(16) Chapter. The superiority of being poor.

Narrated Sahl bin Sa`d As-Sa`id: A man passed by Allah's Apostle and the Prophet asked a man sitting beside him, "What is your opinion about this (passer-by)?" He replied, "This (passer-by) is from the noble class of people. By Allah, if he should ask for a lady's hand in marriage, he ought to be given her in marriage, and if he intercedes for somebody, his intercession will be accepted. Allah's Apostle kept quiet, and then another man passed by and Allah's Apostle asked the same man (his companion) again, "What is your opinion about this (second) one?" He said, "O Allah's Apostle! This person is one of the poor Muslims. If he should ask a lady's hand in marriage, no-one will accept him, and if he intercedes for somebody, no one will accept his intercession, and if he talks, no-one will listen to his talk." Then Allah's Apostle said, "This (poor man) is better than such a large number of the first type (i.e. rich men) as to fill the earth."

Narrated Abu Wail: We paid a visit to Khabbab who was sick, and he said, "We migrated with the Prophet for Allah's Sake and our wages became due on Allah. Some of us died without having received anything of the wages, and one of them was Mus`ab bin `Umar, who was martyred on the day of the battle of Uhud, leaving only one sheet (to shroud him in). If we covered his head with it, his feet became uncovered, and if we covered his feet with it, his head became uncovered. So the Prophet ordered us to cover his head with it and put some Idhkhir (a kind of grass) over his feet. On the other hand, some of us have had the fruits (of our good deed) and are plucking them (in this world).

Narrated `Imran bin Husain: The Prophet said, "I looked into Paradise and found that the majority of its dwellers were the poor people, and I looked into the (Hell) Fire and found that the majority of its dwellers were women."

Narrated Anas: The Prophet did not eat at a table till he died, and he did not eat a thin nicely baked wheat bread till he died.

Narrated `Aisha: When the Prophet died, nothing which can be eaten by a living creature was left on my shelf except some barley grain. I ate of it for a period and when I measured it, it finished.