to bring before him the bread dough. He tasted the dough and made dua to Allah, seeking for barakah in the food. He then went to the stove, tasted the mutton dish and made dua for barakah. Once done, he instructed Jabir and his wife to get an assistant to prepare the bread and serve the meal for them. But again he reminded Jabir not to remove the pot from the stove. With that, they started the feast.

Later when relating the story, Jabir (r.a.) said,

Picture taken from www.reachinghearts4kids.org

“Masya-Allah! There were three thousand people feasting with the Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), all them eat heartily and were fully satisfied. When they left, the bread dough and the mutton dish were still as much as before, as if untouched!”

[Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim]