Reports from our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on asceticism

Ata bin Yasar said: The world (its non-essential material blessings) was presented to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Indeed, I have no desire for you. It said: If you have no desire for me, then others besides you will soon desire me.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The likeness of me and the world is that of a rider who stops under a tree on an intensely hot day, then leaves it and moves on (towards his actual destination).

It is narrated from Mujahid that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took hold of my hand, or of me, and said to me: O Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), live like a stranger or a wayfarer, and count yourself among the people of the graves.

Mujahid said: (After narrating this report) Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said to me: When morning comes, do not think about the coming evening, and when evening comes, do not think about the coming morning. Take benefit from your life before (the coming of) your death, and from your health before (the coming of) your sickness, for indeed you do not know what your name will be tomorrow (living or dead).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by us while we were repairing our hut. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: What is this? I said: It is our hut, which we are repairing. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The matter (the Hour or death) will come even before this (is put right) (so one should also be concerned with reforming and correcting one's deeds in preparation for it).

Sayyiduna al-Mustawrid (may Allah be pleased with him), who belonged to Banu Fihr, said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: By Allah Almighty, (the likeness of this world) in (comparison with) the Hereafter is as if one of you were to dip his finger in the sea and take it out, then see how much has come out (of the water of that sea, clinging to his finger) (the status of the water on the finger in comparison with the water of the sea is the status of this world in comparison with the Hereafter).

Another similar report is transmitted from Sayyiduna al-Mustawrid (may Allah be pleased with him), but it does not contain the words "take it out".

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The pillow on which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recline was of leather, stuffed with palm fibre.

Yahya bin Ja'dah said: Some Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went to visit Sayyiduna Khabbab (may Allah be pleased with him) in his illness and said to him: O Abu Abdullah, receive glad tidings that you will come to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at the Pool of Kawthar (on the Day of Resurrection). (On hearing this) Sayyiduna Khabbab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: How can this be, when such is the splendour of my house, while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us (as a warning): It is enough for you of this world to have as much as a traveller's provision.

Shaqiq said: Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) went to visit his maternal uncle Sayyiduna Abu Hashim bin Utbah (may Allah be pleased with him) in his illness, and his uncle began to weep. Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: O my uncle, why are you weeping? Is it the pain (of the illness) that has grieved you, or (natural) attachment to the world? He replied: It is nothing of the sort; rather (what has grieved me is that) the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) enjoined us, saying: O Abu Hashim! Perhaps you too will obtain the wealth and riches that other (conquering) peoples obtain, but for you one servant and one mount in the path of Allah (for jihad) will suffice. Yet I see that I have accumulated (far more than this in) wealth.

Samurah bin Sahm said: Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) went to his maternal uncle; then the narrator related the previous incident.

He said: Sufyan al-Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him) added in this report, through his chain, (this saying of the maternal uncle of Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him)): Would that it were dung around us.

Abu Sufyan, relating from his teachers, said: Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) went to visit Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) in his illness, and he began to weep. The narrator said: Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) asked him: What has made you weep? For the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away while he was pleased with you, and you will (on the Day of Resurrection) have the honour of meeting him and will come to him at the Pool of Kawthar. Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: I am not weeping out of dread of death or attachment to the world; rather (what grieves me is that) the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) enjoined us (with this): Your subsistence should depend only on as much as the provision of a rider (a traveller). Yet around me are these dark things (which exceed a traveller's provision). The narrator said: Yet he had with him only a pillow, a large bowl and a water vessel. Then Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Abu Abdullah! Give us an instruction too, that we may hold to after you. He said: O Sa'd! Remember Allah Almighty (especially on three occasions): (first) when you intend to do something, (second) when you are about to give a judgement, and (third) when you are about to make a distribution (among partners, in which equality is legally required).

Al-Aswad said: Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If the people of knowledge were to safeguard their knowledge and spread it only among those worthy of it, they would through it rule over the people of their time. But they squandered that knowledge among the people of the world, so as to obtain through it their worldly goods (wealth, riches and benefits) from them. So they became disgraced among the people of the world. I heard your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Whoever adopts, out of all his concerns, a single one (concern for the religion), Allah Almighty will suffice him in the matter of his Hereafter. And whoever is (entangled and) scattered (into various desires and hopes) by (worldly) concerns and the conditions of the world, Allah Almighty will not care into which valley (of calamities and misguidance) he falls.

It is narrated from Abu Ja'far that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When faith enters the heart, the heart opens up and expansion arises in it. Then he recited this verse: So whoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his chest to Islam [Al-An'am: 125]. The people asked: O Messenger of Allah! Is there any sign of this by which it may be recognised? He said: Its sign is turning towards the Hereafter, aversion to the abode of delusion, and preparing for death before the coming of death.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this noble verse: So whoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his chest to Islam. The people said: O Messenger of Allah! What is this opening? He said: It is a light; when it comes into the heart, the heart opens up. He was asked: Is there any sign of it by which it may be recognised? He said: Its sign is attention towards the Hereafter, aversion to the abode of delusion, and preparing for dying before dying.

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) once said to me: Look, who appears to you the most distinguished person in the mosque? I looked, and there was a man in the mosque who had fine clothing on his body. I said: This one. Then he said: Who is the lowliest person in the mosque? I looked and saw a man with worn-out clothing on his body. I said: This one. He said: Even if the whole earth were filled with those like the first, this second man would be better than them all.

Something similar is transmitted from another narrator.

