Imaam AN-Nawawy (may Allaah’s Mercy be upon him) lived upon water, salt and bread and he never ate the fruit of Dimishq out of caution. When he was asked about the reason for preventing himself from doing so, he replied, “I do so because of the fact that, in the religion, there are many endowments, and properties of others who are in charge, so taking from these fruit is not permissible without being allowed to do so freely, or for having an agreement that if you water them, you can do as you wish with them. Also, there is a difference of opinion of the scholars regarding this.” Who can bear that which AN-Nawawy bore upon himself?! He (may Allaah’s Mercy be upon him) was a person of worship, profound knowledge, research and caution, and blessed works. Allaah made us benefit from him in all lands despite errors he had in belief. However, in this area, he was unique with almost no one to come close to him. All of this does not mean that a slave of Allah should cause hardship for himself and expect from it more than it can bear; however, a slave of Allaah has to be balanced in his affairs.