Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) went out at noon, and when Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) heard of this, he also came out and said: "Abu Bakr, what has brought you out at this hour?" He replied: "Nothing has brought me out except that I have nothing in my stomach due to severe hunger, so I left my house." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "By Allah! The same thing has brought me out of my house." While they were sitting, suddenly the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also came out. He asked: "What has brought you out of your houses at this hour?" Both of them replied: "The thing that has brought us out is that we have nothing in our stomachs." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Him in Whose hand is my soul, I swear that the same thing has brought me out." The three of them got up and went to the house of Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him). He had told the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about food and milk. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed and could not arrive on time, so the people of the house ate the food. He went towards his date orchard where he was working. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reached the house of Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him), his wife came out and said: "Welcome to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and those who are with him." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Where is Abu Ayyub?" She said: "O Messenger of Allah! He will be here soon." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned back, and Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) saw him while he was working in his orchard. He came running and said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Welcome to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and those who are with him." Then Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "This is not the time when you usually come." Then he brought the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) back and brought a cluster of dates for him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I did not want this." He said: "I wanted you to eat fresh and moist dates, and also some unripe dates, and I will slaughter a kid goat for you." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If you are going to slaughter, then do not slaughter one that gives milk." He took a kid goat and slaughtered it, and said to his wife: "Bake bread, and I will cook the curry, for you know how to bake bread well." Then I cooked half of the kid and roasted the other half. When the food was ready, he placed it before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the companions (may Allah be pleased with them). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took a portion from the kid and placed it on a piece of bread and said: "Abu Ayyub! Take this food to Fatimah, for she has not seen such food for many days." When they had eaten their fill, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Bread, meat, and moist dates." Then tears came to the eyes of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: "These are the blessings of Allah about which you will be questioned on the Day of Resurrection." This was burdensome for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you find such a blessing, put your hand in it and say: 'In the name of Allah and with the blessing of Allah.' Then when you are satisfied, say: 'All praise is due to Allah who has satisfied us, quenched our thirst, bestowed upon us, and favored us abundantly.' All praise is for Allah who has satisfied us, quenched our thirst, and greatly favored us." So this supplication will be a recompense for that blessing. If anyone brought something good to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he liked to give him something in return. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him): "Come to us tomorrow." He did not hear, so Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is commanding you to come to him." When he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he gave him a slave girl and said: "Abu Ayyub! Treat her well, for we found her to be good as long as she was with us." When Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) brought her, he said: "I cannot fulfill the will of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in any better way than to set her free." So he set her free.