An Outline of Early Islamic History — Page 54
54 During this period many went without food. The Prophet missed his meal for days. One day Jabir bin Abdullah saw the Prophet in a very weak condition. He went home and asked his wife if she had any foodstuff. She said that she had a goat and some barley. The goat was killed. She told Jabir to bring to meals the Prophet and a few friends. Jabir spoke to the Prophet aside. He invited him to dinner at his house, with a party of friends to share. The Prophet asked how much food he had. Jabir told him the position. The Prophet said, “That is a lot. ” Turning round he called out, “O Ansar, O Muhajir’s , come, Jabir has asked us to meals. ” One thousand starving companions followed him. The Prophet asked Jabir to hurry home and tell his wife not to bake bread until he was there and not to remove the meat - pot from the fire. When the Prophet reached Jabir’s house, he blessed the pot and the dou gh. Then Jabir’s wife started baking bread with another woman to help. The Prophet started serving out meals. Jabir said, “I swear by God who holds my life in His hands, all the people were satisfied while my wife was still baking bread and the meat - pot was still on the fire. ” Medina Under Attack The enemy attack on Medina was heavy. Muslims were without means. They had no rations. The Banu Q u raiza had also