Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad رضي الله عنه — The Milk He Drank at Night
Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad رضي الله عنه — The Milk He Drank at Night
Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad رضي الله عنه — The Milk He Drank at Night
Hunger, when it goes far enough, stops being a feeling in the stomach. It reaches the eyes. It reaches the ears.
Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad رضي الله عنه tells this story about himself, beginning with exactly that stage of hunger:
"I and two of my companions were so much afflicted by hunger that we had lost our power of seeing and hearing." Sahih Muslim 2055 a
Three men, sight dimming and hearing fading, went from door to door in Madinah.
"We presented ourselves (as guests) to the Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ), but none amongst them would entertain us." Sahih Muslim 2055 a
Miqdad reports it without a trace of bitterness. Those were lean days for all; an empty door was not a closed heart. The three kept walking — to the last door of Madinah:
"So we came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), and he took us to his residence and there were three goats." Sahih Muslim 2055 a
The Prophet ﷺ made them his guests and said:
"Milk these for us." Sahih Muslim 2055 a
"So we milked them and every person amongst us drank his share and we set aside the share of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)." Sahih Muslim 2055 a
Then Miqdad describes his host's nightly habit: the Prophet ﷺ would come during the night and greet the people there in a voice that would not wake a sleeper, yet the awake would hear it. "He would then go to the mosque and say prayer, then go to the milk and drink it." Sahih Muslim 2055 a
Night after night, the same gentle order — until the night Satan came.
Miqdad had already drunk his own share when the whisper arrived — hear how reasonable it tried to sound:
"Muhammad has gone to the Ansar, who would offer him hospitality and he would get what is with them, and he has no need for this draught (of milk)." Sahih Muslim 2055 a
The whisper did not command a crime — it simply explained why the milk was surely meant for him.
"So I took (that milk) and drank it" Sahih Muslim 2055 a
And the moment it was beyond recall — "when it had penetrated deeply in my stomach and I was certain that there was no way out (but to digest it)" Sahih Muslim 2055 a — Satan returned, but not with the same voice: the tempter became the tormentor.
"Woe be to thee! what have you done? You have taken the drink reserved for Muhammad! When he would come and he would not find it, he would curse you, and you would be ruined, and thus there would go (waste) this world and the Hereafter (for) you." Sahih Muslim 2055 a
Miqdad lay in the dark wrestling with his blanket — too short to cover him either way:
"There was a sheet over me; as I placed (pulled) it upon my feet, my head was uncovered and as I placed it upon my head, my feet were uncovered, and I could not sleep" Sahih Muslim 2055 a
"but my two companions had gone to sleep for they had not done what I had done" Sahih Muslim 2055 a
Then came the sound he feared most: the Prophet ﷺ had returned.
"There came Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), and he greeted as he used to greet (by saying as-Salamu 'Alaikum)." Sahih Muslim 2055 a
"He then came to the mosque and observed prayer and then came to his drink (milk) and uncovered it, but did not find anything in it." Sahih Muslim 2055 a
"He raised his head towards the sky" Sahih Muslim 2055 a, and Miqdad said to himself "that he (the Holy Prophet) was going to invoke curse upon me and I would be thus ruined" Sahih Muslim 2055 a — exactly as Satan had promised.
But the words from the raised face were not a curse. They were gratitude, spoken for a host he could not even see:
"Allah, feed him who fed me and give drink to him who provided me drink." Sahih Muslim 2055 a
Something in Miqdad moved at once. He pulled the sheet tight around himself, "I took hold of the knife and went to the goats" Sahih Muslim 2055 a, ready to slaughter the fattest of them for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
But there was no need for the knife. The goats, milked that same evening, were all full of milk again.
"then I took hold of the vessel which belonged to the family of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) in which they used to milk and drink therefrom, and milked them in that until it swelled up with foam." Sahih Muslim 2055 a
He carried the foaming vessel to the Prophet ﷺ, who asked: "Have you taken your share of the milk during the night?" Sahih Muslim 2055 a
Miqdad only said: "Drink it." Sahih Muslim 2055 a
The Prophet ﷺ drank and handed the vessel back. Miqdad urged him again — "Allah's Messenger, drink it" Sahih Muslim 2055 a — and he drank again, and handed it back.
Miqdad perceived that the Prophet ﷺ had been satiated — and that he had got his blessings.
