Mode of Living Of Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him

His house was but a hut with walls of unbaked clay and a thatched roof of palm leaves covered by camel skin. He had separate apartments for his wives, a small room for each made of similar materials. His own apartment contained a rope cot (1*), a pillow stuffed with palm leaves , the skin of some animal spread on the floor and a water-bag of leather and some weapons. These were all his earthly belongings, besides a camel, a horse, and some land which he had aquired in the later part of his life. (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud).

Once some of his disciples, noticing the imprint of his mattress on his body, wished to give him a softer bed, but he politely declined the offer saying, "What have I to do with worldly things. My connection with the world is like that of a traveler resting for a while underneath the shade of a tree and then moving on." Amr Ibn Al-Harith, a brother-in-law of the Prophet , says that when the Prophet died, he did not leave a cent, a slave man or woman, or any property except his white mule, his weapons and a piece of land which he had dedicated for the good of the community. (Sahih Bukhari).

He advised the people to live simple lives and himself practised great austerities. Even when he had become the virtual king of Arabia, he lived an austere life bordering on privation. His wife Ayesha (radiyallaahu `anha) says that there was hardly a day in his life when he had two square meals. (Sahih Muslim,, Vol.2, pg 198).

When he died there was nothing in his house except a few seeds of barley left from a mound of the grain obtained from a Jew by pawning his armour. (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari, Chapter "Aljihad").

He had declared unlawful for himself and his family anything given by the people by way of zakat or sadaqa (types of charity). He was so particular about this that he would not appoint any member of his family as a zakat collector. (Sahah-Kitab Sadaqat).

(1*) cot: a small, narrow bed

If we compare the life of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) before his mission as
a prophet and his life after he began his mission as a prophet, we
will conclude that it is beyond reason to think that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was a false prophet, who claimed prophethood to attain material
gains, greatness, glory, or power.
Before his mission as a prophet, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) had no financial
worries. As a successful and reputed merchant, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)
drew a satisfactory and comfortable income. After his mission as
a prophet and because of it, he became worse off materially. To
clarify this more, let us browse the following sayings on his life:

Aa’isha, Muhammad’s (peace and blessings be upon him) wife, said: “O my nephew, we
would sight three new moons in two months without lighting
a fire (to cook a meal) in the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) houses.” Her
nephew asked: “O Aunt, what sustained you?” She said: “The
two black things, dates and water, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had some
Ansar neighbors who had milk-giving she-camels and they
used to send the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) some of its milk.”1

Sahl Ibn Sa’ad, one of Muhammad’s (peace and blessings be upon him) companions, said:
“The Prophet of God (peace and blessings be upon him) did not see bread made from fine flour
from the time God sent him (as a prophet) until he died.”2

Aa’isha, Muhammad’s (peace and blessings be upon him) wife, said: “The mattress of the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), on which he slept, was made of leather stuffed with
the fiber of the date-palm tree.”3

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1) Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #2972, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #2567.
(2) Narrated in Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #5413, and Al-Tirmizi, #2364.
(3) Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #2082, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #6456.

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» Description of the prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
» Is the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)know the Unseen
» In the era of our noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him
» Miracles Performed by the Prophet Muhammad(peace and blessings be upon him