A Critique of Professor Arnold G. Toynbee’s Understanding — Page 30
30 on the occasion of the reception of visiting diplomats. The Holy Prophet replied: Only such a person should wear this who has no share in the life of the Hereafter (Bokhari, Vol. N, Egyptian Edition, p. 31). Till the very last, this remained his practice. The Prophet continued to wear clothes made of a heavy yarn. It is recorded that once he was resting on a mat made of palm leaves. When he got up, the Companions could plainly see the marks of the mat on his body. The Companions submitted: O Messenger of Allah! Could we have a cushion of some sort made and present i t to you? He replied: What do I care for the world? I desire only so much of the world as a traveler riding an animal. The traveler stops for a little while under the shade of a tree and then he leaves and moves on. ( Jami’a Tirmidhi, Kitab - uz - Zuhd, A book of the sayings of the Holy Prophet ). Once Hazrat Umar entered the living quarters of the Holy Prophet. Seeing the simplicity of the room of the Messenger of Allah, for the first time, Hazrat Umar was completely amazed. The meager contents of this small closet like room presented a strange sce ne. The blessed body of the Holy Prophet was clad in a single sheet of cloth. A worn out bed made of yarn was laid out. There was a pillow at the head of this bed. The pillow was filled with date skin. On one side, there was a handful of barley. In one cor ner of the room, there was an animal’s hide. Seeing the Holy Prophet, the Lord and Master of the Here and the Hereafter, in this state, Hazrat Umar, began to shed tears. Tears started flowing from his eyes and fell to the ground. The Holy Prophet asked: Um ar, why are you crying so much? Hazrat Umar replied, O