The poverty of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was intentional

 

The poverty of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was intentional

 

Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (May Allah be well pleased with him) says:  Once I came to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and saw that He was offering Salaat in a seated position, against His custom.  When I asked Him about it, He said:  Hunger will not let Me stand.  Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (May Allah be well pleased with him) says:  I broke into tears.

 

There is a Hadith in Bukhari, Muslim and other canons of Hadith on the authority of Hadhrat ‘Aisha (May Allah be well pleased with her), she says:  Close to His death, the Prophet had bought barley worth 1 Dinar for His family for which a shield had to be mortgaged.  This was because there was nothing to pay for it.

 

The bed of the Prophet in the house of Hadhrat Hafsa was a coarse mat which was spread all the time.  At the time of sleeping, it was simply double folded.  Once it was

 

There are many Hadith which make it clear that the lifestyle of the Prophet was one of poverty.

 

Here it shouldn’t be thought that the poverty of the Prophet was forced upon Him.  The aforementioned incidents are not of the early days of Islam, the days of Makkah.  These are the incidents of Madina where the Madinites had shared their wealth with the Emigrants.  When they did not hesitate in sharing their wealth with the Emigrants, then what wouldn’t they do for the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)?

 

In our days, the devotion of disciples is such that they keep their masters rich.  There were 1000s of devotees of the Prophet like the Madinites and the Emigrants and not all of them were poor.  Apart from personal wealth, time and again booty from battles would also be distributed among them.

 

They would always be ready to sacrifice everything of theirs for the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).  Let alone wealth, at one gesture of the Prophet, they wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice their lives for Him.  In such a time, what could have been the worldly status of the Prophet?

 

[Excerpted from Maqasid Ul Islam, Vol. 5]