Midnight Hunger in Medina

Mashallah, The Foundation is Set.

They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften toward you.

There's something deeply unsettling about discovering that the person everyone adores is secretly going hungry.

In Medina, the Prophet ﷺ had reached a level of love and respect where no one would have questioned him living comfortably.

Yet he chose a life of poverty so extreme that it was shocking even to those who witnessed it daily.

Back in Mecca, his enemies had tried everything to break him.

They offered him wealth, power, status, anything to make him compromise his message.

But the Prophet ﷺ endured persecution rather than take their offers, which shocked them because they couldn't understand someone who wouldn't be bought.

Now in Medina, surrounded by people who loved him, he could have lived any way he wanted.

His followers would have been honored to provide for him lavishly.

He was their leader, their beloved guide, and of course, they wanted him living in comfort and security.

Instead, he chose something that defied all human logic.

Anas ibn Malik (RA) observed something startling:

"The Prophet ﷺ never had food stored for the next day. Not once."

Every single day, the Prophet ﷺ was just getting by.

Every morning, he woke up with no guarantee of where his next meal would come from.

The most beloved man in Medina was living hand-to-mouth, and somehow, most people didn't notice.

One night, the Prophet ﷺ was driven from his home by hunger, wandering the streets of Medina looking for something to eat.

In the darkness, he bumped into Abu Bakr (RA), and they both realized with embarrassment that they were out for the same reason, searching for food.

How is it possible that the most revered man in their society was so hungry that he had to leave his house at night to find scraps?

How did his hunger become so invisible to a community that would have given him anything?

The Prophet ﷺ once shared a memory that puts everything in perspective.

He described thirty consecutive days and nights as "the hardest of my life."

During this month, he and Bilal (RA) "did not have a single thing that was suitable for a living creature to eat, except for the little that was hidden with Bilal."

Picture this: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his companion, reduced to surviving on crumbs they could hide and protect, sharing whatever tiny morsels they could find.

For thirty days.

This wasn't a performance.

No one was watching during those midnight hunger walks.

No one was keeping track of his empty pantry.

The Prophet ﷺ could have easily lived comfortably without anyone questioning his right to do so.

But he chose hunger.

He chose uncertainty.

He chose to experience the deepest struggles of the most vulnerable in his community, not as a temporary spiritual exercise, but as a way of life.

When you see someone choose poverty when they could have wealth, choose hunger when they could have abundance, choose discomfort when they could have ease, and do it consistently, privately, without fanfare, you're witnessing a sincerity that can't be manufactured.

The Meccan leaders had tried to buy him with riches.

The Medinan followers would have gladly enriched him with their love.

But the Prophet ﷺ understood something they didn't: true leadership means experiencing what your people experience, not rising above their struggles but walking through them together.

His empty stomach was perhaps his most powerful sermon, his midnight hunger walks his most convincing proof.

Here was someone so committed to his message and his people that he would rather starve than live in comfort while others suffered.

You can't perform that depth of sacrifice.

You can only witness it and walk away with the unshakeable certainty that this was indeed the Prophet of God.

Reflect On This:

  1. How do I react to uncertainty?

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👶 SunnahStories

Upon a bridge, so thin and high,

Two goats approached, one from each side.

With heads held tall and pride so strong,

Each thought the other must be wrong.

"Step aside!" one goat did say,

"I shall cross—move from my way!"

"No! I am stronger, I shall go!"

And so their tempers started to grow.

They locked their horns, they pushed and fought,

Not once they paused, not once they thought.

And in the bushes, out of sight,

A jackal watched with great delight.

"Oh, how foolish!" he said with glee,

"Soon there’ll be a meal for me!"

The goats still shoved, with all their might,

Forgetting wisdom, lost in fight.

But then—a slip, a mighty fall,

They tumbled down, horns and all!

Into the river, deep and wide,

Swept away by the roaring tide.

The jackal laughed, his meal was near,

But the goats had learned, their minds now clear.

**"Had we shown patience, we’d be wise,

But pride has led to our demise."**

So heed this lesson, young and old,

Be kind, be wise, let patience hold.

Reflection Questions:

1️⃣ Why did Hamza and Bilal start fighting?

2️⃣ What mistake did they make on the bridge?

3️⃣ How did the jackal take advantage of their fight?

4️⃣ What does Islam teach us about unity and avoiding unnecessary conflicts?

5️⃣ Can you think of a time when working together was better than arguing?

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🍉 WatermelonWatch: Day 651

‼️ AlJazeera journalist: IOF uses drones packed w/ nails, metal & shrapnel on crowds causing mass casualties

⛑️ IOF shot & killed 5+ Palestinians at GHF aid trap in Rafah (south); killed 6 more aid seekers near Gaza City & Salah al-Din St. (north)

🇵🇸 41 Palestinians killed in Gaza

🇸🇾 US reports Syria & Israel agree to US-brokered ceasefire deal in occupied Syrian territories

🇵🇸 North: IOF bombed home in Jabalia, killing 4 people; attack on home & school-shelter in Gaza City killed 3+ people

🇵🇸 South: IOF attacked tents in “safe zone” al-Mawasi, killing 6 people, incl. 2 kids & injuring 20+ others; airstrikes on home & school-shelter in Khan Younis killed 4 people

🇵🇸 1 y/o girl died of malnutrition in Deir el-Balah due to Israeli blockade (central)

West Bank

🏘️ Israel renewed E1 settlement plan to build 3000+ illegal homes, dividing the West Bank in half

🚫 Israel requests demolishment of 12+ villages in Masafer Yatta & creating an army zone + expelling all residents

🇵🇸 IOF shot & killed 13 y/o Amr Qabha in Jenin, obstructed aid + beat & abducted his dad

💧 IOF destroyed main water line to Umm Safa village (Ramallah), leaving 1000+ people w/o water

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