*Riyadh al-Salihin* from the words of the Master of the Messengers, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Chapter on the Virtue of Asceticism in This World, Encouragement to Take Little from It, and the Virtue of Poverty.
On the authority of 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, passed away,
and there was nothing in my house that a living creature could eat
except a small portion of barley on a shelf of mine.
I ate from it for quite a long time,
but when I measured it, it was consumed."
Agreed upon.
"A small portion of barley" means an amount of barley;
this is how al-Tirmidhi explained it.
"A living creature" literally means anything possessing a liver, meaning any animal or human.
"A small portion of barley" means some barley,
and the word *shaṭr* is used for half or something close to it,
though that is not the intended meaning here.
A shelf (*raff*) is a plank of wood raised above the ground,
upon which things meant to be preserved are placed,
or a niche-like alcove in a wall;
the latter is closer to the intended meaning.
"It was consumed" means it was finished and exhausted.
Among the lessons derived from the hadith:
The Prophet's turning away from worldly possessions,
even though the Arabian Peninsula had submitted to him
and its wealth and produce had reached him.
Yet despite that, there was nothing to be found in the home of his most beloved wife
except this meagre amount of barley.
The maintenance of the Prophet's wives was exempted
from his estate, which is not inherited.
Thus, what was in the house of 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
was the remainder of her designated maintenance.
For had she not been entitled to maintenance after his death, peace be upon him,
that barley would have been taken from her.
The hadith indicates the commendability of moderation in living expenses
and in what satisfies hunger,
for that constitutes half of one's livelihood.
It also highlights one of his miracles, peace be upon him,
regarding the multiplication of small amounts of food;
what 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, experienced falls under this category.
It was part of the blessing of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
which requires full surrender and trusting submission to Allah.
'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, used to eat from that barley
without noticing any decrease in it,
but when she measured it, that barley ran out.
This is because measuring when spending detracts from the blessing of trusting submission,
as it is looked upon with an eye of covetousness,
leading to negligence in thanking the Bestower for it.
Whoever is granted provision by Allah, honored with a favor,
or shown divine gentleness in any matter,
must maintain continuous gratitude
and not introduce any change into that state.
Measuring is required in commercial transactions
because it pertains to the rights of both transacting parties,
whereas measuring while spending on oneself and family
can incite stinginess;
hence it was disliked.
On the authority of 'Amr Ibn al-Harith, the brother of Juwayriyah bint al-Harith,
the Mother of the Believers, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, did not leave behind
at his death a single dinar or dirham,
nor a male or female slave,
nor anything else except his white mule that he used to ride,
his weapon, and a piece of land that he designated as charity for wayfarers."
Narrated by al-Bukhari.
"And a piece of land" refers to half the land of Fadak,
a third of Wadi al-Qura,
a share from the fifth of Khaybar,
and an estate from the land of Banu al-Nadir.
Among the lessons derived from the hadith:
It indicates that any slaves mentioned in connection with the Prophet, peace be upon him,
had either died or were freed by the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
Prophets do not leave behind dirhams or dinars as inheritance;
whatever they leave behind is charity.
On the authority of Khabbab Ibn al-Aratt, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
"We emigrated with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
seeking the Face of Allah the Exalted,
so our reward was assured with Allah.
Some of us died without having enjoyed anything of their worldly reward;
among them was Mus'ab Ibn 'Umayr, may Allah be pleased with him,
who was killed on the day of Uhud, leaving behind only a striped woolen cloak.
When we covered his head with it, his feet were exposed,
and when we covered his feet with it, his head was exposed.
So the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, ordered us to cover his head with it
and to put some lemongrass over his feet.
Yet others among us had their fruit ripen, and they are now plucking it."
Agreed upon. The *namirah* is a striped cloak made of wool.
His statement "had ripened" means became ripe and mature.
His statement "plucking it" means gathering and harvesting it;
this is a metaphor for the worldly wealth and influence Allah the Exalted opened up for them.
"We seek" means we petition and desire.
"Was assured" means it was confirmed and decreed.
"Without having enjoyed" means without acquiring any worldly wealth.
Lemongrass (*al-idhkhir*) is a sweet-smelling plant.
Among the lessons derived from the hadith:
A demonstration of the truthfulness of the righteous salaf (early generations) in describing their conditions.
Patience while enduring poverty and rough living
is among the stations of the righteous.
It contains an indication that a shroud ought to be ample and spacious,
covering the entire body.
If the shroud falls short of that
and an ample covering is unavailable,
his head and as much of his upper body as possible are covered with it,
and whatever remains exposed is covered with lemongrass
or other types of grass.
A martyr's clothes are not removed;
rather, he is buried in them, as they serve as his shroud.
