Prophet Muhammad, may Allah grant and bless him peace, was contended with bare minimum of the resources of this word. It was not because riches did not reach him. A lot of wealth came to his command which he immediately gave away to other persons in need or applied for social purposes, keeping only a fraction for the self and his family. So much so that at the time of his death his armour was kept with a Jew as a pledge to arrange provisions for feeding the family and there was no dirham or dinar, the currencies of the time, in the house. The wealth left by the Prophet has been reported and it comprised, besides the armour, a mule and a piece of land which was already given in charity. So, there was no sheep or any camel, the normal assets people used to own those days.
Lady Ayesha, mother of believers, may Allah be pleased with her, said that the Prophet never ate full of his fill in the form of barley or bread for three consecutive days until the Prophet passed away. She further reports that at times the family of the Prophet had no opportunity to light a fire for cooking meal for a month because there was nothing to cook. The sole item worth feeding were dates eaten with water. The delicacies of the day like fine bread and boiled sheep were seldom and few-and-far- between in this distinguished family.
Wives of the Prophet, mothers of the believers, may Allah be pleased with them, informed that the bed of the Prophet was made of stuffed palm fibres. Lady Hafsa, one of them, may Allah be pleased with her, said that the bed on which he slept comprised of a doubled-up hair-cloth which was one night folded four times to make it more comfortable. The next day the Prophet forbade from doing so and instructed the bed to be the way it was earlier, saying that the softness of the bed that night kept him from praying.
Lady Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, reported that the Prophet never complained about hunger or poverty. Rather the night he was hungry will not prevent him from fasting the following day. In fact, he preferred poverty to riches. Had he wished, Allah would have provided him with the worldly resources in abundance. The Prophet informed his wife that the angel Jibrael conveyed to him the massage of Allah to provide gold equivalent to the valley of Makkah. But he declined the offer of riches of this world and opted for remaining poor, so that the day when he was hungry he would supplicate to Allah and the other day when he had food he would praise Him.
Once she was so much upset on seeing the state of her exalted husband while massaging his stomach for some relief to the hunger that she started crying. She said, “May I be your ransom! If only you had enough of this world to feed.” The Prophet said, “Ayesha! What do I have to do with this world? My brethren in the Messengers with determinations were patient and steadfast when they faced situations worse than this. They passed away as they were and went to their Lord and how honoured were they! Allah has generously rewarded them. I am too shy to enjoy a life of ease if it means that tomorrow I will fall short in their comparison. There is nothing I desire more than to be joined to my brethren and close friends.”
The death of the Prophet came within a month of this conversation.