Musnad Abu Ya'la al-Mawsili 1:76

Abu Hisham al-Rifa'i narrated to us, al-Muharibi narrated to us, Yahya bin 'Ubayd Allah narrated to us, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: Abu Bakr narrated to me, saying: "I missed dinner one night, so I came to my family and said, 'Do you have any dinner?' They said, 'No, by Allah, we have no dinner.' So I lay down on my bed, but sleep did not come to me because of hunger. I said, 'If I go out to the mosque and pray, I will occupy myself until morning.' So I went out to the mosque and prayed what Allah willed, then I leaned against a side of the mosque. While I was like that, 'Umar bin al-Khattab appeared to me and said, 'Who is this?' I said, 'Abu Bakr.' He said, 'What brought you out at this hour?' I told him the story. He said, 'By Allah, nothing brought me out except that which brought you out.' He sat beside me. While we were like that, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came out to us. He did not recognize us, so he said, 'Who is this?' 'Umar hastened to me and said, 'This is Abu Bakr and 'Umar.' He said, 'What brought you both out at this hour?' 'Umar said, 'I went out and entered the mosque, and I saw the shadow of Abu Bakr, so I said, "Who is this?" He said, "Abu Bakr." I said, "What brought you out at this hour?" He mentioned what had happened, so I said, "And I, by Allah, nothing brought me out except that which brought you out."' The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, 'And I, by Allah, nothing brought me out except that which brought you both out. Come, let us go to the Waqifi, Abu al-Haytham bin al-Tayyihan, perhaps we will find something with him to eat.' So we went out walking until we reached the garden in the moonlight. We knocked on the door, and the woman said, 'Who is this?' 'Umar said, 'This is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Abu Bakr, and 'Umar.' She opened it for us, and we entered. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, 'Where is your husband?' She said, 'He went to fetch us fresh water from the well of Banu Harithah; he will be with you now.' Then he came carrying a water skin, and he brought it to a palm tree and hung it on one of its stalks. Then he came toward us and said, 'Welcome and greetings! No one has ever had visitors like those who have visited me today.' Then he cut a cluster of dates for us and brought it to us. We began to pick from it in the moonlight and eat. Then he took the knife and went toward the sheep. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him, 'Beware of the milker,' or he said, 'Beware of those that give milk.' He took a sheep, slaughtered it, and skinned it. He told his wife, so she cooked and baked. He began to cut pieces of meat into the pot and lit a fire under it until the meat and bread were ready. He made *tharid* (a dish of bread and broth), then he ladled the broth and meat over it. He brought it to us and placed it before us, and we ate until we were full. Then he went to the water skin, which the wind had cooled, and poured into a vessel. He handed it to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who drank. Then he handed it to Abu Bakr, who drank. Then he handed it to 'Umar, who drank. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, 'Praise be to Allah. We went out, and nothing brought us out except hunger, then we returned having obtained this. You will surely be asked about this on the Day of Resurrection; this is from the blessings.' Then he said to the Waqifi, 'Do you not have a servant to give you water?' He said, 'No, O Messenger of Allah.' He said, 'If captives come to us, come to us so we may order a servant for you.' Not long after, captives came to him, and the Waqifi came to him. He said, 'What brought you?' He said, 'O Messenger of Allah, the promise you made to me.' He said, 'These are captives, so stand and choose from among them.' He said, 'You be the one to choose for me.' He said, 'Take this boy and treat him well.' He took him and went with him to his wife. She said, 'What is this?' He told her the story. She said, 'And what did you say to him?' He said, 'I said to him, "You be the one to choose for me."' She said, 'You did well; he told you to treat him well.' He said, 'What is treating him well?' She said, 'That you set him free.' He said, 'Then he is free for the sake of Allah.'"