The Book of Virtues — Hadith 5795

Arabic Text

وَحَدَّثَنِي سَلَمَةُ بْنُ شَبِيبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ أَعْيَنَ، حَدَّثَنَا مَعْقِلٌ، عَنْ أَبِي الزُّبَيْرِ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ، أَنَّ رَجُلاً، أَتَى النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَسْتَطْعِمُهُ فَأَطْعَمَهُ شَطْرَ وَسْقِ شَعِيرٍ فَمَا زَالَ الرَّجُلُ يَأْكُلُ مِنْهُ وَامْرَأَتُهُ وَضَيْفُهُمَا حَتَّى كَالَهُ فَأَتَى النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ ‏ "‏ لَوْ لَمْ تَكِلْهُ لأَكَلْتُمْ مِنْهُ وَلَقَامَ لَكُمْ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

English Translation

Jabir reported that a person came to Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) and asked for food. And he gave him half a wasq of barley, and the person and his wife and their guests kept on making use of it (as a food) until he weighed it (in order to find out the actual quantity, and it was no more). He came to Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) (and informed him about it). He said: Had you not weighed it, you would be eating out of it and it would have remained intact for you.