(55) Chapter: Excellence of Leading an Ascetic Life, and Virtues of Simple Life

'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) died when my house was void of any edible thing except for a small quantity of barley I had on a shelf and from which I kept eating it for a long time. Then when I measured what was left of it, it soon finished. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. Commentary: During the last days of the Prophet (PBUH) the financial position of the Muslims had largely improved due to the spoils of war and he could have lived a comfortable life if he liked, but he stuck to the same austere life which he had led earlier. In this Hadith, `Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) has related an account of the extremely austere and pious life of the Prophet (PBUH) although her house was the house of his most beloved wife. This Hadith also tells us that in spite of his profound love for `Aishah (May Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (PBUH) did not accord her any preferential treatment. He treated all his wives equally. Thus, this Hadith has a lesson for `Ulama' and their families that they should not look towards worldly riches and the amenities enjoyed by them but keep in view the life of the Prophet (PBUH) and his wives and learn to keep themselves contented with minimum income.