١٤ - باب في الاقتصاد في العبادة

On the authority of ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her): that the Prophet (ﷺ) came in upon her while a woman was with her. He asked, “Who is this?” She said, “This is so-and-so,” and she spoke of how much she prayed. He said, “Stop! Take on only what you can sustain, for by Allah, Allah does not tire until you tire.” And the most beloved religious practice to him was that which its doer kept up consistently. Agreed upon. [The word] “mah” is a word of prohibition and rebuke; and the meaning of “Allah does not tire” is: He does not cut off His reward and the recompense of your deeds from you—He deals with you as one who wearies deals [with others]—until you tire and give up. So you ought to take on only as much as you can keep up, that its reward and His bounty to you may endure.

On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: Three men came to the houses of the wives of the Prophet (ﷺ) asking about the worship of the Prophet (ﷺ). When they were told [of it], it was as if they deemed it little, and they said, “Where are we in relation to the Prophet (ﷺ), while he has been forgiven his past and future sins?” One of them said, “As for me, I shall pray all night, forever.” Another said, “And I shall fast perpetually and never break my fast.” Another said, “And I shall keep away from women and never marry.” Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to them and said, “Are you the ones who said such and such? By Allah, I am the most fearful of Allah among you and the most God-conscious of Him; yet I fast and break my fast, I pray and I sleep, and I marry women. So whoever turns away from my way (Sunnah) is not of me.” Agreed upon.

On the authority of Ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him): that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “The extremists are doomed,” saying it three times. Muslim narrated it. “Al-mutanaṭṭiʿūn” are those who go to excess and are overly strict in a place that does not call for strictness.

On the authority of Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (ﷺ), who said, “Indeed the religion is ease, and no one ever overburdens the religion but it overcomes him. So aim straight, draw near, and rejoice; and seek help with the morning journey, the evening journey, and a portion of the night.” Al-Bukhārī narrated it. In another narration of his: “Aim straight and draw near; set out in the morning and the evening, and [travel] a portion of the night; moderation, moderation—[and] you will reach [the goal].” His statement “al-dīn” (the religion) is in the nominative as the subject of a passive verb; it is also narrated in the accusative, and narrated as “lan yushādda l-dīna aḥadun” (no one shall overburden the religion). And his statement (ﷺ) “but it overcomes him” means: the religion overcomes him, and that overburdener is rendered unable to withstand the religion because of the multitude of its paths. “Al-ghadwah” is travelling at the start of the day; “al-rawḥah” is the end of the day; “al-duljah” is the end of the night. This is a metaphor and an illustration, and its meaning is: seek help in obeying Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with deeds at the time of your vigour and your hearts' freedom, such that you find delight in worship and do not weary, and so reach your aim—just as the skilful traveller travels at these times and rests, he and his mount, at others, thereby reaching the goal without fatigue. And Allah knows best.

On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Prophet (ﷺ) entered the mosque, and there was a rope stretched between the two pillars. He said, “What is this rope?” They said, “This is a rope for Zaynab; when she grows weary she holds on to it.” The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Untie it; let each of you pray while he is energetic, and when he grows weary let him lie down.” Agreed upon.

On the authority of ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her): that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “When one of you becomes drowsy while he is praying, let him sleep until the sleepiness leaves him; for when one of you prays while drowsy, he does not realise—perhaps he means to seek forgiveness but [instead] reviles himself.” Agreed upon.

On the authority of Abū ʿAbdullāh Jābir ibn Samurah (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: I used to pray the [obligatory] prayers with the Prophet (ﷺ), and his prayer was moderate and his sermon was moderate. Muslim narrated it. His statement “qaṣdan” means: between length and shortness.

On the authority of Abū Juḥayfah Wahb ibn ʿAbdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Prophet (ﷺ) established brotherhood between Salmān and Abū al-Dardāʾ. Salmān visited Abū al-Dardāʾ and found Umm al-Dardāʾ shabbily dressed [and neglecting her appearance]. He said, “What is the matter with you?” She said, “Your brother Abū al-Dardāʾ has no need for this world.” Then Abū al-Dardāʾ came and prepared food for him and said to him, “Eat, for I am fasting.” He said, “I will not eat until you eat.” So he ate. When night came, Abū al-Dardāʾ went to stand [in prayer], but he said to him, “Sleep.” So he slept. Then he went to stand, and he said to him, “Sleep.” When it was the last part of the night, Salmān said, “Rise now.” So they both prayed together, and Salmān said to him, “Indeed your Lord has a right over you, your self has a right over you, and your family has a right over you; so give everyone with a right his due.” Then he came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and mentioned that to him, and the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Salmān has spoken the truth.” Al-Bukhārī narrated it.

