A man and his wife in times long past could find nothing to live on. The man returned from a journey and came in to his wife famished, having endured severe hunger. He said to her, "Do you have anything to eat?"She replied, "Yes, rejoice, Allah's provision has come to you."He waited patiently, then said, "Please, look and see if you have anything."She said, "Yes, just a little while, we hope for Allah's mercy."When this dragged on, he said, "Please, get up and look. If you have any bread, bring it to me, for I have reached my limit and am exhausted."She said, "Yes, the oven is just now finishing baking, so do not be hasty."When he fell silent for a while, and she too waited expecting him to speak to her again, she said to herself, "If only I got up and looked into my oven."So she rose and found her oven full of mutton ribs, and her two millstones grinding away. She went to the millstone and dusted it off, then took out from her oven the mutton ribs.Abu Hurairah said, "By the One in whose hand is the soul of Abu Qasim, repeating the words of Muhammad ﷺ, had she taken what was in her two millstones without dusting them off, they would have kept grinding until the Day of Resurrection."
بينما رجل وامرأة له في السلف الخالي لا يقدران على شيء فجاء الرجل من سفره، فدخل على امرأته جائعا، قد أصابته مسغبة شديدة، فقال لامرأته: أعندك شيء؟ قالت: نعم، أبشر أتاك رزق الله فاستحتها، فقال: ويحك ابتغي إن كان عندك شيء، قالت: نعم، هنية، نرجو رحمة الله حتى إذا طال عليه الطول، قال: ويحك، قومي فابتغي إن كان عندك خبز، فأتيني به، فإني قد بلغت وجهدت، فقالت: نعم، الآن ينضج التنور فلا تعجل، فلما أن سكت عنها ساعة، و تحينت أيضا أن يقول لها، قالت هي من عند نفسها: لوقمت فنظرت إلى تنوري، فقامت فوجدت تنورها ملآن جنوب الغنم، ورحييها تطحنان، فقامت إلى الرحى، فنفضتها وأخرجت ما في تنورها من جنوب الغنم. قال أبو هريرة: فوالذي نفس أبي القاسم بيده عن قول محمد ﷺ: لو أخذت ما في رحييها ولم تنفضها لطحنتها إلى يوم القيامة.
Ahmad (9464) reported it from Hashim bin Qasim, who said, Abdul-Hameed, meaning Ibn Bahram, narrated to us, who said, Shahr bin Hawshab narrated to us, and he mentioned it.Its chain is hasan because of Shahr bin Hawshab, for his hadith is hasan when he does not contradict others and does not bring something objectionable, and indeed he has been corroborated in this hadith. Ahmad (10658) reported it from Aswad bin Amir, Abu Bakr informed us, from Hisham, from Muhammad (that is, Ibn Sirin), from Abu Hurairah, who said, and he mentioned the hadith similarly but in brief.Its chain is also hasan because of Abu Bakr, who is Ibn Ayyash the Kufan, for his hadith is hasan.