Chapter on the Prophet’s ﷺ Renunciation

By his standard true zuhd (abstinence from worldly pleasures) is weighed and defined.

Allah, the Exalted, says: “Do not strain your eyes toward the splendor of the worldly life We have given to some of them, for We test them by it; the provision of your Lord is better and more enduring.” (Qur’an 20:131)

Baqiyyah ibn al-Walid narrated from al-Zubaydī, from al-Zuhrī, from Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās who said: Ibn ʿAbbās used to relate that Allah, exalted is He, sent an angel to His Prophet ﷺ accompanied by Gabriel. The angel said, “Allah gives you a choice: would you like to be a servant-prophet or a king-prophet?” The Prophet ﷺ turned toward Gabriel as though consulting him, and Gabriel indicated to him to be humble. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ therefore said, “Rather, I choose to be a servant-prophet.” From that moment on he never ate a meal while reclining until he met his Lord, exalted be He.

ʿIkrimah ibn ʿAmmār reported from Abū Zumayl, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās told me that ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him—said: I entered the storeroom of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and found him lying on a woven mat. He drew his lower garment over himself and sat up, and the mat had left marks on his side. I looked around the Prophet’s storeroom and saw nothing of worldly goods except two handfuls—or he said a single handful—of barley, and a handful of qaradh leaves, roughly two sāʿs in volume. A water-skin—or two water-skins—was hanging there. Tears sprang to my eyes, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “What makes you weep, son of al-Khaṭṭāb?” I replied, “Messenger of Allah, how could I not weep when you are Allah’s chosen one, His Messenger and most beloved, yet this is all your store contains! Chosroes and Caesar live amid rivers and orchards, while you live like this.” He said, “O son …”