How did the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) spend his day?

When the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) woke up, he would pray
Fajr with his Companions in the mosque. Then he would sit in the place where
he had prayed, remembering Allah until the sun rose, and his Companions (may
Allah be pleased with them) would sit with him. Sometimes they would talk
and remember things that happened before Islam; they would laugh and he
would smile. 

See the answer
to question no. 100009. 

The Messenger
of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) regularly offered Duha
prayer with four or more rak‘ahs. It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah said: The
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to pray
Duha with four rak‘ahs or more, as Allah willed.

Narrated by
Muslim, 719 

In his house,
he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would be at the service of his
family: he would milk his sheep, patch his garment, serve himself and mend
his shoes. When the time for prayer came, he would go out and lead the
people in prayer, then he would sit with them, talk with them, teach them,
exhort them, remind them, listen to their complaints, and reconcile between
them. Then he would go back to his house. 

‘Aa’ishah (may
Allah be pleased with her) was asked: What did the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) do in his house? She said: He was
a human being like any other; he would clean his garment, milk his sheep and
serve himself. 

Narrated by
Ahmad, 26194; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in as-Saheehah, 671 

According to
another report also narrated by Ahmad (24903): He used to stitch his
garment, mend his shoes and work as other men work in their houses. 

Classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami‘, 4937. 

Al-Bukhaari
(676) narrated that al-Aswad said: I asked ‘Aa’ishah what the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to do in his house. She
said: He would serve his family, then when the time for prayer came, he
would go out to the prayer. 

He (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) never criticised any food; if he liked it he
would eat it, otherwise he would leave it. 

Sometimes
month after month would go by, and he would not find any food except dates
and water. 

It was
narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) never criticised any food; if he
liked it he would eat it, otherwise he would leave it.

Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 3563; Muslim, 2064 

It was
narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: We would look
at the new moon, then another new moon, three new moons in two months, and
no fire would be lit in the houses of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him). I – i.e., ‘Urwah ibn az-Zubayr – said: O aunt,
what did you live on? She said: The two black ones, dates and water. But the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had some
neighbours among the Ansaar who had milch-animals, and they used to give the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) some of their
milk, and he gave it to us to drink. 

Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 2567; Muslim, 2972. 

There are no
details in the Sunnah about the meals that the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) used to eat. 

See the answer
to question no. 115801

It was not the
custom of the Muslims in the earliest times to eat three meals every day as
people do nowadays. Rather the most they would have would be two meals: one
at the beginning of the day and another in the evening. 

If he wanted
to bring the people together for some important matter, he would instruct
someone to bring them together for him or to call out among them “As-salaatu
jaami‘ah (prayer is about to begin)”, then he would talk to them about
the reason he had brought them together. If he wanted to send a party out on
a mission, he would send them; if he wanted to remind them of something, he
would remind them; if he wanted to tell them about a new ruling, he would
tell them, and so on. 

He (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) would take a nap at midday, so that this
siesta would give him strength to pray qiyaam al-layl (voluntary prayers at
night). He would say: “Take a nap at midday, for the Shaytaan does not take
a nap at midday.” Narrated by at-Tabaraani in al-Awsat, 28; classed
as hasan by al-Albaani in as-Saheehah, 1647. 

He (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) would check on people in their daily lives
and interactions, and in their marketplaces; he would go and see them in the
places where they gathered; he would visit their sick and accept their
invitations; and he would attend to the needs of the weak and poor. Thus he
spent most of his day dealing with that which concerned him of matters of
religion and the people’s affairs, such as calling people to Allah, advising
them, reminding them, introducing rulings, striving in jihad, enjoining what
is good and forbidding what is evil, helping the needy, and so on. 

Muslim (102)
narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) passed by a pile of foodstuff; he put his hand in it
and found that it had gotten wet. He said, “What is this, O seller of the
foodstuff?” He said: It got rained on, O Messenger of Allaah. He said: “Why
don’t you put it on top of the food so that people can see it? Whoever
deceives (people) does not belong to me.” 

