64/65. Chapter:
Sahih Bukhari 4362 — The Al-Anbar Fish and Prophetic Approval
The Ghazwa of the sea-coast
Al-Anbar Fish Hadith: Food Allah Brought Out for the Army
Sahih Bukhari : 4362
Sahih BukhariHadith Number 4362
حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى، عَنِ ابْنِ جُرَيْجٍ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي عَمْرٌو، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ جَابِرًا ـ رضى الله عنه ـ يَقُولُ غَزَوْنَا جَيْشَ الْخَبَطِ وَأُمِّرَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ، فَجُعْنَا جُوعًا شَدِيدًا فَأَلْقَى الْبَحْرُ حُوتًا مَيِّتًا، لَمْ نَرَ مِثْلَهُ، يُقَالُ لَهُ الْعَنْبَرُ، فَأَكَلْنَا مِنْهُ نِصْفَ شَهْرٍ، فَأَخَذَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ عَظْمًا مِنْ عِظَامِهِ فَمَرَّ الرَّاكِبُ تَحْتَهُ. فَأَخْبَرَنِي أَبُو الزُّبَيْرِ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ جَابِرًا يَقُولُ قَالَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ كُلُوا. فَلَمَّا قَدِمْنَا الْمَدِينَةَ ذَكَرْنَا ذَلِكَ لِلنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ " كُلُوا رِزْقًا أَخْرَجَهُ اللَّهُ، أَطْعِمُونَا إِنْ كَانَ مَعَكُمْ ". فَأَتَاهُ بَعْضُهُمْ {بِعُضْوٍ} فَأَكَلَهُ.
Jabir Narrated from:
We set out in the army of Al-Khabt and Abu Ubaida was the commander of the troops. We were struck with severe hunger and the sea threw out a dead fish the like of which we had never seen, and it was called Al-`Anbar. We ate of it for half a month. Abu Ubaida took (and fixed) one of its bones and a rider passed underneath it (without touching it).(Jabir added:) Abu 'Ubaida said (to us), "Eat (of that fish)." When we arrived at Medina, we informed the Prophet (ﷺ) about that, and he said, "Eat, for it is food Allah has brought out for you, and feed us if you have some of it." So some of them gave him (of that fish) and he ate it.
Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 4362In-book reference : Book 64, Hadith 388USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 5, Book 59, Hadith 648
Summary of Sahih Bukhari Hadith 4362
This Hadith is an important wording of the Al-Anbar fish story because it includes the Prophet's own response. Jabir says the army of Al-Khabt suffered severe hunger, then the sea threw out a dead fish called Al-Anbar. They had never seen anything like it, and they ate from it for half a month. Abu Ubaida told them to eat, and when they reached Madinah they told the Prophet about it. He said it was food that Allah had brought out for them, and he asked to be fed from it if they still had some. Some of them brought a piece, and he ate from it. The focus is simple: the troops were in need, the fish became food for them, and the Prophet approved eating from it in that situation.
What we learn from this hadith
- The army ate from the fish when severe hunger had reached them.
- Abu Ubaida told the troops to eat from what the sea had brought.
- The Prophet described it as food Allah brought out for them.
- The Prophet ate from what was brought to him, confirming the report.
