“I entered upon the Messenger of Allah (saw) when he was (sitting) on a reed mat. I sat down and (saw that) he was wearing a waist wrap, and there was no other barrier between him and the mat but his waist wrap, and the reed mat had made marks on his side. And I saw a handful of barley, nearly a Sa’, and some acacia leaves, in a corner of the room, and a skin hanging up. My eyes flowed with tears, and he said: ‘Why are you weeping, O son of Khattab?’ I said: ‘O Prophet of Allah, why should I not weep? This mat has made marks on your side, and this is all you have accumulated, I cannot see anything other than what I see (here), while Chosroes and Caesar live among fruits and rivers. You are the Prophet of Allah and His Chosen One, and this is what you have accumulated.’ He said: ‘O son of Khattab, does it not please you (to know) that (these things) are for us in the Hereafter and for them in this world?’ He said: ‘Yes.’”

We went to Anas b. Malik through Thabit and reached there (his house) while he was offering the forenoon prayer. Thabit sought permission for us and we entered, and he seated Thabit with him on his bedstead. He (Thabit) said to him (Anas b. Malik): O Abu Hamza (kunya of Anas b. Malik), your brothers from among the inhabitants of Basra ask you to narrate to them the hadith of intercession. He said: Muhammad (may peace be upon him) narrated to us: When it would be the Day of Resurrection, some of the people would rush to one another in bewilderment. They would come to Adam and say: Intercede (with your Lord) for your progeny. He would say: I am not fit to do this, but go to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) for he is the Friend of Allah. They would come to Ibrahim, but he would say: I am not fit to do this, but go to Moses, for he is Allah's Interlocutor. They would come to Moses, but he would say: I am not fit to do this, but you should go to Jesus, for he is the Spirit of Allah and His word. They would come to Jesus, and he would say, I am not fit to do this; you better go to Muhammad (may peace be upon him). They would come to me, and I would say: I am in a position to do that, I would go and ask the permission of my Lord and it would be granted to me. I would then stand before Him and would extol Him with praises which I am not able to do now, but with which Allah would inspire me, then I would fall in prostration and it would be said to me: O Muhammad, raise thy head, and say and it would be listened to; ask and it would be granted, intercede and it would be accepted. I shall say: My Lord, my people, my people It would be said: Go, and bring forth from it (Hell) him who has in his heart faith equal to the weight of a wheat grain or a barley seed. I would go and do that; then I would return to my Lord and extol Him with those praises (taught to me by Allah), then I would fall in prostration. It would be said to me: O Muhammad, raise your head, and say and it would be heard; ask and it would be granted; intercede and intercession would be accepted. So I would say: My people. my people. It would be said to me: Go and take out from it (Hell) him who has in his heart faith equal to the weight of a mustard seed. I would go and do that. I would again return to my Lord and extol Him with those praises. I would then fall in prostration. It would be said to me: O Muhammad, raise your head: say, and you would be listened to; ask and ...

“A tailor invited Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) to a meal he had made, so I went with Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) to that meal. He presented Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) with some barley-bread and broth containing a gourd and jerked meat. Then I saw the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) looking for chunks of gourd all around the bowl, and and I've loved gourd ever since.”