Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 938
sahih

Narrated Sahl bin Sa`d:

There was a woman amongst us who had a farm and she used to sow Silq (a kind of vegetable) on the edges of streams in her farm. On Fridays she used to pull out the Silq from its roots and put the roots in a utensil. Then she would put a handful of powdered barley over it and cook it. The roots of the Silq were a substitute for meat. After finishing the Jumua prayer we used to greet her and she would give us that food which we would eat with our hands, and because of that meal, we used to look forward to Friday.

حَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدُ بْنُ أَبِي مَرْيَمَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو غَسَّانَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو حَازِمٍ، عَنْ سَهْلٍ، قَالَ كَانَتْ فِينَا امْرَأَةٌ تَجْعَلُ عَلَى أَرْبِعَاءَ فِي مَزْرَعَةٍ لَهَا سِلْقًا، فَكَانَتْ إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ جُمُعَةٍ تَنْزِعُ أُصُولَ السِّلْقِ فَتَجْعَلُهُ فِي قِدْرٍ، ثُمَّ تَجْعَلُ عَلَيْهِ قَبْضَةً مِنْ شَعِيرٍ تَطْحَنُهَا، فَتَكُونُ أُصُولُ السِّلْقِ عَرْقَهُ، وَكُنَّا نَنْصَرِفُ مِنْ صَلاَةِ الْجُمُعَةِ فَنُسَلِّمُ عَلَيْهَا، فَتُقَرِّبُ ذَلِكَ الطَّعَامَ إِلَيْنَا فَنَلْعَقُهُ، وَكُنَّا نَتَمَنَّى يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ لِطَعَامِهَا ذَلِكَ‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 11, Hadith 62
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 2, Book 13, Hadith 60 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
This hadith highlights how content the companions of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) were, despite the hard life they lived. Sahl ibn Sa‘d (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a woman – according to another report in Sahih al-Bukhari, she was an old woman – used to strive hard to prepare food for the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and his companions (may Allah be pleased with them) every Friday. This was a habit of hers. She would plant beets in the streams of her field, and on Friday she would pull up the roots of the beet plants, place them in a pot and add some ground barley, then she would mix them and cook them. The roots of the beet plants were like meat, meaning that through cooking that they produced some broth. What is meant is that these beets were eaten by them instead of meat. They used to pass by her after Jumu‘ah, and she would offer them these beets and they would eat that food. Sahl ibn Sa‘d (may Allah be pleased with him) said that they used to look forward to Friday because of this food of hers, because the Sahabah – especially the Muhajirin (may Allah be pleased with them) – did not become rich until after Allah granted conquests to them. After the conquests, wealth became abundant, but before that most of the Sahabah were poor. This hadith highlights how content the Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them) were with their lot, and they were happy with the little they had. It also indicates that the Muslim should not look down on any favour, no matter how small..