Standard of Sacrifice
Hazrat Sa‘d (ra) bin Abi Waqas narrates, “I saw Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair in the time when he was affluent as well as after becoming a Muslim. He endured so many hardships for the sake of Islam that I saw that his skin would deteriorate and come off just as a snake would shed its skin.”
*(al-Sirat al-Nabawiyyah li Ibn Ishaq, p. 230, Man udhiba fillah min al-mu’mineen, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2004) *
They established such standards of sacrifice that one is left astounded.
Once, Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair came to the Holy Prophet (sa) while he was sitting amongst some of his Companions (ra). On that occasion, the clothes of Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) were patched with pieces of leather. There was a time when he used to wear clothes of the highest quality, but then after becoming a Muslim, the state of his clothes was such that they would be patched together using pieces of leather.
Witnessing the change in Hazrat Mus‘ab’s (ra) condition, the companions lowered their heads as they were unable to help him. Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) stepped forward and offered his Salam [Islamic greeting of peace]. The Holy Prophet (sa) replied to him and praised him in a most excellent manner. Following this, the Holy Prophet (sa) said:
“All praise belongs to Allah! May worldly people be granted from this world. I have seen Mus‘ab at a time when there was no one more affluent and wealthy in the city of Mecca than him. He was the dearest child of his parents. However, the love of God and His Messenger (sa) has brought him to this state today and he left all of that behind for the sake of God and His pleasure.”
(al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 86, Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1990)
Hazrat Sa‘d (ra) bin Abi Waqas relates that the Holy Prophet (sa) looked at Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair and remembering his previous state of affluence, began to cry. The Holy Prophet (sa) remembered his previous condition and the sacrifices he was now making.
Hazrat Ali (ra) relates:
“We were sitting in the mosque in the company of the Holy Prophet (sa) when Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair arrived. He was wearing a cloak patched with pieces of leather. When the Holy Prophet (sa) saw him, he remembered his previous state of affluence and saw the state that he was in now and began to cry. Following this, the Holy Prophet (sa) said, ‘What will your condition be when one of you will wake up in the morning in one set of clothes and wear another set of clothes at night?’”
That is, they would become so affluent that they would be able to change the clothes they would wear in the morning to a different set of clothes at night. “Following this, the Holy Prophet (sa) said, ‘One plate of food will be placed before you and another will be taken away’”, that is, there would be various courses of meals and various dishes will be served, similar to the custom today. “‘You will cover your homes in clothes similar to how the Ka‘bah is covered,’” i.e. very expensive clothes will be used. This is precisely what is witnessed today and this affluence was granted to the Muslims later on. “The companions (ra) said, ‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah! Will we be much better off at that time in comparison to today and subsequently have more time for worship?’”
The companions (ra) asked that in such affluent circumstances, would they have more time to worship as they would be spared from arduous and laborious work. “Upon this, the Holy Prophet (sa) replied, ‘This is not the case, rather you are better off today as compared to that time.’”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Abwab Sffatul Qiyamah, Hadith 2476)
In other words, their condition, level of worship and standards would be much loftier than those who would come after them owing to their wealth and affluence.