Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 2567
sahih

Narrated `Urwa:

Aisha said to me, "O my nephew! We used to see the crescent, and then the crescent and then the crescent in this way we saw three crescents in two months and no fire (for cooking) used to be made in the houses of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) . I said, "O my aunt! Then what use to sustain you?" `Aisha said, "The two black things: dates and water, our neighbors from Ansar had some Manarh and they used to present Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) some of their milk and he used to make us drink."

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الأُوَيْسِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ أَبِي حَازِمٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ رُومَانَ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنها ـ أَنَّهَا قَالَتْ لِعُرْوَةَ ابْنَ أُخْتِي، إِنْ كُنَّا لَنَنْظُرُ إِلَى الْهِلاَلِ ثُمَّ الْهِلاَلِ، ثَلاَثَةَ أَهِلَّةٍ فِي شَهْرَيْنِ، وَمَا أُوقِدَتْ فِي أَبْيَاتِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَارٌ‏.‏ فَقُلْتُ يَا خَالَةُ مَا كَانَ يُعِيشُكُمْ قَالَتِ الأَسْوَدَانِ التَّمْرُ وَالْمَاءُ، إِلاَّ أَنَّهُ قَدْ كَانَ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم جِيرَانٌ مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ كَانَتْ لَهُمْ مَنَائِحُ، وَكَانُوا يَمْنَحُونَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِنْ أَلْبَانِهِمْ، فَيَسْقِينَا‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 51, Hadith 2
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 3, Book 47, Hadith 741 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
This hadeeth highlights the Prophet’s asceticism and renouncement of this worldly life. He ﷺ was content with a small share of worldly provisions and pleasures and endured it. He ﷺ was content with having his basic needs and necessities of life, and gave preference to the Hereafter over the worldly life. The Mother of the Believers ‘Aa’ishah bint Aboo Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them) said to her nephew ‘Urwah ibn Al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him), the son of her sister Asmaa’ bint Aboo Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them), that they used to wait three crescents in a row, i.e., 60 days or three consecutive months, and no fire (for cooking) would be used in the houses of Allah's Messenger ﷺ! ‘Urwah exclaimed: “O my aunt! Then what did you eat to sustain yourselves?” ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "The two black foodstuffs: dates and water;” Arabs used one word to refer to both dates and water (since dates and water are usually consumed together), Al-Aswadaan (i.e., the two black things) even though only the dates are black (which is known in Arabic language as Taghleeb), giving preference to the color of dates. She (may Allah be pleased with her) added: “… our neighbors from the Ansaar,” and it was said that they were Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubaadah, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn Haraam, Aboo Ayyoob Khaalid ibn Zayd, Sa‘d ibn Zuraarah, and others (may Allah be pleased with them), “… had some milch she-camels and they used to present Allah's Messenger ﷺ some of their milk and he ﷺ used to offer it to us to drink it. It was also said that the Arabic word Manaa’ih referred to milch she-camels or sheep that are gifted to someone else to avail himself of their milk, and then return them to their owners. It could also mean that such she-camels or sheep are offered as life-long gifts to others to keep and avail themselves of their milk and other benefits. These men from the Ansaar used to gift such milk to the Prophet ﷺ, who offered it to his household members as sustenance. The hadeeth underlines the merits of the Ansaar (may Allah be pleased with them) and the virtues of exchanging gifts and presents, as small and insignificant as they may seem. .
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