Discussion of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with him) and his worship.

The Shaykh : This hadith, in reality, and what is similar to it that will follow, reminds us of the incident of that worshiping Companion, namely 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with him). He was among the most worshipful of the Companions and the most ascetic in this world, to the extent that when his father married him to a young woman from Quraysh and he entered her chamber, he did not consummate the marriage nor approach her at all. This was because he was preoccupied with the obedience and worship he was engaged in: fasting during the day and reciting the Qur'an at night. He fasted the entire year; he did not break his fast except as Allah willed, and he spent the entire night in prayer; he did not sleep except a little. Thus, a person like this has no need for women, and so it was with him. When this reached his father, 'Amr ibn al-'As, he complained of it to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr said: "Either the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) met me, or he sent for me." He (peace be upon him) questioned him at length in a story I have mentioned to you many times, and I will not repeat it now. The lesson in that is that while he was spending the entire night in prayer and fasting the entire year, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) proposed a moderate plan that he could endure and act upon until his last breath; he was not satisfied with that and said: "I am young, I have strength, I am able to do more than that." So the Messenger (peace be upon him) gave him the last thing the Shari'ah permitted, saying to him: ... .