"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."

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 aiysha (ra) says that there was hardly a day in his life when he had two square meals (muslim, 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 sadqat).