Allah says, "Ta Ha. We did not send down the Qur'an to you to make you miserable," (20:1)
and the Almighty says, "Allah desires ease for you; He does not desire difficulty for you." (W2:184; H2:185)
142. 'A'isha reported that that once the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came when a woman was with her. He asked, "Who is this?" She replied, "So-and-so," and told him about the amount she prayed. He said, "Stop! You must only do what you are able. By Allah, Allah does not grow weary [of giving rewards] as you grow weary, and the deen He likes best is the one in which there is constancy." [Agreed upon]
143. Anas said, "Three people came to the houses of the wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to ask about how the Prophet worshipped. When they were told, it was as if they thought it was little and said, 'Where are we in relation to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who has been forgiven his past and future wrong actions?'" He said, "One of them said, 'I will pray all of every night.' Another said, 'I will fast all the time and not break the fast.' The other said, "I will withdraw from women and never marry.' The Messenger of Allah came to them and said, 'Are you the ones who said such-and-such? By Allah, I am the one among you with the most fear and awareness of Allah, but I fast and break the fast, I pray and I sleep, and I marry women. Whoever disdains my sunna is not with me.'" [Agreed upon]
144. Ibn Mas'ud reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Those who make things hard for themselves will be destroyed." He said it three times. [Muslin]
145. Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The deen is easy. Anyone who makes the deen too hard on himself will find it becomes too much for him. So aim for what is right, follow a middle path, accept the good news of the reward for right action, and seek help [to reach your goal by being constant in worshipping] in the morning, evening and some of the night."[al-Bukhari]
In one variant of al-Bukhari, "so aim for what is right, follow a middle path, and head for the goal in the morning, evening and some of the night and you will reach the goal."
146. Anas said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, entered the mosque and there was a rope hanging between two pillars. He asked, 'What is this rope?' They replied, 'The rope belongs to Zaynab. When she is tired, she hangs on to it.' The Prophet said, 'No remove it. You should pray as long as you have the energy for it. When you are tired, you should sit down.'" [Agreed upon]
147. 'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When one of you dozes off while he is praying, he should go and lie down until he is no longer sleepy. If someone prays when he is drowsy, he may not know whether he is asking for forgiveness or asking for something bad for himself." [Agreed upon]
148. Abu 'Abdullah Jabir ibn Samura said, "I used to pray the prayers with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his prayer was of medium length and his khutba was of medium length." [Muslim]
149. Abu Juhayfa Wahb ibn 'Abdullah said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, joined Salman and Abu'd-Darda' together in brotherhood. Salman visited Abu'd-Darda' and saw Umm ad-Darda' poorly dressed and said to her, 'What's the matter with you?' She said, 'Your brother Abu'd-Darda' has no need of this world.' Abu'd-Darda' came and made some food for him. Salman said, 'Eat.' He said, 'I am fasting.' Salman said, 'I will not eat unless you eat.'" He said, "He ate. In the night, Abu'd-Darda' went to stand in prayer and Salman said to him, 'Sleep!' and he slept. Then he got up again and Salman said, 'Sleep!' At the end of the night, Salman said, 'Now get up and we will pray.' Salman said to him, 'Your Lord has rights over you and your self has rights over you, so give those with rights their due.' Abu'd-Darda' came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and mentioned this to him and the Prophet said, 'Salman spoke the truth.'" [al-Bukhari]
150. Abu Muhammad 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was informed that I had said, 'By Allah, I will fast all day and pray all night for as long as I live. The Prophet asked, 'Did you say that ?' I said to him, 'I did say it, may my father and mother be your ransom, Messenger of Allah.' He said, 'You will not be able to do it. So fast and break the fast, and pray and sleep. Fast three days of the month and since every good action is multiplied by ten that will be like fasting all the time.' I said. 'I can do more than that.' He said, 'Then fast one day and break the fast for two days.' I said, "I can do more than that.' He said, 'Then fast one day and break the fast the next. That is the fast of Da'ud, peace be upon him, and it is the fairest fast.' (One variant has, 'It is the best fast.') I said, 'I can do better than that.' The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'There is nothing better than that.' Now I would my acceptance of the three days which the Prophet said over my family and my property."
