Salman al-Farsi followed the path of his master Imam Ali in virtue and simplicity. He would say, “I do not like to eat unless it is with my own earnings.”
The second Caliph had set Salman’s salary to six thousand dirhams; Salman spent his earnings for charity and earned his living with hard earned labour.
He used his cloak both as a rug and as clothing. He was content with dried bread, salt, and water. As he had no home, someone asked for his permission to build him a house.
Salman did not permit, saying, “I do not need a house.”
The man insisted, saying, “I’ll build a house you would appreciate: a house in which whenever you stand up your head would touch the ceiling, and when you lie down your feet would touch the walls.” Then Salman accepted.
Amer bin Atiyeh said, “I realized Salman does not like food and eating. When I asked for the reason, he said, ‘What I have heard is enough for me,’” indicating the wisdom he learned from the Prophet, who said, “The hungriest people in the Day of Judgment are the fullest in the world. Salman, this world is a prison for true believers and a heaven for infidels.”
Salman al-Farsi: A Great Companion of the Prophet Muhammad