Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
On one occasion, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and his respected wives did not have any food to eat. A few days passed like this, until the hunger became very difficult to manage.
At that time, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) came to the home of his beloved daughter, Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha), and asked her if she had any food. However, Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) and her family were also undergoing hunger and did not have any food. Hearing that she did not have any food at home, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) departed.
A few moments later, one of Hazrat Faatimah’s (radhiyallahu ‘anha) neighbours sent her two pieces of bread and a piece of meat. Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) placed the bread and meat in a bowl and covered it, and then sent one of her sons, Hazrat Hasan or Hazrat Husain (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma), to call Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). She did not want to eat this food without her father, knowing that he was undergoing starvation. This was the special heart that Allah Ta‘ala had blessed Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) with, that despite she and her family also being hungry, they did not want to eat this food without Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam).
When Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) came, she said to him, “Allah Ta‘ala sent some food, and I kept this food to eat with you.” She then brought the bowl to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), and on removing the cover, she was surprised to find that the bowl no longer contained just two pieces of bread and one piece of meat – rather the entire bowl was now filled with meat and bread. This was a special blessing that Allah Ta‘ala sent to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and his family.
Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) says: When I saw this, I was astonished and realised that this was special barakah which had come from Allah Ta‘ala. I praised Allah Ta‘ala, recited durood shareef, and presented the food to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam).
When Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) saw the food, he praised Allah Ta‘ala and asked, “O my beloved daughter! Where did you get this food from?” Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) replied, “O my beloved father! This food came from Allah!” She then recited the following verse of the Qur’aan Majeed:
اِنَّ اللّٰہَ یَرۡزُقُ مَنۡ یَّشَآءُ بِغَیۡرِ حِسَابٍ ﴿۳۷﴾
Undoubtedly, Allah Ta‘ala grants sustenance to whomsoever He wishes without any measure. (Surah Aal-e-Imraan v. 37)
Hearing Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) speak these words, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was most pleased. He praised Allah Ta‘ala saying, “All praise is due to Allah who made you – my beloved daughter – resemble Hazrat Mariam (‘alaihas salaam) who was the best woman and leader of all the women of the Banu Israa’eel. When she received food from the unseen and was asked from where it had come, she replied saying:
ہُوَ مِنۡ عِنۡدِ اللّٰہِ ؕاِنَّ اللّٰہَ یَرۡزُقُ مَنۡ یَّشَآءُ بِغَیۡرِ حِسَابٍ ﴿۳۷﴾
It is from the side of Allah. Undoubtedly, Allah Ta‘ala grants sustenance to whomsoever He wishes without any measure. (Surah Aal-e-Imraan v. 37)
Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) then sent for Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), after which Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) ate from the food, together with Hazrat Ali, Hazrat Faatimah, Hazrat Hasan and Husain (radhiyallahu ‘anhum). Thereafter, all the respected wives (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) also ate from this food until they were all satisfied.
Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) says that there was so much of barakah in the food that even after all the people had eaten, the amount of food in the bowl remained the same and did not become less. Hazrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) thus sent the remaining food to be shared among all her neighbours.
(Al-Bidaayah wan Nihaayah 6/115)
