[Machine] The man among us, when he arrived at the city, would stay at the Sufah (a designated area for the poor and homeless to rest). If he had a host in the city, he would stay at his host's place. If he did not have a host, he would stay at the Sufah.
I arrived at the city and did not have a host, so I stayed at the Sufah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would visit us every day, bringing with him a bunch of dates and we would be covered with a garment made of coarse wool. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ led us in some of the daytime prayers, and when he finished, the people of the Sufah called him, saying, "O Messenger of Allah, our stomachs are burning because of the dates, and the coarse wool is causing us discomfort."
So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood at his pulpit and praised Allah and extolled Him. Then he mentioned the severity of what he encountered from his people, until he said, "I have been given a little, around ten measures of barley, and my companion (referring to Abu Bakr) has been given the same. I have nothing to eat except for the barley bread." I said to Abu Harb, "What is 'al-Burair'?" He said, "It is a bad kind of food, the fruit of camel-thorn."
"So we went to our brothers among the Ansar, and their main food was dates." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ continued, "By Allah, if I were to find bread and meat for you, I would have given you until you were full. But perhaps you may catch up with a time or a person who will feed you and give you rest with broken dishes, and you will wear clothes like the black silk covers of the Ka'bah."
Dawud said that Abu Harb said to me, "O Dawud, do you know what the covers of the Ka'bah were like at that time?" I said, "No." He said, "They were white clothes, brought from Yemen." [Sahih Bukhari]
كَانَ الرَّجُلُ مِنَّا إِذَا قَدِمَ الْمَدِينَةَ نَزَلَ الصُّفَّةَ وَإِنْ كَانَ لَهُ بِهَا عَرِيفٌ نَزَلَ عَلَى عَرِيفِهِ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ بِهَا عَرِيفٌ نَزَلَ الصُّفَّةَ فَقَدِمْتُ الْمَدِينَةَ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لِي بِهَا عَرِيفٌ فَنَزَلْتُ الصُّفَّةَ وَكَانَ يَجِيءُ عَلَيْنَا مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ مُدٌّ مِنْ تَمْرِ بَيْنَ اثْنَيْنِ وَيَكْسُونَا الْخُنُفَ فَصَلَّى بِنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ بَعْضَ صَلَوَاتِ النَّهَارِ فَلَمَّا سَلَّمَ نَادَاهُ أَهْلُ الصُّفَّةِ يَمِينًا وَشِمَالًا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَحَرَقَ بُطُونَنَا التَّمْرُ وَتَخَرَّقَتْ عَنَّا الْخُنُفُ فَقَامَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ إِلَى مِنْبَرِهِ فَصَعِدَ فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ وَأَثْنَى عَلَيْهِ ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ شِدَّةَ مَا لَقِيَ مِنْ قَوْمِهِ حَتَّى قَالَ «وَلَقَدْ أُتِيَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَى صَاحِبِي بِضْعَ عَشْرَةَ مَا لِي وَلَهُ طَعَامٌ إِلَّا الْبَرِيرُ» قَالَ فَقُلْتُ لِأَبِي حَرْبٍ وَأَيُّ شَيْءٍ الْبَرِيرُ؟ قَالَ طَعَامُ سُوءٍ ثَمَرُ الْأَرَاكِ «فَقَدِمْنَا عَلَى إِخْوَانِنَا هَؤُلَاءِ مِنَ الْأَنْصَارِ وَعَظِيمُ طَعَامُهُمُ التَّمْرُ فَوَاسُونَا فِيهِ وَوَاللَّهِ لَوْ أَجِدُ لَكُمُ الْخُبْزَ وَاللَّحْمَ لَأَشْبَعْتُكُمْ مِنْهُ وَلَكِنْ عَسَى أَنْ تُدْرِكُوا زَمَانًا أَوْ مَنْ أَدْرَكَهُ مِنْكُمْ يُغْدَى وَيُرَاحُ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْجِفَانِ وَتَلْبَسُونَ مِثْلَ أَسْتَارِ الْكَعْبَةِ» قَالَ دَاوُدُ قَالَ لِي أَبُو حَرْبٍ «يَا دَاوُدُ وَهَلْ تَدْرِي مَا كَانَ أَسْتَارُ الْكَعْبَةِ يَوْمَئِذٍ؟» قُلْتُ لَا قَالَ «ثِيَابٌ بِيضٌ كَانَ تُؤْتَى بِهَا مِنَ الْيَمَنِ» صحيح