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The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wassalam) loved children and did not approve of parents beating them unnecessarily, although it is well known that he ordered parents to beat older children who failed to do their prayers. After his death, his widow, Aisha (ra), would sometime related how when she was still little she would play with her dolls and the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wassalam) would sometimes join in. Other time if she was playing with her friends, he would encourage them to go on. Taking great delight, he watched them from a distance. On occasion, the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wassalam) and Aishah (ra) even raced each other.

Both Muslim and Non-Muslim children were very welcome in his home, since every child is close to the natural condition known in Arabic as the fitrah. He said, "Islam is the way of the fitrah". Often when his daughter, Fatimah (ra), came into the room, he would stand up, kiss her on the forehead, and give her his seat. She would do likewise for her father. When he returned from a journey or some battle, he would often pick up a couple of children, set them down in front of him on his camel and give them a ride. Once it happened that when the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wassalam) was praying in the mosque, a child started clambering all over him. However, he never chided the child.

He always fought for the weak in society, and preferred to give his food to someone who asked for it than enjoy the meal himself. In fact, often as a result of this, there was no food in his home, and he and his family went to bed hungry. Once he had started on his mission, he probably never went to bed with a full stomach. People have related that sometimes he would tie a stone (or two) to his stomach to get some relief from hunger pangs.

However, the Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wassalam) also often advised people that they should look after their bodies. Sometimes, in their fervor to reach Paradise, Muslims would fast all the time. The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wassalam) forbade this, perhaps as being dangerous for their health. The times in Madinah were sometimes very hard and if the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wassalam) did not eat, it was because he could not bear to see his neighbour go hungry while he was satisfied. In the same way, the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wassalam) frowned on extravagance, and made sure that neither he nor his family were ever wasteful. Aishah (ra) said that if they had oil in their house it would only be used for cooking. To economise, they would not even light a lamp.

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