Sahih Muslim 1935b

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Abd al-Jabbar ibn al-Ala narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us, who said: Amr heard Jabir ibn Abdullah say: The Messenger of Allah sent us when we were three hundred riders, with Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah as our commander, to watch for a Quraysh caravan. We stayed on the shore for half a month. Severe hunger struck us, until we ate leaves; so the expedition was called the Army of Leaves. The sea cast up for us a creature called al-Anbar. We ate from it for half a month and rubbed its fat on ourselves until our bodies recovered. Abu Ubaydah took one of its ribs and stood it upright. He then looked for the tallest man in the army and the tallest camel, placed the man on the camel, and it passed beneath the rib. A group of men sat in its eye socket. We drew many pitchers of fat from its eye socket. We had a leather bag of dates with us. Abu Ubaydah gave each of us a handful, then gave us one date each. When they were gone, we felt their loss.