On the authority of Abū Muḥammad ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: The Prophet (ﷺ) was told that I say, “By Allah, I shall fast by day and stand [in prayer] by night for as long as I live.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “Are you the one who says that?” I said to him, “I did say it, may my father and mother be ransomed for you, O Messenger of Allah.” He said, “You are not able for that. So fast and break your fast, sleep and stand [in prayer], and fast three days of each month, for a good deed is [rewarded] tenfold its like, and that is like fasting all time.” I said, “I am able for more than that.” He said, “Then fast a day and break your fast two days.” I said, “I am able for more than that.” He said, “Then fast a day and break your fast a day; that is the fast of Dāwūd (ﷺ), and it is the most balanced of fasts.” In another narration: “It is the most excellent of fasts.” I said, “I am able for more than that.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “There is nothing more excellent than that.” And that I had accepted the three days which the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) mentioned is dearer to me than my family and my wealth. In another narration: “Was I not told that you fast by day and stand by night?” I said, “Yes indeed, O Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Do not do [so]: fast and break your fast, sleep and stand; for your body has a right over you, your eyes have a right over you, your wife has a right over you, and your guest has a right over you. It is enough for you to fast three days of every month, for you shall have for every good deed tenfold its like, for that is fasting all time.” But I was strict, so it was made strict upon me. I said, “O Messenger of Allah, I find that I have strength.” He said, “Then fast the fast of the Prophet of Allah Dāwūd, and do not exceed it.” I said, “And what was the fast of Dāwūd?” He said, “Half of the time [fasting every other day].” And ʿAbdullāh used to say, after he had grown old, “Would that I had accepted the concession of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).” In another narration: “Was I not told that you fast all time and recite the Qurʾān every night?” I said, “Yes indeed, O Messenger of Allah, but I intended thereby only good.” He said, “Then fast the fast of the Prophet of Allah Dāwūd, for he was the most devout of people; and recite the Qurʾān [completely] once every month.” I said, “O Prophet of Allah, I am able for more than that.” He said, “Then recite it once every twenty [days].” I said, “O Prophet of Allah, I am able for more than that.” He said, “Then recite it once every ten.” I said, “O Prophet of Allah, I am able for more than that.” He said, “Then recite it once every seven, and do not exceed that.” But I was strict, so it was made strict upon me. The Prophet (ﷺ) said to me, “You do not know—perhaps your life will be long.” He said: So I came round to that which the Prophet (ﷺ) told me; and when I grew old, I wished that I had accepted the concession of the Prophet of Allah (ﷺ). In another narration: “And your child has a right over you.” In another narration: “He has not fasted who fasts forever”—three times. In another narration: “The most beloved fasting to Allah, the Most High, is the fast of Dāwūd, and the most beloved prayer to Allah, the Most High, is the prayer of Dāwūd: he used to sleep half the night, stand a third of it, and sleep a sixth of it; and he used to fast one day and break his fast a day, and he would not flee when he met [the enemy].” In another narration he said: My father married me to a woman of noble lineage, and he used to keep checking on his daughter-in-law—that is, his son's wife—asking her about her husband. She would say to him, “What an excellent man he is—of a man who has not come to our bed nor searched our private quarters since we came to him.” When that went on long for him, he mentioned it to the Prophet (ﷺ), who said, “Bring him to me.” I met him after that, and he said, “How do you fast?” I said, “Every day.” He said, “And how do you complete [the Qurʾān]?” I said, “Every night,”—and he mentioned the like of what preceded. He used to recite to one of his family the seventh [portion] that he would recite [by night], presenting it by day so that it would be lighter upon him at night; and when he wished to gain strength, he would break his fast for [some] days and keep count, then fast their like, disliking to leave anything he had settled upon with the Prophet (ﷺ). All these narrations are sound; most of them are in the two Ṣaḥīḥs, and a few of them in one of the two.

On the authority of Abū Ribʿī Ḥanẓalah ibn al-Rabīʿ al-Usayyidī the scribe—one of the scribes of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)—who said: Abū Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) met me and said, “How are you, O Ḥanẓalah?” I said, “Ḥanẓalah has become a hypocrite!” He said, “Glory be to Allah! What are you saying?” I said, “When we are with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), he reminds us of Paradise and the Fire as if we saw them with our own eyes; then when we leave the presence of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), we busy ourselves with our wives, children, and estates and forget much.” Abū Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “By Allah, we too experience the like of this.” So Abū Bakr and I set off until we came in upon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and I said, “Ḥanẓalah has become a hypocrite, O Messenger of Allah!” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “And what is that?” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, when we are with you, you remind us of the Fire and Paradise as if we saw them with our own eyes; then when we leave your presence, we busy ourselves with our wives, children, and estates and forget much.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “By the One in whose Hand is my soul, if you were to persist in the state you are in with me, and in remembrance, the angels would shake your hands upon your beds and in your paths; but, O Ḥanẓalah, [there is] a time and a time”—three times. Muslim narrated it. His statement “Ribʿī” is with a kasrah on the rāʾ. “Al-Usayyidī” is with a ḍammah on the hamzah and a fatḥah on the sīn, and after it a yāʾ with a kasrah, doubled. His statement “ʿāfasnā” is with the undotted ʿayn and sīn, that is: we busied ourselves and engaged [with worldly affairs]. “Al-ḍayʿāt” are the means of livelihood.

On the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: While the Prophet ﷺ was delivering a sermon, all at once there was a man standing. He asked about him, and they said: He is Abū Isrāʾīl, who has vowed to stand in the sun and not sit, nor seek shade, nor speak, and to fast. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Command him to speak, to seek shade, to sit, and to complete his fast." Narrated by al-Bukhārī.