In one variant, "'Have I not been informed that you fast all day and pray all night?' I said, 'Yes, Messenger of Allah.' He said, 'Do not do it. Fast and break the fast, and sleep and pray. Your body has a right over you, your eye has a right over you, your wife has a right over you, and your visitor has a right over you. It is enough for you to fast three days out of every month. Every good action is multiplied by ten, so that is like fasting all the time.' But I was austere then and made things hard for myself. I said, 'Messenger of Allah, I feel strong.' He said, 'Fast the fast of the Prophet of Allah, Da'ud, but do not do more than that.' I said, 'What is the fast of Da'ud?' He said, 'Half the time.'" When he was old, 'Abdullah used to say, "Would that I had accepted the easement of the Messenger of Allah!"
In one variant, "'Am I not told that you fast all the time and recite the Qur'an every night?' I said, 'Yes, Messenger of Allah, and I only desire good by that.' He said, 'Fast the fast of the Prophet of Allah, Da'ud. He was the person with the most acts of worship. Recite the Qur'an once a month.' I said, 'O Prophet of Allah, I can do more than that.' He said, 'Then recite it in twenty days.' I said, 'O Prophet of Allah, I can do more than that.' He said, 'Then recite it every ten days.' I said, 'O Prophet of Allah, I can do more than that.' He said, 'Then recite it every seven days, but do not exceed that.' I was austere and made things hard for myself and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to me, 'You do not know. You may live a long time.' Then what the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had said to me came to pass and when I was old, I wished that I had accepted the easement of the Prophet of Allahmay Allah bless him and grant him peace."
In one variant, "Your child has a right over you."
In one variant, "Someone who fasts all the time has no fast" three times.
In one variant, "The fast which Allah Almighty loves best was the fast of Da'ud, and the prayer which Allah Almighty loves best is the prayer of Da'ud. He used to sleep half of the night and pray one third of it and then sleep a sixth. He used to fast one day and break the fast the next day. He did not flee when he met the enemy."
He said in one variant, "My father married me to a woman of good lineage and he used to consult his daughter-in-law - i.e. his son's wife - and ask her about her husband. She would say to him, 'An excellent man! A man who has not slept with us in a bed nor removed the veil from us since we came to him!' When that went on for a long time, he mentioned that to the Prophet said, 'Send him to me.' So I went to meet him after that and he said, 'How often do you fast?' I said, 'Every day.' He said, 'How often do you complete the Qur'an?' I said, 'Every night.'" and he mentioned something similar to what is above. He used to recite a seventh of what he recited to one of his family reading it in the day so that it would be lessened for him at night. When he wanted to gain some strength, he would break the fast for some days, counting them, and then fast the same number later not wanting to abandon anything that he had told the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, he would do.
All these variants are sound and most are in the two Sahih Collections.
151. Abu Rib'i Hanzala ibn ar-Rabi' al-Usaydi the scribe, one of the scribes of the Messenger of Allah, said, "Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, met me and said, 'How are you, Hanzala?' I said, 'Hanzala is a hypocrite!' I said, Glory be to Allah! What are you saying!' I said, 'We were with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who reminded us of the Garden and the Fire and it was as if we could see them with our eyes. When we leave the presence of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, we attend to our wives, children and estates in a state of great heedlessness.' Abu Bakr said, 'By Allah, we have experienced the same as this!' So Abu Bakr and I went to visit the Messenger of Allah and I said, 'Hanzala is a hypocrite, Messenger of Allah!' The Messenger of Allahmay Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Why is that?' I said, 'Messenger of Allah, when we are with you,you remind us of the Garden and Fire and it is as if we could see them with our eyes. When we leave your presence, we attend to our wives, children and estates in a state of great heedlessness.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'By the One in whose hand my soul is, if you were to remain in the state you are in when you are in my presence and in the dhikr, the angels would shake hands with you on your bed and in the street, but, Hanzala, different times are not the same.' three times." [Muslim]
152. Ibn 'Abbas said, "Once while the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was speaking, a man remained standing, and he asked about him. They said, 'It is Abu Isra'il who vowed to stand in the sun and not sit down nor seek shade nor speak and to fast.' The Prophet said, 'Command him to speak, to seek shade and to sit down but he should complete his fast.'" [al-Bukhari]
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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