One person’s food may suffice two or four persons, but if it suffices a large number of people, this is considered a miracle with which Allah honored His Prophet (). This miracle occurred to the Messenger of Allah several times in different places and occasions, one of which was on the day of the Battle of Al-Khandaq, when he fed one thousand persons from a small sheep and a Sa‘ (a measure that equals three kilograms) of barley. Al-Bukhari and Muslim reported that when Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) found the Prophet extremely hungry, he went home, brought a bag containing one Sa‘ of barley, slaughtered a ewe, prepared food with his wife, and invited the Messenger of Allah (). When Jabir saw the Prophet accompanied by the people of Al-Khandaq, he was completely disturbed and confused and wondered how this food would suffice this large number of people. The Prophet () knew what Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) was thinking of, so he asked him not to put down the earthenware meat pot (from the fireplace) or bake the dough till he came in order to bless it. After that, all of them ate and became satiated while the amount of food did not decrease.

When the Companions were severely hungry at the Battle of Tabuk, they asked the Prophet to grant them permission to slaughter their camels, but he asked them to bring him their remaining food and supplicated Allah to bless it. Afterwards he said, “Now take it up in your vessels”, so they did, and there was not left a single empty vessel in the whole camp. All of the Companions ate to their fill, and there were still some leftovers. (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim, and this is the wording of Muslim.)

On the day of the Prophet’s Hijra (migration) Om Ma‘bad Al-Khuza‘iyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) embraced Islam when she saw him wiping the udder of her lean female sheep, causing it to be filled with milk. Then the Prophet () and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) drank from it. (Reported by Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak)

Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) complained to the Messenger of Allah about being burdened with the debts of his father who was martyred at the Battle of Uhud, and about the creditors who were persistently asking for their rights. Therefore, the Prophet () visited his garden and supplicated Allah to bless its fruits, so Jabir paid off his father’s debt and some other fruits were left. (Reported by Al-Bukhari)

A miracle happened as a reward from Allah to one of the Prophet’s Companions who took some food from the Prophet to serve to his guest, as the Companion and his guest kept on eating from this food without it being decreased. However, when the Companion weighed it, the quantity started to decrease, so he went to the Prophet to inform him about what happened. The Prophet () said, “Had you not weighed it, you would be eating out of it and it would have remained intact for you.” (Related by Muslim)

A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated an incident that indicates the blessing of the Prophet’s food during his life and after his death. She said, “The Messenger of Allah () died when my house was void of any edible thing except for a small quantity of barley I had on a shelf and from which I kept eating for a long time. Then when I measured what was left of it, it soon finished.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

When Abu Talha invited the Messenger of Allah (), he visited him with seventy or eighty of his Companions. The Messenger of Allah supplicated Allah to bless the food and asked the Companions to come in groups of ten persons to eat, so they did until all of them ate and were satiated from this small amount of food. (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim, and this is the wording of Al-Bukhari.)

Abd-ur-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them) reported that when the Prophet () was traveling with one hundred and thirty persons, he said, “Does anyone of you have food?” One of them brought and cooked a Sa‘ of barley, then the Prophet bought a female sheep and ordered to have it cooked. All the attendees ate, and a lot of food was left. (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Samurah ibn Jundab (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah () was presented a dish of meat and bread, then people kept on eating from it the whole day. Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “It wasn't filled up from anywhere but here, and he pointed with his hand towards the sky.” (Reported by Ahmad)

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) witnessed this miracle; one day, he was so hungry that he had to tie a rock to his stomach, then he went to speak with Abu Bakr and Omar (may Allah be pleased with them) so that they would present food to him. However, they did not understand what he meant. When the Prophet () saw him, he understood that he was hungry, so he offered him a vessel of milk. However, Abu Hurairah’s joy was not achieved, as the Messenger of Allah () commanded him to invite all the people of As-Suffah. Therefore, Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) obeyed the Prophet’s command while thinking that his intention would not be fulfilled, as he did not know that he would witness one of the Prophet’s miracles. All the people of As-Suffah drank from the vessel without it being decreased and then Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) drank until he was not able to drink any more, and the Prophet () was the last one to drink. (Reported by Al-Bukhari)

A more amazing incident was reported in Sunnan At-Tirmidhi from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said, “I came to the Prophet () with some dates and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, supplicate to Allah to bless them.’ So he took them and supplicated for me for blessing in them and then said to me, ‘Take them and put them in this bag of yours—or this bag—and whenever you intend to take any from it, then put your hand in it and take it, and do not scatter them all about.’ I used to eat from it until the day on which Othman (may Allah be pleased with him) was killed. (Reported by At-Tirmidhi and classified as good by Al-Albani)

To sum up, the increase of food is a miracle with which Allah supported His Prophet. The people witnessed it, and the Companions experienced this miracle. This miracle caused a lot of people to embrace Islam, had a great impact on the Muslims’ souls, and contributed to furthering their faith and their clinging to their Lord and to solving their problems and crises. Glory be to Allah, Who is not prevented by anything in the heavens or on the earth.