Extravagance in Building

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, said, "Allah is pleased with you about three thingsand He is angry with you about three things. He is pleased that you worshipHim, not associating anything with Him, that you all take hold of the ropeof Allah and that you give good counsel to those that Allah has put inauthority over you. He dislikes you engaging in chitchat, asking a lotof questions and squandering wealth."

In commenting on the words of Allah Almighty, "Anything youspend will be replaced by Him. and He is the best of Providers," (34:
39)Ibn 'Abbas said, "without extravagance or parsimony."

Abu'l-'Ubaydayn said, "I asked 'Abdullah about those who squanderand he said, 'They are those who spend incorrectly.'"

Ibn 'Abbas said that he said that "the squanderers" were thosewho wasted money incorrectly.

Zayd ibn Aslam reported from his father that 'Umar used to sayon the minbar, "O people! Improve your homes but be careful about thesehouse snakes [which are a form of jinn] before they make you afraid. Thoseamong them which are Muslim will not be clear to you and, by Allah, wehave not made peace with them since the time when we treated them as anenemy."

Khabbab said, "A man is rewarded for everything except building."

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr was heard to say to a nephew of his who hadleft al-Waht, "Are your workers at work?" "I don't know," he replied. Hesaid, "If you were clever, you would work as your workers work." Then heturned towards us and said, "When a man works with his workers in his house(and Abu 'Asim once said, 'in his property'), he is one of the workersof Allah Almighty."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, said, "The Final Hour will not come until peoplecompete with one another in the height of their buildings."

Al-Hasan said, "I used to go into the houses of the wives of theProphet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, during the khalifateof 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, and I could touch their ceilings with my own hand."

Dawud ibn Qays said, "I saw that the rooms were made from the stumpsof palm trees covered on the outside with smoothed hair. I think that thewidth of the house from the door of the room to the door of the house wasabout six or seven spans. The width of the room inside was ten spans. Ithink that the ceiling was between seven and eight, or there about. I stoppedat the door of 'A'isha, which was facing the west."

'Abdullah ar-Rumi said, "I visited Umm Talq and exclaimed, 'Howlow the ceiling of your room is!' 'My son,' she replied, 'the Amir al-Mu'minin,'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, wrote to his workerstelling them:
"Do not make your buildings tall. That will come about inthe worst of your days."'"

It is reported that Habba ibn Khalid and Sawa' ibn Khalid cameto the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while he was repairinga wall - or a building - of his, and they helped him.

Qays ibn Abi Hazm said, "We went to visit Khubbab after he hadbeen cauterised seven times. He said, 'Our Companions who came before ushave gone and this world did not cause the, loss. We have been struck byan affliction for which we find no place to put it down except the earth.If it were no that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,forbade us to pray for death, we would pray for it.'"

He continued, "Then we came to him another time while he was buildinga wall and his and he said, 'The Muslim is rewarded for everything on whichhe spends money except for what he spends on dust.'

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, went by while I was repairing a hut I owned. He said,'What is this?' I replied, 'I am mending my hut, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace.' He said, 'The business is too swift for that.'"

Nafi' ibn al-Harith reported that the Prophet, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, said, "Part of a man's happiness is a spaciousdwelling, a good neighbour, and a good mount."

Thabit reported that he was with Anas in a corner above one ofhis rooms. He said, "We heard the adhan and he came down and I came downas well. He took short stops and said, 'I was with Zayd ibn Thabit andI walked with him in this fashion. He said, "Do you know why I did it toyou? The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, walked in thismanner and he said, 'Do you know why I walked with you?' I replied, 'Allahand His Messenger know best.' He said, 'So that there would be a greaternumber of steps in search of the prayer.'"'"

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "The Final Hour will not come until people buildhouses which are like coloured garments."

Warrad, the scribe of al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba, said, "Mu'awiya wroteto al-Mughira, saying, 'Write down for me what you heard the Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say.' So he wrote tohim, 'The Prophet of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, usedto say at the end of every prayer, "There is no god but Allah alone withno partner. His is the Kingdom and His is the praise and He has power overeverything. O Allah, none can withhold what You give nor can anyone givewhat You withhold. Nor will the wealth of someone with wealth help himagainst You.' He also write to him, 'He forbade gossip, asking too manyquestions, and wasting money. He forbade disobeying mothers, burying daughtersalive, and he forbade asking people (without real need).'"

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "None of you will be saved by his actions?" "Noteven you, Messenger of Allah?" they asked. "Not even me," he replied, "unlessAllah covers me with mercy from Him. But act correctly and wisely and worshipin the morning and evening and during part of the night. Keep to a middlepath and you will arrive."