Boycott in the Valley of Abu Talib

When the disbelievers of Mecca imposed a boycott on the Muslims and they were besieged in the Valley of Abu Talib. Hazrat Sa‘d bin Abi Waqas (ra) was among the Muslims that suffered these hardships. Mentioning this incident in Sirat Khatamun-Nabiyyin, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad Sahib (ra) writes:

“To read about the difficulties and hardships that these detainees were compelled to bear makes the body tremble. Companions of the Holy Prophet (sa) narrate that sometimes, like animals, they survived by eating the leaves of wild trees. Sa‘d bin Abi Waqas (ra) states that once, during the night, his foot fell upon something that seemed to be moist and soft (perhaps it was the piece of a date). At that time, he was in such a state of hunger that he immediately picked it up and swallowed it. He states, ‘Until this day, I do not know what that thing was.’ On another occasion, due to extreme hunger, when he found a dry piece of skin on the ground, he took it, softened it and cleaned it with water, cooked it and ate it. He spent three days in this state of divine hospitality.”

(Sirat Khatamun-Nabiyyin, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad (ra), pp. 166-167)