The Book of Miscellany

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The most truthful statement a poet has ever made is the saying of Labid: Everything besides Allah is vain."[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].

The family of Muhammad (ﷺ) never ate to the fill the bread of barley for two successive days until he died.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].Another narration is: 'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said: Never did the family of Muhammad (ﷺ) eat to the fill, since their arrival to Al-Madinah, the bread of wheat for three successive nights until his death.

"O son of my sister, by Allah, I used to see the new moon, then the new moon, then the new moon, i.e., three moons in two months, and a fire was not kindled in the house of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). "I ('Urwah) said, "O my aunt, what were your means of sustenance?" She said; "Dates and water. But it (so happened) that Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had some Ansar neighbours who had milch animals. They used to send Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) some milk of their (animals) and he gave that to us to drink."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said that he happened to pass by some people who had a roast lamb before them. They invited him, but he declined, saying: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) left the world without having eaten his fill with barley bread."[Al- Bukhari].

The Prophet (ﷺ) neither ate on a dining cloth, nor ate soft bread throughout his life.[Al-Bukhari].One narration adds: He (ﷺ) never even saw a Samit lamb.Samit is an animal prepared for food by removing its hair by boiling water, and then roasted without being skinned. This type of food is preferred by wealthy people. (Editor's Note)

I have seen your Prophet (ﷺ) when he did not find enough of even the inferior quality of dates to eat and fill his belly.[Muslim].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had never seen bread made out of fine flour throughout his life, since Allah commissioned him until his death. He was asked, "Did you not have sieves at the time of the Messenger of Allah?" He replied, "Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) never saw a sieve." He was asked, "How did you manage to eat barley bread made of unsieved flour?" He said, "We used to ground it and then blew away the husk, and what remained we kneaded into dough."[Al-Bukhari].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) went out (of his house) one day, or one night, and there he met Abu Bakr and 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) also. He (ﷺ) said, "What made you leave your houses at this hour?" They said, "It is hunger, O Messenger of Allah." He said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, what made you leave, made me also leave, so come along!" And he went along with them to a man from the Ansar, but they did not find him in his house. When the wife of that man saw the Prophet, she said, "You are most welcome." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to her, "Where is so-and-so?" She said, "He went to fetch some fresh water for us." In the meantime, the Ansari came back, saw Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and his two companions and said: "Praise be to Allah, today no one has more honourable guests than I." He then went out and brought them a bunch of date fruit, having dates, some still green, some ripe, and some fully ripe, and requested them to eat from it. He then took his knife (to slaughter a sheep). Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to him, "Do not kill a milch sheep." So he slaughtered a sheep for them. After they had eaten and drunk to their fill, Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to Abu Bakr and 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them), "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, you will certainly be questioned about this treat on the Day of Resurrection. Hunger brought you out of your homes, and you do not return to your homes till you have been blessed with this treat."[Muslim].

'Utbah bin Ghazwan, the governor of Basrah, delivered a Khutbah. He praised Allah, glorified Him, then said: "Amma b'adu, verily, the world has been given the news of its end and is running to meet its end swiftly. Nothing is left out of it but a very little amount. Similar to the remainder in a dish whose owner is collecting it to drink; and you are going to move to an abode which knows no end, and you should proceed there with the good before you, for we have been informed (by the Prophet (ﷺ)) that a stone would be thrown at one side of the Hell and it would travel down for seventy years but would not reach its bottom. By Allah, it will be filled (with men and jinn). Do you find it strange? We have been informed (i.e., by the Prophet (ﷺ)) that the distance between two shutters of the gate of Jannah is forty years (distance). And a day would come when it would be fully packed; I was the seventh amongst the seven who had been with Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and we had nothing to eat but the leaves of the tree until the sides of our mouth were injured. We found a sheet which we tore into two and divided between myself and Sa'd bin Malik. I made the lower garment with half of it and so did Sa'd. Today, there is none amongst us who has not become the governor of a city, and I seek refuge with Allah that I should consider myself great while I am insignificant to Allah."[Muslim].

