The Holy Prophet (s.

The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.w.) said to them: " Whoever sits idle and does not perform his duties, Allah (S.W.T.) will not even accept his dua and salaat.

Work hard and while working place your trust in Him, then he will give you blessings and rizq from that effort." He looked at the companions and added, " Whoever is lazy in striving for his worldly life will surely be more lazy in striving for his hereafter." In another hadith, our Prophet (s.a.w.w.) says: "Worship has 70 parts and the best of them is seeking a lawful livelihood." Another story that shows us the importance of hard work is when the Prophet (s.a.w.w.) was sitting with his companions and they happened to see a young man busy working in the early hours of the morning.

The companions watched him and commented on how beneficial it would be if he put his effort in worshipping Allah (S.W.T.) instead. When he heard this, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.w.) said to them: " Do not say that! Because he is working to be independent and self sufficient, it is in the way of Allah (S.W.T.). Even if he were striving to earn a living in order to support his family, it would still be a noble act.

It is only when a person takes pride in his efforts and money that he is working in way of Shaytan." Our Aimmah (a.s.) followed the footsteps of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.w.) and worked extremely hard themselves to set an example for the people. They valued it so much that Imam Ali (a.s.) used to say, "There is no joy better than hard work." 3. Simplicity One of the most outstanding qualities of our Holy Prophet (s.a.w.w.) was his simplicity.

He lived in the most basic of houses and his food and dress were minimal at best. The Prophet (s.a.w.w.) neither coveted luxuries, nor did he accept them from others. At all times he preferred to live an uncomplicated life and advised his companions to do the same. Although towards the end of his life, he was in essence a King over the Muslim Empire, his lifestyle never changed in the slightest. He expected no great tributes from his followers and never rode while those around him were walking.

It was his aim to make no one feel uncomfortable or awed in his presence just because of his status. Once, when some of his wives complained that they were tired of having no luxuries and wanted a greater share of the war booty, he politely explained to them that he lived a simple life and could not do this.