Then the whole night of whispering and dread broke at once. The relief was too much to hold in:
"I burst into laughter (so much) so that I fell upon the ground" Sahih Muslim 2055 a
The Prophet ﷺ smiled, already knowing what it meant:
"Miqdad, it must be one of your mischiefs." Sahih Muslim 2055 a
So Miqdad told him all of it — the whisper, the drinking, the terror — hiding nothing. And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ answered with words his whole community would carry:
"This is nothing but a mercy from Allah. Why is it that you did not give me an opportunity so that we should have awakened our two friends and they would have got their share (of the milk)?" Sahih Muslim 2055 a
No curse. No ruin. A mercy from Allah — and only a gentle regret that the two sleeping friends had missed their share.
Miqdad's answer shows a heart completely won over:
"By Him Who has sent you with Truth. I do not mind whatever you give (to them), and whatever the (other) people happen to get, when I had got it along with you from among the people." Sahih Muslim 2055 a
The man who began the night fearing a curse ended it caring nothing for who else received — he had received the Prophet's ﷺ blessing, and it was enough.
🌿 Stop and Think About This Scene
Miqdad's real battle that night was not hunger. It was with a voice that spoke twice — once to make a wrong act sound reasonable, once to make it sound unforgivable.
And the Prophet ﷺ, standing over an empty vessel, raised his head to the sky — and what came was not a curse upon the one who took his milk, but a dua for the one who had fed him.
❤️ The Greatest Lesson
Satan whispers twice, and his two whispers wear opposite costumes.
The first loosens your grip on what is right: the sin is small, the excuse is ready, no one will even miss it. The second crushes you after you fall: "he would curse you, and you would be ruined" Sahih Muslim 2055 a. Now the sin is enormous and the door seems closed.
Miqdad answered the second whisper the only way that defeats it: he did not hide. He confessed everything, and the ruin Satan had promised became "a mercy from Allah" Sahih Muslim 2055 a.
Despair is a whisper. Truthfulness is the answer.
📚 Important Lessons From This Hadith
1. A community's poverty is not its stinginess
Starving as they were, no companion could host the three men — and Miqdad never blamed them. When people cannot help, do not let a need become suspicion of their hearts.
2. Recognise both of Satan's costumes
First he says the act does not matter; then he says you do not matter. When remorse swells into total despair, that is no longer conscience — it is the second whisper, aiming at your hope.
3. The host's gratitude opens doors
The Prophet ﷺ found his vessel empty and answered with a prayer for whoever had fed him — and by night's end the goats were full again. Gratitude and trust in Allah travel together, and Allah answers the grateful.
4. Confess quickly and completely
Asked about the night, Miqdad told the whole story and met a smile, not anger. A fault carried honestly to the one you wronged is the fastest road back to peace.
5. Mercy looks for the ones still sleeping
The Prophet's ﷺ first thought after the blessing was for the two friends who should have been woken for their share. When good reaches you unexpectedly, widen the circle.
🏠 How Can We Apply This Hadith in Our Daily Lives?
When a whisper makes a small wrong look harmless — taking what is reserved for someone else because they will not miss it — remember: the voice approving the act is the same one that will condemn you afterwards. Stop at the first whisper.
When you have done wrong and despair begins to speak, do the opposite of hiding: go to the one you wronged and tell the whole truth, as Miqdad did — the mercy waited behind the very door he feared.
When someone feeds or hosts you, repay them with dua: "Allah, feed him who fed me and give drink to him who provided me drink" Sahih Muslim 2055 a. It costs nothing — and may be why provision opens for them and for you.
And when unexpected good reaches you, ask first: who is still asleep that I can wake for a share?
🌹 The Most Beautiful Message of This Story
A hungry man took what was not his, in the dark, from the best of hosts, and spent the night in terror of a curse.
What he received instead was a prayer over an empty vessel, a vessel filled again beyond reckoning, laughter that knocked him to the ground, and words that turned his worst night into a treasured memory:
"This is nothing but a mercy from Allah." Sahih Muslim 2055 a
That is who the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is — and that door is still open to everyone who comes honestly.
📖 Authentic Reference
Book: Sahih Muslim
Narrator: Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad رضي الله عنه
Chapter: Honoring guests and the virtue of showing preference to one's guest
Hadith: Sahih Muslim 2055 a — Sahih Muslim 2055 a
Grade: Sahih