Al-Matalib al-'Aliyah 3842 — hadith 3842-3844

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that we came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with some dates. He (peace and blessings be upon him) sat on his knees (to distribute them), took a handful of dates and said: "Take this and give it to so-and-so (one of his honoured wives)." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) took another handful and said: "Take this to so-and-so." In this way he (peace and blessings be upon him) distributed a handful of dates to each of his pure wives. After that he (peace and blessings be upon him) took a handful (for himself) and began to eat from it, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) kept taking out the date stones and putting them down with his left hand. Meanwhile a domestic animal of the house (a goat or the like) passed by him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave those stones to it, and it ate them.
Imam Abu Ya'la al-Mawsili narrated this hadith in his Musnad. The narrator in its chain, Abu Ma'shar Najih bin Abd al-Rahman al-Sindi, has been declared weak because of the weakness of his memory; however, together with other supporting reports and corroborating chains, this narration can reach the level of hasan (good).