Difficult Life of the Prophet
"And We will most certainly try you with somewhat of fear and hunger and loss of property and lives and fruits(of your toil); and give good news to the patient." (Quran: 2/155)
The Prophet(pbuh) knew that the task in his hands to be the Messenger of Allah(God) on earth was such that he had to endure a lot of pain and suffering. He never ate to his fill, but never complained of starvation.
He liked poverty more than richness. Sometimes he could not sleep, owing to hunger. If he had desired wealth, he could have had it, because he had the key to all worldly treasures.
His prayer after returning from Ta'if, where he was ridiculed, stoned and left bleeding from wounds, showed the depth and height of his love for truth and his sincerity in being willing to suffer anything for it. Weary and wounded, he prayed to his Lord in these most passionate and honest words:
"0 Lord! To You alone I make complaint of my helplessness, the paucity of resources and my insignificance before humankind. You are the most Merciful of the mercifuls. You are the Lord of the helpless and the weak, 0 Lord of Mine! Into whose hands would You abandon me, into the hands of an unsympathetic foe who would sullenly frown at me, or the enemy who has been given control over my affairs? But if Your Wrath does not fall upon me, there is nothing for me to worry about. . . I seek protection in the light of Your Countenance, which illuminates the heavens and dispels every darkness, and which controls all affairs in this world as well as in the hereafter. May it never be that I should incur Your Wrath, or that You should be wrathful to me. And there is no power nor resource, but Yours alone." ( Hadith, Rahman, 1992, 161-162)
"And We will most certainly try you with somewhat of fear and hunger and loss of property and lives and fruits(of your toil); and give good news to the patient." (Quran: 2/155)
Aaisha, the Prophet(pbuh)'s wife, said,"The mattress of the Prophet , on which he slept, was made of leather stuffed with the fiber of the date-palm tree."
Amr Ibn Al-Hareth, one of the Prophet(pbuh)'s companions, said that when the Prophet(pbuh) died, he left neither money nor anything else except his white riding mule, his arms, and a piece of land which he left to charity.
The Prophet(pbuh) lived this hard life till he died although the Muslim treasury was at his disposal, the greater part of the Arabian Peninsula was Muslim before he died, and the Muslims were victorious after eighteen years of his mission.
The Prophet(pbuh)'s followers loved him, respected him, and trusted him to an amazing extent. Yet he continued to emphasize that deification should be directed to Allah(God) and not to him personally. Anas, one of Prophet(pbuh)'s companions, said that there was no person whom they loved more than the Prophet(pbuh), yet when he came to them, they did not stand up for him because he hated their standing up for him, as other people do with their great people.
Despite his responsibilities as a prophet, a teacher, a statesman, and a judge, the Prophet(pbuh) used to milk his goat, mend his clothes, repair his shoes, help with the household work, and visit poor people when they got sick. He also helped his companions in digging a trench by moving sand with them. His life was an amazing model of simplicity and humbleness.
( pbuh = peace be upon him )
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