Muwatta Imam Malik (Riwayat Ibn al-Qasim)

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, sent a detachment of three hundred Companions towards the coast and appointed Sayyiduna Abu Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah, may Allah be pleased with him, as their commander. I was also among them. We set out until our provisions ran out on the way, so Abu Ubaidah, may Allah be pleased with him, ordered that the remaining food in the army be collected. Then all this food was gathered, and it amounted to two bags of dates. We used this as food, consuming a little each day, until that too was finished and we were left with only one date each. (Wahb bin Kaysan, may Allah have mercy on him, the narrator, said:) I asked: What could you do with one date? He replied: When even that was finished, then we realized its value. Then we reached the sea and found a (large) fish lying like a mound, and that army ate from it for eighteen nights. Then Sayyiduna Abu Ubaidah, may Allah be pleased with him, ordered that its two ribs be set upright, and he ordered that a camel saddle be placed on a she-camel, and it passed underneath them without touching them.