Barley, Rancid Fat and Sleepless Nights

The Muslims were suffering hunger. In al-Bukhārī, Anas ibn Mālik said: "They would bring a handful of barley and some ill-smelling fat as a meal for them. Hungry as they were, it stuck in their throats and smelled bad." So what was the food? Some barley, and then they had animal fat, which was very old, long expired; it smelled bad, it was rotten, and they would swallow it and it would stick to the throat. Anyone who has eaten fat knows how animal fat sticks to the throat, especially if it is cold: it sticks to your mouth and your teeth and your throat and all. And because it smelled bad, they could still smell it; but they were so hungry that they were eating this horrible food.

Al-Wāqidī describes the situation that was going on, and he talks about the fear that everybody was feeling, the hunger that everyone was feeling, the low spirits, especially because of what the munāfiqūn were doing, bombarding the Muslims with only bad news; and then there is this disaster coming from the quarters of Banū Qurayẓah, the news that they have broken their agreement with the Messenger of Allah. So it was very difficult. And the Muslims had to work day and night. Muḥammad ibn Maslamah said: kāna laylunā bi-al-khandaqi nahāran, "Our night during the Khandaq was daytime," meaning they had to work around the clock. Night was no different than day. So it was very stressful, and it is well known how, when people are lacking sleep, they lose concentration and they fail to think straight. So Allah was testing them. Allah was testing them to the limit.