Narrated 'Abdullah ar-Rumi said, "I visited Umm Talq and exclaimed, 'How
low the ceiling of your room is!' 'My son,' she replied, 'the Amir al-Mu'minin,
'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, wrote to his workers
telling them:
"Do not make your buildings tall. That will come about in
the worst of your days."'"
Dawud ibn Qays said, "I saw that the rooms were made from the stumps
of palm trees covered on the outside with smoothed hair. I think that the
width of the house from the door of the room to the door of the house was
about six or seven spans. The width of the room inside was ten spans. I
think that the ceiling was between seven and eight, or there about. I stopped
at the door of 'A'isha, which was facing the west."
حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا جَرِيرُ بْنُ حَازِمٍ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ سَلاَّمِ بْنِ شُرَحْبِيلَ، عَنْ حَبَّةَ بْنِ خَالِدٍ، وَسَوَاءَ بْنِ خَالِدٍ، أَنَّهُمَا أَتَيَا النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَهُوَ يُعَالِجُ حَائِطًا أَوْ بِنَاءً لَهُ، فَأَعَانَاهُ.
It is reported that Habba ibn Khalid and Sawa' ibn Khalid came
to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while he was repairing
a wall - or a building - of his, and they helped him.
أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللهِ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا حُرَيْثُ بْنُ السَّائِبِ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ الْحَسَنَ يَقُولُ: كُنْتُ أَدْخُلُ بُيُوتَ أَزْوَاجِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي خِلاَفَةِ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ عَفَّانَ فَأَتَنَاوَلُ سُقُفَهَا بِيَدِي.
Al-Hasan said, "I used to go into the houses of the wives of the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, during the khalifate
of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, and I could touch their ceilings with my own hand."
