It was
narrated that Jabir bin ‘Abdullah said:
“The Messenger of
Allah
ﷺ sent us, (we were) three hundred men, carrying our provisions on our
necks. Our provisions ran out until there would be for (every) man
among us one date (a day).” Then it was said: “O Abu ‘Abdullah,
how
can one date satisfy a man?” He said: “When we no longer had
it, we
realized how much it was worth. Then we came to the sea and
found a
whale that had been thrown up by the sea, and we ate from it
for
eighteen days.”

حَدَّثَنَا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدَةُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ وَهْبِ بْنِ كَيْسَانَ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ بَعَثَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ ﷺ ـ وَنَحْنُ ثَلاَثُمِائَةٍ نَحْمِلُ أَزْوَادَنَا عَلَى رِقَابِنَا فَفَنِيَ أَزْوَادُنَا حَتَّى كَانَ يَكُونُ لِلرَّجُلِ مِنَّا تَمْرَةٌ . فَقِيلَ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ وَأَيْنَ تَقَعُ التَّمْرَةُ مِنَ الرَّجُلِ فَقَالَ لَقَدْ وَجَدْنَا فَقْدَهَا حِينَ فَقَدْنَاهَا وَأَتَيْنَا الْبَحْرَ فَإِذَا نَحْنُ بِحُوتٍ قَدْ قَذَفَهُ الْبَحْرُ فَأَكَلْنَا مِنْهُ ثَمَانِيَةَ عَشَرَ يَوْمًا .