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Abu Qatādah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) addressed us and said: "You will proceed with your journey along the evening and the night, then you will come to a place of water, Allah willing, in the morning." So the people proceeded, without paying any heed to one another. Abu Qatādah said: "The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) also traveled until it was midnight. I was by his side. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) dozed off and leaned (to one side) of his camel. I went to him and lent him support without waking him up until he sat upright on his riding mount. He went on traveling until a major part of the night was over and (he again) leaned (to one side) of his camel. I supported him without waking him up until he sat on his ride. Then he traveled until it was near dawn. He (again) leaned, but far more, than the two earlier leanings, and he was about to fall down. So I went to him and supported him, and he lifted his head and said: 'Who is this?' I said: 'It is Abu Qātadah.' He (the Prophet again) said: 'How long have you been traveling along with me like this?' I said: 'I have been traveling in this very state since the night.' He said: 'May Allah guard you as you have guarded His Prophet.' He again said: 'Do you see that we are hidden from the people?' And again he said: 'Do you see anyone?' I said: 'Here is a rider.' I again said: 'Here is another rider,' until we gathered together and we were seven riders.' The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) stepped aside of the road and placed his head (for sleep and said): 'Guard our prayers for us.' The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was the first to wake up, and the rays of the sun were falling on his back. We got up startled. He (the Prophet) said: 'Ride on.' So we rode on until the sun had (sufficiently) risen. He then dismounted and called for a jug of water which I had with me. There was a little water in it. He performed an ablution which was less thorough than his usual ablutions, and some water was left. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to Abu Qatādah: 'Keep for us your jug of water; it will have a miraculous affair.' Then Bilāl called (the people) to prayer, and then the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) observed two Rak‘ahs and then observed the morning prayer as he did every day. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) (then) rode on and we rode along with him, and some of us whispered to the others saying: 'How would there be compensation for the negligence we committed in our prayers?' Upon this, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Is there not in me a model for you? There is no negligence in sleeping. The (cognizable) negligence is that one should not observe the prayer (intentionally) until the time of the next prayer comes. So the one who does this (leave a prayer on account of sleep or due to other unavoidable circumstances) should observe the prayer when he becomes aware of it, and on the next day he should observe the prayer at its prescribed time.' Then he (the Prophet) said: 'What do you think the people would do (at this hour) when they would not find their Prophet with them in the morning. Abu Bakr and ‘Umar would say: ‘The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) must be behind you, he cannot leave you behind (him).’ Other people would say: ‘The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) is ahead of you.’ So if they obey Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, they would follow the right path.' So we proceeded on till we came up to the people (from whom we had lagged behind), and the day had considerably risen and everything became hot, and they (the Companions of the Prophet) said: 'O Messenger of Allah, we are dying of thirst.' Upon this, he (the Prophet) remarked: 'There is no destruction for you.' And he then said: 'Bring that small cup of mine.' And he then asked for the jug of water to be brought to him. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) poured water (in that small cup), and Abu Qatādah gave them water to drink. When the people saw that there was (a little) water in the jug, they gathered in crowds around it. Upon this, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Behave well; you will drink to your fill.' They complied. So the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) would fill (the cup), and I would serve them until no one was left except me and the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). He then filled (the cup) with water and said to me: 'Drink it.' I said: 'Messenger of Allah, I will not drink until you drink.' Upon this, he said: 'The server of the people is the last among them to drink.' So I drank, and the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) also drank, and the people came to the place of water quite happy and satiated." ‘Abdullāh ibn Rabāh said: "I was narrating this Hadīth in the grand mosque, when ‘Imrān ibn Husayn said: 'See, O young man, how will you narrate, for I was also one of the riders on that night.' I said: 'So you must know this Hadīth well.' He said: 'Who are you?' I said: 'I am one of the Ansār.' Upon this, he said: 'You narrate, for you know your Hadīths better.' I, therefore, narrated it to the people. Then ‘Imrān said: 'I was also present that night, but I do not know anyone who committed it to memory as well as you have.'" Authentic hadith - Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim
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Explanation

This noble Hadīth shows that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions were traveling when they ran out of water. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ensured that they would find water ahead of them. On this news, the people hastened, leaving the Prophet and some Companions behind. Abu Qatādah was still with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). When it was night, the Prophet dozed off, and Abu Qatādah would support him so that he would not fall off his camel. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) woke and prayed that Allah protect Abu Qatādah as he protected him. Then he told him that the people would argue about his whereabouts and that Abu Bakr and ‘Umar would tell them that he is behind them, adding that if people listened to Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, they would be guided. This is one of the signs of his Prophet-hood. Then they slept at night, and they were awakened the next day by the scorching heat of the sun. Therefore, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said that anyone who sleeps until the prayer's prescribed time is over, without intending to miss the prayer, is not negligent. Rather, he is excused. However, anyone who does not pray until the prayer's time is over is negligent. When the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and the Companions with him, proceeded, they joined the rest of the people, who were almost dying of thirst. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) assured them that they would not perish and that they would quench their thirst. He called for Abu Qatādah's small pot and made ablution. Then he invited the people to drink. They all drank except for the Prophet may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, and Abu Qatādah. Abu Qatādah drank only after the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told him that he would drink last, as he was the one serving the water. This incident is one of the miracles of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him).

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