journey!” ‘Umar replied: “O Messenger of God! What we have in hand is the equivalent of a seated young camel.” The Messenger (UWBP) said: “Go and give it to them!” So he went and out of that half load of dates, gave the four hundred horsemen sufficient provisions. And he stated that it remained as before, without diminishing.1
Thus, this miracle of plenty occurred in connection with four hundred men and ‘Umar in particular. They are behind the narrations, supporting them, and their silence confirms them. Do not ignore these narrations because they are related by a few individuals only, for if the incident had only been reported by a single individual, it still would have the certainty of ‘consensus in meaning.’
See, this clear miracle of plenty was not only reported by a few narrators like Jabir; many people connected with it described and narrated it, thus giving it the degree of ‘consensus in meaning.’
al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani, xxii, 85; Musnad, v, 445; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 294; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’, i, 609; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa, v, 365.
Bukhari, Wasaya, 36; Buyu’, 51; Sulh, 13; Istiqrad, 18; Nasa’i, Wasaya, 3, 4; Musnad, iii, 313, 365, 373, 391, 395, 398; Ibn Hibban, Sahih, viii, 167; al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani, xxii, 60; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 295.