A section from Ibn Sa’d’s Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (vol.1 pp. 592-595) English Translation by S. Moinul Haq. Kitab Bhavan, New Delhi, 2009

Muhammad Ibn ‘Umar informed us: ‘Abd Allah Ibn Yazid al-Hudaili informed us; he said: I saw the houses of the wives of the Messenger of Allah when ‘Umar Ibn ‘Abd al-Aziz demolished them. They were built with sun-dried bricks and rooms were constructed of palm-leaf stalks plastered with earth. I counted them, and there were nine rooms. They were (situated) from the house of ‘Ayishah, may Allah be pleased with her, to the door adjoining the door of the Prophet, may peace be on him, and that of Asma Bint Hasan Ibn ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Ubayd Allah Ibn al-‘Abbas. I saw the house of Umm Salamah and her room of sun dried bricks. Thereupon I asked her grandson (about it). He replied: When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him, fought the ghazwah of Dumah, Umm Salamah built her room with sun-dried bricks. When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him, looked at the bricks, he went to her first of all and said to her: What is this construction? She said: O Messenger of Allah! I like to obstruct the gaze of the people. He said: O Umm Salamah! The worst investment of the wealth of Muslims is the construction (of building).[1]

Muhammad Ibn ‘Umar said: then I related this Hadith to Mu’adh Ibn Muhammad al-Ansari. Thereupon, he said, I heard ‘Ata al-Khurasani in a meeting where ‘Umar Ibn Abi Anas was saying, while he was between the grave (of the Prophet) and (his) pulpit: I saw the apartments of the wives of Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him, constructed of palm-leaf stalks and on their doors were curtains of black hair (wool). I was present when the epistle of al-Walid Ibn ‘Abd al-Malik was read containing the order to take the apartments of wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him, within the Mosque of Messenger of Allah (Masjid al-Nabawi), may Allah bless him. I never saw (people) more weeping than on that day.

‘Ata continued: Then I heard Sa’id Ibn al-Musayyib say: By Allah, that day I wanted that they should have been left as they were. Any person growing (living) at al-Madinah, or coming from the four corners of the world could see on what the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him, contented during his life. As a result people would have abstained from hoarding and boasting (on excessive wealth). Mu’adh said: When ‘Ata l-Khurasani finished his narration, ‘Umar Ibn Abi Anas said: Out of them four houses  were of sun-dried bricks, and their apartments were of palm-leaf stalks, and there were five houses of palm-leaf stalks plastered with earth with no apartments; on their doors were curtains of hair. I measured the screen and found them three cubits into one cubit, more or less. As regards the weeping (of the people) that day which I mentioned, I saw sitting (in that crowd) several sons of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him, including Abu Salamah Ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman Ibn ‘Awf, Abu Umamah Ibn Sahl Ibn Hunayf and Kharijah Ibn Zayd Ibn Thabit; and they wept so bitterly that their beards grew wet. That day Abu Umamah said: I wish they would not have been demolished so that people would have abstained from construction and would have seen what Allah was pleased (to grant) to His Prophet, may peace be upon him, although he had keys of the treasures of the world in his hand.

Muhammad bin ‘Umar informed us on the authority of ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Amir al-Aslami; he said: Abu Bakr Ibn Hazm, while he was at the place of his prayer which lay between the pillar adjoining the end of the grave (of the Prophet) which is adjacent to the other on the way of the door of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him, said to me: This was the house of Zaynab Bint Jahsh and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him, used to offer prayers in it. All of this extends today from the door of the house of Asma bint Hasan Ibn ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Ubayd Allah Ibn al-‘Abbas to the court-yard of the mosque. These were his houses made of palm-leaf stalks plastered with earth and curtains of hair.

Qabisah Ibn ‘Uqbah informed us: Nijad Ibn Farrukh al-Yarbu’i informed us on the authority of an old man resident of al-Madinah; he said: I saw the apartments of the Prophet, may Allah bless him, before they were demolished. They were constructed of palm-leaf stalks covered with leather.

Khalid Ibn Mukhallad informed us: Dawud Ibn Shayban related to me; he said: I saw the apartments of the wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him. They had curtains of hair-cloth i.e., what was used by Bedouins.

Muhammad Ibn Muqatil al-Mawarazi informed us; ‘Abd Allah Ibn al-Mubarak informed us: Hurayth Ibn al-Sa’ib informed us: I heard of al-Hasan saying: I used to enter the houses of the wives of the Prophet, may peace be upon him, during the Caliphate of ‘Uthman Ibn ‘Affan, and I could touch their roofs with my hand.

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[1] The narration with this context is classified as Da’if by Shaykh Albani in Da’if al-Targhib wal Tarhib (Hadith 1180).
The meaning, however, is  true as reported in a Sahih Hadith narrated by Qais bin Abi Hazim, “A Muslim is rewarded (in the Hereafter) for whatever he spends (lawfully) except for something that he spends on building.” (Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 5672)

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