The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent us out with Abu Ubayda, and we were three hundred and some odd men. He provided us with a leather sack of dates as our provisions. He used to give each of us a handful at a time, then when even that ran short, he would give us a single date at a time. We would suck on it the way a child sucks, then drink water afterward. When the dates were gone, we truly felt their loss, so much so that we began beating down leaves from the khabat tree with our bows, soaking them in water, and swallowing them down with water. That is why we were called the Army of the Leaves.Then we went on along the coast, and there appeared before us a creature like a sand dune called the ambar. Abu Ubayda said at first, "It is dead meat, do not eat it." Then he reconsidered and said, "We are the army of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, in the path of Allah , and we are in dire need. Eat in the name of Allah."So we ate from it and made dried strips of its meat. Thirteen men sat together inside the socket of its eye. Abu Ubayda took one of its ribs, mounted it upright, and led the largest camel among the company beneath it, and the camel passed under it without touching.When we returned to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he asked, "What kept you?"We replied, "We were tracking the caravans of Quraysh." Then we told him about the creature.He said, "That was sustenance Allah
provided for you. Do you have any of it left?"We said, "Yes."
أخبرنا محمد بن عمر بن علي بن مقدم المقدمي قال حدثنا معاذ بن هشام قال حدثني أبي عن أبي الزبير
بعثنا رسول الله ﷺ مع أبي عبيدة ونحن ثلاث مائة وبضعة عشر وزودنا جرابا من تمر فأعطانا قبضة قبضة فلما أن جزناه أعطانا تمرة تمرة حتى إن كنا لنمصها كما يمص الصبي ونشرب عليها الماء فلما فقدناها وجدنا فقدها حتى إن كنا لنخبط الخبط بقسينا ونسفه ثم نشرب عليه من الماء حتى سمينا جيش الخبط ثم أجزنا الساحل فإذا دابة مثل الكثيب يقال له العنبر فقال أبو عبيدة ميتة لا تأكلوه ثم قال جيش رسول الله ﷺ وفي سبيل الله عز وجل ونحن مضطرون كلوا باسم الله فأكلنا منه وجعلنا منه وشيقة ولقد جلس في موضع عينه ثلاثة عشر رجلا قال فأخذ أبو عبيدة ضلعا من أضلاعه فرحل به أجسم بعير من أباعر القوم فأجاز تحته فلما قدمنا على رسول الله ﷺ قال ما حبسكم قلنا كنا نتبع عيرات قريش وذكرنا له من أمر الدابة فقال ذاك رزق رزقكموه الله عز وجل أمعكم منه شيء قال قلنا نعم
No references are available.
[Sahih] See the previous hadith. It is in Kubra, no. 4866.