The people of Suffa were poor. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ once said, "Whoever has food for two, let him take a third along, and whoever has food for four, let him take a fifth or a sixth," or as he said.Abu Bakr brought three guests, while the Prophet of Allah ﷺ took ten. Abu Bakr brought three home, and the household consisted of him, myself, my father and mother. (I do not know whether he also said, "and my wife and a servant who served between our house and Abu Bakr's house.")Abu Bakr ate his evening meal at the Prophet's ﷺ home, then stayed there until the night prayer was performed. He returned afterward and remained until the Messenger of Allah ﷺ grew drowsy. Abu Bakr came back home after a portion of the night had passed, as Allah willed.His wife said to him, "What kept you from your guests?" or she said, "your guest?"He replied, "Have you not given them their evening meal?"She said, "They refused until you came. The food was offered to them, but they overruled them."I went and hid myself. Abu Bakr called out, "You little fool!" He cursed and reviled, then said, "Eat, may it bring you no pleasure!" He swore, "By Allah, I shall never eat it!"By Allah, we did not take a single morsel without more food rising up from beneath it than what we had taken, until we were satisfied, and the food became more than it had been before. Abu Bakr looked at it and saw that it was as it had been, or even more.He said to his wife, "Sister of Banu Firas, what is this?"She replied, "No, by the coolness of my eye, it is now three times more than it was before!"So Abu Bakr ate from it and said, "That oath was only from Satan," meaning his vow not to eat. He ate one morsel, then carried the rest to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, where it remained until morning.Now there had been a treaty between us and a certain people, and its term had expired. We were divided into twelve groups under twelve men, each man accompanied by people, only Allah knows how many were with each. He sent food along with them, and all of them ate from it, or as he said.
حدثنا عبيد الله بن معاذ العنبري وحامد بن عمر البكراوي ومحمد بن عبد الأعلى القيسي كلهم عن المعتمر واللفظ لابن معاذ حدثنا المعتمر بن سليمان قال قال أبي حدثنا أبو عثمان أنه حدثه
أن أصحاب الصفة كانوا ناسا فقراء وإن رسول الله ﷺ قال مرة من كان عنده طعام اثنين فليذهب بثلاثة ومن كان عنده طعام أربعة فليذهب بخامس بسادس أو كما قال وإن أبا بكر جاء بثلاثة وانطلق نبي الله ﷺ بعشرة وأبو بكر بثلاثة قال فهو وأنا وأبي وأمي ولا أدري هل قال وامرأتي وخادم بين بيتنا وبيت أبي بكر قال وإن أبا بكر تعشى عند النبي ﷺ ثم لبث حتى صليت العشاء ثم رجع فلبث حتى نعس رسول الله ﷺ فجاء بعدما مضى من الليل ما شاء الله قالت له امرأته ما حبسك عن أضيافك أو قالت ضيفك قال أو ما عشيتهم قالت أبوا حتى تجيء قد عرضوا عليهم فغلبوهم قال فذهبت أنا فاختبأت وقال يا غنثر فجدع وسب وقال كلوا لا هنيئا وقال والله لا أطعمه أبدا قال فايم الله ما كنا نأخذ من لقمة إلا ربا من أسفلها أكثر منها قال حتى شبعنا وصارت أكثر مما كانت قبل ذلك فنظر إليها أبو بكر فإذا هي كما هي أو أكثر قال لامرأته يا أخت بني فراس ما هذا قالت لا وقرة عيني لهي الآن أكثر منها قبل ذلك بثلاث مرار قال فأكل منها أبو بكر وقال إنما كان ذلك من الشيطان يعني يمينه ثم أكل منها لقمة ثم حملها إلى رسول الله ﷺ فأصبحت عنده قال وكان بيننا وبين قوم عقد فمضى الأجل فعرفنا اثنا عشر رجلا مع كل رجل منهم أناس الله أعلم كم مع كل رجل إلا أنه بعث معهم فأكلوا منها أجمعون أو كما قال