Ahadith

Imran ibn Husain relates that the Holy Prophet said: The best of you are those who are my contemporaries, then those who come immediately after them, then those who come immediately after them (he said this twice or three times) then they will be followed by those who will testify but who will not be asked to testify, they will embezzle and will not keep trust, will make vows and will not fulfil them, and corpulence will prevail among them (Bokhari and Muslim). (At-Takathur 10, Bani Isra'il 20)

Abu Umamah relates that the Holy Prophet said: Son of Adam, if you were to spend that which is spare it would be the better for you, and if you hold it back it would be the worse for you. You will not be blamed for keeping that which you need. Begin spending upon those who are dependent upon you (Tirmidhi). (At-Takathur 10, Bani Isra'il 20)

Ubaidullah ibn Mohsin Ansari relates that the Holy Prophet said: He who begins the day secure as to his life, in good physical condition and possessing one day's provision is as if the world and all it contains were bestowed upon him (Tirmidhi). (At-Takathur 10, Bani Isra'il 20)

Abdullah ibn Amr ibn ‘As relates that the Holy Prophet said: He who accepts Islam, and is bestowed provision that suffices for his needs and Allah makes him content with what He has given him has achieved true prosperity (Muslim). (At-Takathur 10, Bani Isra'il 20)

Fazalah ibn Ubaid relates that he heard the Holy Prophet say: Felicitation for him who is guided to Islam and has provision that suffices him and is content (Tirmidhi). (At-Takathur 10, Bani Isra'il 20)

Ibn Abbas relates that the Holy Prophet went to bed hungry for several successive nights and his family had no supper and their bread was mostly of barley (Tirmidhi). (At-Takathur 10, Bani Isra'il 20)

Fazalah ibn Ubaid relates that when the Holy Prophet led the Prayer some people fell down from their standing posture on account of starvation. They were of the Company of the Lounge. The rustics started saying that they were afflicted with madness. After concluding the service the Holy Prophet would go over to them and would say to them: If you knew what there is for you with Allah, the Exalted, you would wish to augment your starvation and lack of provision (Tirmidhi). (At-Takathur 10, Bani Isra'il 20)

Miqdad ibn Ma‘dikarib relates that he heard the Holy Prophet say: No man fills a vessel worse than his stomach. A few mouthfuls that would suffice to keep his back upright are enough for a man, but if he must eat more, then he should fill one third with food, one third with drink and leave one third for easy breathing (Tirmidhi). (Hud 8, Al-Baqarah 275, Al-Furqan 69)

Abu Umamah Iyas ibn Thalabah relates that the companions of the Holy Prophet one day brought up the subject of the world before him whereupon he said: Do you not hear, do you not realise? Abstention is part of faith, abstention is part of faith (Abu Daud). (Hud 8, Al-Baqarah 275, Al-Furqan 69)

Jabir ibn Abdullah relates that the Holy Prophet sent us under the command of Abu Ubaidah to an encounter with a caravan of the Quraish and provisioned us with a leather bag of dried dates without anything else. Abu Ubaidah rationed us on one date per day. Being asked: How did you manage? Jabir replied: We would suck it as does a child and drink some water on top of it. This carried us on till night. We would also shake down leaves of trees with our staffs, dip them in water and eat them. We reached the coast and saw something like a sand dune stretched along the beach. When we approached it we found it was a whale. Abu Ubaidah said: This is carrion, but after some" reflection added: We have been sent by the Messenger of Allah and are employed in the cause of Allah. You are driven by necessity and it is lawful for you to eat of it. We subsisted on it for a month and put on weight, and we were three hundred in number. We used to take out skinfuls of grease through its eyes and would carve out pieces of meat as large-as an ox. On one occasion Abu Ubaidah selected thirteen of us and seated them in the socket of its eye. He took one of its ribs and stood it up and made our tallest camel pass under it fully accoutered and all. When we left we took with us large pieces ef its boiled meat as provision. When we returned to Medina we presented ourselves before the Holy Prophet and mentioned all this to him. He said: This was provision made for you by Allah. Have you any of its meat with you so that you would give it to us to eat? Thus we sent some of it to the Holy Prophet and he ate of it (Muslim). ‘