It is narrated from Sayyiduna Awf bin Malik al-Ashja'i (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to them while clusters of dates were hanging, and one of those clusters was of poor, dried-up dates. He (peace and blessings be upon him) had a staff (stick) with him, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) poked that cluster with the staff and said: "If the owner of this charity had wished, he could have given something better than it in charity. Indeed, the owner of this charity will eat poor dates on the Day of Resurrection." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned towards us and said: "Beware! O people of Madinah, by Allah, you will leave it (Madinah) just like that for forty years to the birds and beasts." We said: Allah and His Messenger know best. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do you know what is meant by al-awafi?" The Companions said: No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It means the birds and the beasts of prey." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.