It is narrated from al-Dahhak bin Muzahim that he said: A man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Who is the most abstinent of people with regard to this world? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who does not forget the graves and decay, who abandons the best of the adornment of this world, who prefers what remains over what perishes, who does not count tomorrow among the days (of his life), and who counts himself among the dead."

It is narrated from Amr bin Maymun that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to a man: "Value five things before five things: your life before your death, your free time before your busyness, your wealth before your poverty, your youth before your old age, and your health before your sickness (value them)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Be shy before Allah Almighty as shyness deserves." Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We said: O Messenger of Allah! We do feel shy. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That is not shyness; rather, whoever is shy before Allah Almighty as shyness deserves, let him guard the head and the organs it contains, let him guard the stomach and the organs it contains, and let him remember death and decay. And whoever intends the Hereafter abandons the adornment of this world. So whoever does this has indeed fulfilled the right of shyness before Allah Almighty."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had a she-camel called al-Adba'. She could not be overtaken. Then a Bedouin came riding a young camel and went ahead of her. This weighed heavily upon the Muslims. They said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Al-Adba' has been outrun. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed it is a truth that whatever attains elevation in this world, Allah Almighty lowers it (as well)."

Simak narrates about Sayyiduna al-Nu'man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him), saying: I heard him say: Are you not amid whatever food and drink you desire? Yet I saw your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in such a state that he did not have even enough of poor, dry dates with which to fill his stomach.

It is narrated from Abu Burdah that he said: I came to Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and she took out and showed me a thick lower garment. This lower garment was made from the cloth that is made in Yemen. And she took out one of those sheets that you call patched sheets. Then she swore to me and said: The noble soul of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was taken in these two garments.

It is narrated from a man of the tribe of Banu Salim, or Fahm, that a gift was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He looked (around) and did not find anything in which he could place it, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Place it on the ground (itself). For this too is a servant who eats as other servants eat and drinks as other servants drink. And if the world weighed even as much as a mosquito's wing before Allah Almighty, no disbeliever would be able to drink even one sip of water from it."

Abu Salamah reports that Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Give me some advice." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Worship Allah as though you see Him. Count yourself among the dead. Remember Allah by every tree and stone. And when you commit a sin, do a good deed right after it: secret for secret and open for open."

Abu Salamah reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: "Remember often the destroyer of pleasures, meaning death."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Remember often the destroyer of pleasures, meaning death."

It is narrated from Ibn Sabit that a man was mentioned in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and was praised highly. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "How is he in remembering death?" That was not mentioned of him. At this he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He is not as you have described him."

It is narrated from al-Rabi' that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Death is enough to make one turn away from the world and to make one long for the Hereafter."

Al-Hasan narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If Allah Almighty had willed, He would have made all of you rich, with no poor person among you. And if Allah Almighty had willed, He would have made all of you poor, with no rich person among you. But Allah Almighty has tested some of you through others."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna al-Bara' (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: We were with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at a funeral. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) reached the grave, he (peace and blessings be upon him) sat down on his knees at the grave. The narrator said: I too turned and faced him (peace and blessings be upon him). The narrator said: Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) began to weep until the ground became wet. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "My brothers! For the like of this let those who act do their acting. So prepare."

It is narrated from Abd al-Malik bin Umayr that he said: I was told that Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O people! There is nothing that brings you near to Paradise and takes you far from Hell except that I have commanded you to do it. And there is nothing that brings you near to Hell and takes you far from Paradise except that I have forbidden you from it. And the Trustworthy Spirit (al-Ruh al-Amin) has put into my heart that no soul will die before it has received its provision in full. So fear Allah and be moderate in seeking provision. And let the slowness with which provision comes not lead you to seek it through acts of disobedience to Allah. For what is with Allah Almighty can only be attained through obedience to Allah."

It is narrated from al-Hasan that whenever the People of the Trench (Ashab al-Ukhdud) were mentioned, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would seek refuge with Allah from severe trial.

Mus'ab bin Sa'd reports about Sayyidah Hafsah bint Umar that she said to her father: "O Commander of the Faithful! There would be no harm for you if you wore clothes softer than these clothes of yours and ate food better than this food of yours, for Allah Almighty has opened the conquests of the earth to you and has made provision abundant for you." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "In this dispute with you, I make you yourself the judge. Do you not know how much hardship of life the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had to face?" Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) began to remind Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) of what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had gone through, until he made Sayyidah Hafsah weep. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I have told you that my two companions have gone along one path, so if I walk on a path other than theirs, I will be taken along a path other than theirs. So I, by Allah, will certainly share with them in the like of their hard life, so that perhaps I may also be with them in their life of ease." By his two companions, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) meant the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "Most of the hypocrites of my Ummah will be the reciters (qurra) of the Ummah."

It is narrated from Sa'id bin Jubayr (may Allah have mercy on him), in marfu' form, in explanation of {Unquestionably, the friends of Allah: no fear will there be upon them, nor will they grieve} [Yunus: 62], that at the sight of them Allah is remembered.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Aishah! Guard yourself even against small deeds, that is, sins. For there is one from Allah who demands an account of them as well."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna al-Bara' bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The strongest of the handholds of faith is love for the sake of Allah and hatred for the sake of Allah."

It is narrated from Muwarriq al-Ijli that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recited {Competition in abundance has distracted you, until you visit the graves}. The narrator said: Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Nothing of your wealth is truly yours except what you ate and finished, or wore and wore out, or gave in charity and left (ahead of you)."