One of the servants of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) was Miqdad b. Aswad Abū Maʿbad al-Kindī. This individual was an ally of the Banū Zuhra tribe.
Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal, through the transmission of ʿAffān, narrated that Miqdad b. Aswad said:
"Together with two companions, we came to Medina. No one we spoke to accepted us as guests. Eventually, we went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). We explained our situation to him, and he took us to his house. He had four goats in his home.
'O Miqdad, milk these. Divide the milk into four parts, and let each person drink a portion,' he said. I did as he instructed. One night, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) was late in returning home. I set aside his share and put it in a place. I lay down on my bed and thought to myself: Surely the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has gone to the house of one of the Anṣār tonight. He must have eaten and drunk something there. What would happen if I got up and drank his share? This desire persisted strongly within me. Finally, I got up and drank the milk that was his share. Once the milk settled in my stomach, I regretted what I had done and said to myself: Now the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) will come hungry and thirsty, and he will not find any milk in his cup!
As I was saying this, I covered my face with my garment. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived. He greeted us in a tone that would be heard by one who was awake but would not wake someone who was asleep. He went and opened the lid of the milk vessel. He saw that there was nothing inside. He raised his head to the sky and said:
'O Allah, give drink to the one who gave me drink, and feed the one who fed me.'
I considered this supplication of his a great opportunity. To make use of it, I got up and took a knife in my hand. I approached the goats, thinking to myself: Let me slaughter the fattest one. When my hand touched the udder of one of them, I saw that it was full of milk. I checked the others and found that their udders were also full of milk. I checked them all; all their udders were full. I milked them into a vessel. I brought it to the Messenger of God and said, 'Here, drink.' He said:
'What is happening, O Miqdad?' I replied:
'First drink the milk, then I will tell you.' He said:
'This is one of your misdeeds, O Miqdad.' He drank the milk. Then he said to me:
'You too, drink.' I said:
'O Messenger of Allah! You drink.'
He drank the milk to his fill. Then I took the vessel and began to drink. After I drank, I explained the situation to him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
'Well then... tell me what happened.' I told him what had occurred. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me:
'This is a blessing that has descended from the heavens. Why did you not tell me earlier so I could have given some to your companions?'
I said:
'After you and I had drunk of this blessing, I did not care about the others.'
Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal also narrated this through the transmission of Abū Nāḍir, and after relating what was mentioned in the previous narration, he added: 'Miqdad, who thought that the vessel could not be filled with milk before, took it and milked the goats into it, again and again, until the foam overflowed. When he brought it to the Messenger of God, he said:
'Did you not drink your milk tonight, O Miqdad?'
Miqdad says: I replied to him:
'You drink, O Messenger of God.'
The Messenger of God drank. Then he handed the vessel to me. I said to him:
'You drink, O Messenger of God.' He drank, then handed the vessel to me. I took the vessel and drank the remaining milk. When I realized that the Messenger of God had drunk to his fill, I was included in his supplication. At this, I laughed. I laughed so hard that I fell to the ground. The Messenger of God said to me:
'O Miqdad, this is one of your misdeeds.' I said:
'O Messenger of God, such and such happened to me. I did such and such.' The Messenger of God said:
'This is nothing but the mercy of Allah. Why did you not tell me before drinking the milk, so that I could have awakened your other two companions and they could have benefited as well?'
I said:
'By Allah, Who sent you as the true Prophet, after you and I had benefited from this mercy and blessing, I did not care at all whether the others benefited or not.'