Al-Bayhaqi
(20851) narrated that Jaabir said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Let us go to al-Baseer who is in Banu
Waaqif and visit him (as he is sick).” He was a blind man.

Classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani in as-Saheehah, 521 

An-Nasaa’i
(1414) narrated that ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa said: The Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to recite words of dhikr a
great deal and rarely engaged in idle talk. He would make his prayer lengthy
and his speeches short; he was not too proud to walk with widows and the
needy in order to meet their needs.

Classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh an-Nasaa’i 

When night
came and he had led the people in praying ‘Isha’, if there was some matter
on his mind concerning the Muslims’ affairs, he would discuss it with his
senior companions; otherwise he would stay up with his family for a little
while. 

Imam Ahmad
(178) and at-Tirmidhi (169 – and he classed it as hasan) narrated that ‘Umar
said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used
to stay up at night with Abu Bakr, discussing some of the Muslims’ affairs,
and I would be with him.

Classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi 

Ibn Katheer
(may Allah have mercy on him) said: It was part of his character that he
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) treated people kindly and was
always cheerful. He would joke with his family and be gentle with them; he
will spend generously on them and joke with his wives … His wives would
gather every night in the house of the one with whom the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was staying that night, and
sometimes he would eat supper with them, then each of them would go to her
own house and he would sleep with the wife (in whose house he was staying
the night) under one blanket; he would take off his upper garment and sleep
in his lower garment. When he had prayed ‘Isha’, he would go into his house
and stay up for a little while with his family before sleeping, to cheer
them up; (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). 

End quote from
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 2/242 

Then he would
sleep at the beginning of the night, then get up to pray qiyaam al-layl, and
he would pray as much as Allah willed that he should pray. Then when Bilaal
gave the call for Fajr prayer, he would pray two rak‘ahs, then go out to the
prayer. 

Abu Dawood
(56) narrated from ‘Aa’ishah that water for wudoo’ and his siwaak would be
set out for the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and when
he woke up at night he would relieve himself, then clean his teeth with the
siwaak. 

It was
narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I stayed
overnight with my maternal aunt Maymoonah. The Messenger of Allah (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) conversed with his family for a while, then
he went to sleep. Then when the last third of the night came, he sat up and
looked at the sky and said: “Verily, in the creation of the heavens and
the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs
for men of understanding” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:190]. Then he got up and did
wudoo’ and cleaned his teeth, and prayed eleven rak‘ahs. Then Bilaal gave
the call to prayer, so he prayed two rak‘ahs, then he went out (to the
mosque) and prayed Fajr.

Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 4569; Muslim, 763. 

In
conclusion: 

The life of
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was not a
strict routine, as may be understood from these words. Rather it was
purposeful and blessed work, as his Lord instructed him (interpretation of
the meaning): “Say (O Muhammad SAW): ‘Verily, my Salat (prayer), my
sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the Alameen
(mankind, jinns and all that exists)’” [al-An ‘aam 6:162]. 

His practice
was to interpret in a realistic manner the commands and laws of Allah, as
the Mother of the Believers ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said. 

Muslim
narrated in his Saheeh (746) that Sa‘d ibn Hishaam ibn ‘Aamir said to the
Mother of the Believers ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her): O Mother
of the believers, tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). She said: Do you not read the
Qur’an? I said: Of course. She said: The character of the Prophet of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was the Qur’an. 

For more
information on the teachings of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) concerning food and eating, please see the answer to question no.
6503. 

For more
information on the teachings of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) concerning sleep, please see the answer to question no.
21216. 

For more
information on the teachings of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) concerning buying and selling, please see the answer to question
no. 134621. 

For more
information on the teachings of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) concerning his manner of dress, please see the answer to question
no. 126692. 

And Allah
knows best.