وَلَقَدْ كَانَ (صلى الله عليه وآله) يَأْكُلُ عَلَى الاْرْضِ، وَيَجْلِسُ جِلْسَةَ الْعَبْدِ، وَيَخْصِفُ بَيَدِهِ نَعْلَهُ، وَيَرْقَعُ بِيَدِهِ ثَوْبَهُ، وَيَرْكَبُ الْحِمَارَ الْعَارِيَ، وَيُرْدِفُ خَلْفَهُ، وَيَكُونُ السِّتْرُ عَلَى بَابِ بَيْتِهِ فَتَكُونُ فِيهِ التَّصَاوِيرُ فَيَقُولُ: «يَا فُلاَنَةُ ـ لاِحْدَى أَزْوَاجِهِ ـ غَيِّبِيهِ عَنِّي، فَإِنِّي إِذَا نَظَرْتُ إِلَيْهِ ذَكَرْتُ الدُّنْيَا وَزَخَارِفَهَا». فَأَعْرَضَ عَنِ الدُّنْيَا بِقَلْبِهِ، وَأَمَاتَ ذِكْرَهَا مِنْ نَفْسِهِ، وَأَحَبَّ أَنْ تَغِيبَ زِينَتُهَا عَنْ عَيْنِهِ، لِكَيْلاَ يَتَّخِذَ مِنْهَا رِيَاشاً، وَلاَ يَعْتَقِدَهَا قَرَاراً، وَلاَ يَرْجُو فِيهَا مُقَاماً، فَأَخْرَجَهَا مِنَ النَّفْسِ، وَأَشْخَصَهَا عَنِ الْقَلْبِ، وَغَيَّبَهَا عَنِ الْبَصَرِ. وَكَذلِكَ مَنْ أَبْغَضَ شَيْئاً أَبْغَضَ أَنْ يَنْظُرَ إِلَيْهِ، وَأَنْ يُذْكَرَ عِنْدَهُ.
The Prophet used to eat on the ground, and sat like a slave. He repaired his shoe with his hand, and patched his clothes with his hand. He would ride an unsaddled ass and would seat someone behind him. If there was a curtain on his door with pictures on it he would say to one of his wives, “O such-and-such, take it away out of my sight because if I look at it I recall the world and its allurements.” Thus, he removed his heart from this world and destroyed its remembrance from his mind. He loved that its allurements should remain hidden from his eye so that he should not secure good dress from it, should not regard it a place of stay and should not hope to live in it. Consequently he removed it from his mind, let it go away from his heart and kept it hidden from his eyes. In the same way he who hates a thing should hate to look at it or to hear about it.