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Zuhd: Abstinence in Islam
The Zuhd of Prophet Muhammad: his food
Reports the mother of faithful believers, Sayyidatina 'Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her): "At our home (that is, the home of the Holy Prophet's household), fire would not be kindled (sometimes) for a whole month; we subsisted merely on water and dates." (Tirmidhi)
Hadrat Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) and the members of his household used to pass night after night without food, as there used to be nothing for eating at night, and frequently his food consisted of barley-bread. (Tirmidhi)
Sayyidatina 'Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) reports that till the day the Holy Prophet passed away, the members of his household did not eat even barley-bread to their fill for two days consecutively. (Tirmidhi)
The Zuhd of Prophet Muhammad: his bedding
Narrates Sayyidina 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): "I went to the Prophet and saw that he was lying on a mat made of the leaves of the date-palm, and there was no bedding between him and the mat, and the texture of the mat had left deep marks on his body, and under his head was placed a leather pillow stuffed with the bark of the date-tree. On seeing it, I said, "My Master! Pray to Allah (The Glorified and The Exalted) to grant prosperity to your followers. He has bestowed riches upon the people of Rome and Persia even though they are not believers." The Prophet (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) replied, 'O son of Khattab! Do you also think like that? They are the people who have been deprived of the blessings of the Hereafter (owing to their ungodly ways), and hence, the comforts (Allah wanted to confer upon them) have been granted to them in this world.' (In another version of the same Tradition, it is said that the Prophet replied, "O 'Umar! Do you not prefer that they took the joys of this world and we of the Hereafter)?" (Bukhari and Muslim)
Hadrat 'AbdAllah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says that (once) the Holy Prophet (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) slept on a mat made of date palm leaves and when he awoke, the impressions of the mat were visible on his body. We said: "O Allah's Messenger (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him)! May we prepare a soft bedding for you?" He said: I have got nothing to do with the world. I am in this world like a rider who halts in the shade of a tree for a short time and after taking some rest, resumes his journey leaving the tree behind. (Tirmidhi)
The Stature of a Zahid and a Sufi: Uways al-Qarani
Sayyidina 'Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah's Messenger (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) as saying, "A man named Uways will come to you from Yemen leaving there only a mother. He had been afflicted by leprosy and made supplication to Allah (The Glorified and The Exalted) who removed it all except to the extent of a dinar (or dirham). If any of you meet him tell him to pray for forgiveness for you." In another version he said that he heard Allah's Messenger (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) say, "The best of the Followers (Tabi'in) will be a man named Uways who has a mother and has been afflicted by leprosy. Tell him that he must pray for forgiveness for you." (Muslim)