That is why Mus'ab Ibn 'Umayr, may Allah be pleased with him, was shrouded in his cloak
and covered with lemongrass,
because it was too short to cover his entire body.
The shroud or its cost is taken from the deceased's own estate,
even if he left nothing else behind.
The emigration of the foremost, first believers
was not for the sake of any worldly gain they might obtain,
nor for any immediate blessing they sought to hasten;
rather, it was purely for the sake of Allah,
that He might reward them for it in the Hereafter.
Remembering the lives of the righteous
leads a servant to take little from this world,
disengage from its snares,
unburden oneself of its heavy loads,
and set forth to join their ranks.
On the authority of Sahl Ibn Sa'd al-Sa'idi, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"If this world were worth the wing of a mosquito to Allah,
He would not have given a disbeliever a single drink of water from it."
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi.
Among the lessons derived from the hadith:
The insignificance of this world in the sight of Allah and its worthlessness to Him,
as well as the insignificance of those who seek it,
for whom it has become their greatest concern and the limit of their knowledge.
The true worth of this world lies in making it a pathway to the Abode of the Hereafter
and a fertile ground for righteous deeds.
The permissibility of using parables
to make the meaning clearer to the listener.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say:
"Indeed, the world is accursed,
and accursed is all that is in it,
except the remembrance of Allah the Exalted and what is allied to it,
and a scholar or a student of knowledge."
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi.
"Accursed"
means base and detested.
"Accursed is all that is in it"
refers to wealth, commodities, desires, and the like.
"And what is allied to it"
means whatever is connected or close to it.
Among the lessons derived from the hadith:
The permissibility of disparaging everything that distances one from Allah the Exalted
and distracts from His remembrance;
it is in this light that the chapter's hadith is understood.
Everything in this world is amusement and diversion,
except the remembrance of Allah the Exalted and whatever serves as a means to it.
A clarification of the virtue of knowledge, its scholars, and its seekers.
In the pursuit of knowledge, people are of two categories:
a scholar or a student,
and both are on the path of right guidance and salvation.
On the authority of 'Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"Do not acquire extensive estates,
lest you become covetous of this world."
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi.
An estate (*al-ḍay'ah*)
refers to real estate or cultivated land.
"Lest you become covetous of this world"
means lest you become attached to it
and distracted by it from the righteousness of your Hereafter.
Among the lessons derived from the hadith:
The scholars interpreted this hadith
as a prohibition against acquiring an excessive number of estates,
which leads to the heart becoming consumed by them,
thereby causing a person to rely upon and incline toward this world.
However, acquiring enough real estate to fulfill one's needs
is not prohibited, and Allah knows best.
On the authority of 'Abdullah Ibn 'Amr Ibn al-'As, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, passed by us
while we were repairing a reed hut of ours,
and he asked, 'What is this?'
We said, 'It has become frail,
so we are repairing it.'
He said, 'I see the matter [of death] to be even swifter than that.'"
Narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi
with an authentic chain of narration according to the criteria of al-Bukhari and Muslim.
"We were repairing" means fixing.
A reed hut (*khuṣṣ*) is a dwelling made of wood and reeds,
plastered with clay;
it is so named because of its gaps (*khiṣāṣ*),
which are openings and holes.
It had weakened and was about to collapse.
"The matter" refers to one's appointed time of death.
"Swifter" means more imminent.
Among the lessons derived from the hadith:
The permissibility of maintaining and repairing a home when it deteriorates, weakens, or risks collapsing.
The leader ought to inspect the conditions of his flock
and urge them toward that which brings their salvation in this world and the Hereafter.
An illustration of the rapid passing of this worldly life.
A person must not occupy himself with worldly affairs in a manner that distracts him from the Hereafter
and makes him forget his inevitable destiny.
On the authority of Ka'b Ibn 'Iyad, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
"I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say:
'Indeed, every Ummah has a trial,
and the trial of my Ummah is wealth.'"
Reported by at-Tirmidhi.
"Trial" (fitnah) means a test and an examination,
and it is used in the context of both good and bad.
Allah Almighty said:
“Every soul must taste of death, and We try you with evil and with good, for ordeal. And unto Us ye will be returned.” (21:35)
"The trial of my Ummah,"
meaning that with which it is tested in its worldly life.
Among the benefits derived from this hadith:
An explanation of what Allah has tested this Ummah with,
which is wealth;
through it, the sincerity of their commitment, the purity of their souls,
and their adherence to their methodology—or lack thereof—become manifest.
The intense inclination of human souls toward wealth,
which is just as Allah stated.
“And love wealth with abounding love.” (89:20)
Greed for wealth and attachment to it
are causes for the corruption of mutual relations,
because it breeds avarice,
and avarice leads to the severing of kinship ties.
Riyad as-Salihin [The Meadows of the Righteous].