'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) showed us a sheet and a thick lower garment and said to us Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was wearing them when he died.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

By Allah, I am the first Arab who shot an arrow in the Cause of Allah. We fought along with Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when our food was only the leaves of Hublah and Samur trees (wild trees) until one of us would defecate like the droppings of sheep.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to supplicate: "O Allah, make the provisions of family of Muhammad (ﷺ) bare subsistence."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

By Allah other than Whom there is none worthy of worship, I used to press my stomach against the earth owing to my hunger; I would tie a stone over it. One day, I was sitting on the way they usually take when the Prophet (ﷺ) passed by me. When he saw me he smiled at me and knew my condition and my feelings. He called me and I replied, "At your service, O Messenger of Allah." He said, "Follow me." So I followed him. Having arrived at home, he sought permission and entered. He allowed me in and I, too, entered. He found milk in a bowl and asked, "Where is this from?" He was told that it was a gift for him from so- and-so. He called me and I responded: "At your service, O Messenger of Allah." He said, "Go to the people of As-Suffah and usher them in." He Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) explained: The people of As-Suffah were guests of Islam; they had no family, no property and no relations. When Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to receive something in charity, he would send it to them without taking anything from it. When he received a present, he would send for them and share it with them. On this occasion, I disliked to give them anything. I said to myself: "This meagre quantity of milk will not be enough for all the people of As-Suffah! I am more deserving of it than anyone else. By drinking it I may attain some strength. When they come, he will order me to give it to them. I do not expect that anything will be left for me from this milk." As there was no alternative but to obey Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ). I went and called them. They came and sought permission which was granted. They took their seats. The Prophet (ﷺ) called me and I responded, "At your service, O Messenger of Allah." He then said, "Take the milk and give it to them." I took the bowl and gave it to one man who drank his fill and returned it to me, and I gave it to the next and he did the same. I went on doing this till the bowl reached Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). By that time all had taken their fill. He (ﷺ) took the bowl, put it on his hand, looked at me, smiled and said, "Abu Hirr." I said, "At your service, O Messenger of Allah." He said, "Now you and I are left." I said, "That is true, O Messenger of Allah." He said, "Sit down and drink." I drank, but he went on saying, "Drink some more." I said, "By Him Who has sent you with the Truth, I have no room for it." He said, "Then give it to me." So I gave him the bowl. He praised Allah, uttered the Name of Allah and drank the remainder.[Al- Bukhari].

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: "I would fall in swoon between the pulpit of (the mosque of) Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and the chamber of 'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) and every passer-by would put his foot on my neck thinking I was insane. I was not insane but I was awfully hungry."[Al- Bukhari].

When Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) died, his armour was mortgaged with a Jew for thirty Sa' (measures) of barley.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The Prophet (ﷺ) mortgaged his armour for a quantity of barley, and I took to him some barley bread and rancid fat. I heard him saying: "The family of Muhammad never possessed a measure of wheat from dawn to dusk although they were nine houses (to feed)."[Al- Bukhari].

I saw seventy of the people of As-Suffah and none of them had a cloak. They had either a lower cloth or a blanket which they suspended from their necks. Some reached half way down to the legs and some to the ankles, and one of them would manage to keep it in his hand to avoid exposing his private parts.[Al-Bukhari].

The mattress of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was a piece of tanned skin stuffed with palm fibres.[Al-Bukhari].

We were once sitting in the company of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when a man from the Ansar came and greeted. As he was leaving, Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to him, "O brother of the Ansar, how is my brother Sa'd bin 'Ubadah?" He replied, "He is well." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked, "Which of you is desirous of visiting him?" Having said this he got up and we followed him. We were ten and odd in number and we had neither shoes nor light boots nor caps nor shirts. We walked on foot through the barren plain till we came to the residence of Sa'd (May Allah be pleased with him). His people made way and Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) along with those who accompanied him went up to him.[Muslim].

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The best of you, are my contemporaries, then those who follow them, then those who will come after them. ('Imran said, I do not know if he said this twice or thrice). Then, they will be followed by those who will testify but will not be called upon to testify; they will betray the trust, and will not be trusted. They will make vows but will not fulfill them, and obesity will prevail among them."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].