Explanation of the Hadith: The group who came to the wives of the Messenger to ask him about his worship.
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The Shaykh : This is exactly like the group who came to the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked them about the worship of the Messenger (peace be upon him), his standing in prayer, his fasting, and his relations with his wives. They said that the reality of the Messenger was that he would pray at night and sleep, fast and break his fast, and marry women. So they considered his worship to be little. Do you know what "they considered it little" means?
The questioner : No, I do not know.
The Shaykh : It means they viewed his worship as being little.
The questioner : Yes?
The Shaykh : They viewed his worship as being little. The worship of the Messenger, the master of worshippers, who stood in prayer until his feet swelled up—they said this worship is little. Do you understand me?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then they returned to justify the smallness of this worship, saying: "This is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and Allah has forgiven him what has passed of his sin and what is to come." As if they were saying that there is no longer a motive for the Messenger (peace be upon him) to worship much.
Stay with me, Abu Jamal. May Allah be pleased with you.
The questioner : I am with you, I am with you.
The Shaykh : In Syria, they say: "The eye is the ladle of speech." Do you understand this phrase?
The questioner : And the heart is the vessel.
The Shaykh : Correct. So they found the worship of the Messenger to be little. What do you think of this? Is it not a criticism?
The questioner : No, it is not permissible.
The Shaykh : But they brought up something else that is not permissible, which is their justification for this little worship. They said: "This is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and Allah has forgiven him what has passed of his sin and what is to come." Meaning, why should he trouble himself? How should he trouble himself by standing the whole night and fasting the whole year? Here, our Lord has forgiven him. And this is the case for every Muslim, by Allah. Allah has forgiven the Messenger, but as for us, the group—and peace and mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you—they were in error and added error to error. The first error was that they claimed the worship of the Messenger was little. The second error was that they justified the smallness of his worship by claiming that Allah had forgiven him. Why should he trouble himself? Do you understand how?
The questioner : As is the custom of people, and that is all.
The Shaykh : So they returned to themselves and said: "We have not obtained forgiveness from Allah, so it is obligatory for us to strive hard so that our Lord will forgive us."
So one of them said: "As for me, I will stand the whole night and not sleep." The second said: "As for me, I will fast the whole year and not break the fast." The third said: "As for me, I will not marry women." Then the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) came and reported the news—the news of the group—and he addressed the people in the mosque, saying:.
It must be a firm belief in the heart of every Muslim who truly believes in Allah and His Messenger that he believes the Messenger has not left it open for anyone to correct him, to correct him in any matter, even from the perspective of blocking the means to harm, regarding what was known in his time. This is a word regarding what was known in his time; this is a very necessary qualification in this context.
The questioner : No, I do not know.
The Shaykh : It means they viewed his worship as being little.
The questioner : Yes?
The Shaykh : They viewed his worship as being little. The worship of the Messenger, the master of worshippers, who stood in prayer until his feet swelled up—they said this worship is little. Do you understand me?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then they returned to justify the smallness of this worship, saying: "This is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and Allah has forgiven him what has passed of his sin and what is to come." As if they were saying that there is no longer a motive for the Messenger (peace be upon him) to worship much.
Stay with me, Abu Jamal. May Allah be pleased with you.
The questioner : I am with you, I am with you.
The Shaykh : In Syria, they say: "The eye is the ladle of speech." Do you understand this phrase?
The questioner : And the heart is the vessel.
The Shaykh : Correct. So they found the worship of the Messenger to be little. What do you think of this? Is it not a criticism?
The questioner : No, it is not permissible.
The Shaykh : But they brought up something else that is not permissible, which is their justification for this little worship. They said: "This is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and Allah has forgiven him what has passed of his sin and what is to come." Meaning, why should he trouble himself? How should he trouble himself by standing the whole night and fasting the whole year? Here, our Lord has forgiven him. And this is the case for every Muslim, by Allah. Allah has forgiven the Messenger, but as for us, the group—and peace and mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you—they were in error and added error to error. The first error was that they claimed the worship of the Messenger was little. The second error was that they justified the smallness of his worship by claiming that Allah had forgiven him. Why should he trouble himself? Do you understand how?
The questioner : As is the custom of people, and that is all.
The Shaykh : So they returned to themselves and said: "We have not obtained forgiveness from Allah, so it is obligatory for us to strive hard so that our Lord will forgive us."
So one of them said: "As for me, I will stand the whole night and not sleep." The second said: "As for me, I will fast the whole year and not break the fast." The third said: "As for me, I will not marry women." Then the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) came and reported the news—the news of the group—and he addressed the people in the mosque, saying:
What is the matter with a group who say such and such and such?—he recounted what they said—As for me, I am the most afraid of you of Allah, and the most mindful of you of Allah. As for me, I fast and I break the fast, I stand the night in prayer and I sleep, and I marry women. So whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not one of me.
ما بال أقوام يقولون كذا وكذا وكذا؟ -حكى ما قالوا- أما إني أخشاكم لله، وأتقاكم لله، أما إني أصوم وأفطر وأقوم الليل وأنام وأتزوج النساء فمن رغب عن سنّتبي فليس منيIt must be a firm belief in the heart of every Muslim who truly believes in Allah and His Messenger that he believes the Messenger has not left it open for anyone to correct him, to correct him in any matter, even from the perspective of blocking the means to harm, regarding what was known in his time. This is a word regarding what was known in his time; this is a very necessary qualification in this context.