Simplicity is also related to the model of the Prophet and the Companions. When it comes to prayer, people see follow the Companions. But when it comes to matters of life, they don’t realize that here too the Companions have set a model. This is the model of simplicity. Consider marriage, for example. The Companions had very simple marriages. There was nothing elaborate about their marriages. I will give an example. Abdur Rahman ibn Awf was a Companion of the Prophet. The Prophet used to live in Madinah, which was just a town. It was not a big city like Delhi. Abdur Rahman ibn Awf also lived in the same town. Abdur Rahman ibn Awf once met the Prophet after a gap of few days. The Prophet asked him where he was. He replied that he had got married, which took him two to three days. I thought that the Prophet lived in the same town as Abdur Rahman ibn Awf. Abdur Rahman ibn Awf got married. He didn’t invite any other Companion nor did he invite the Prophet. He married in a simple way. Marriage at that time was simply nikah. The two sides would give statements that they were ready to marry. This was all. There were no dowries, no elaborate feast, no singing or dancing and no tents. None of this existed at that time. This is called radd-o-qubool. That is, when the qazi conducts the marriage ceremony, the marriage is complete.

What was the mahr or dower given to the wife at the time of marriage? The dower in the time of the Companions used to be gold measuring the weight of date seed. The gold would not be the size of the date seed, but the weight of the date seed. This means the dower in those times was very less. There were no expensive dowers, no celebrations, no grand tents, no signing or dancing. The marriages were very simple. This doesn’t happen these days. People follow the Prophet and the Companions when it comes to offering prayer. But they don’t realize that in matters of marriage, lifestyle, speech and overall behaviour also they have to follow the Prophet. The model of the Prophet is to be followed not only in prayer and fasting. You have to follow the prophetic model in every matter.