The story of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As and his strictness in worship.
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The Shaykh : Perhaps many of you remember the story of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As when his father married him off. "Fill the gap, my brothers, fill it, fill it..." 'Amr ibn al-'As was a young man when his father 'Umar married him to a woman from Quraysh. One day, his father asked his daughter-in-law, the wife of his son, about her situation with her husband. She answered him with a polite phrase, saying, "He has not yet lain with us in our bed," meaning that although he had married her, he had not consummated the marriage because he had not yet touched their bed. Why? Because he fasted the entire year and stood in prayer all night. So when would he have time for his wife? There is no doubt that such news would upset the father, whether from a religious perspective or a personal one, because he had married her off to protect his son's chastity and to give him comfort. From a legal perspective, it is not permissible for a Muslim to focus on worship more than what Allah the Exalted has prescribed, because that is extremism in religion. And the Lord of the Worlds said in His Noble Book: [An-Nisa 4:171] Do not be excessive. The Messenger (peace be upon him) described a form of extremism in a situation where the Muslims understood the opposite of what the Messenger (peace be upon him) intended. That is, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the Farewell Pilgrimage and was approaching his departure from Muzdalifah to Mina, he said to Ibn 'Abbas: He pointed and the scholars say that this was the size of a large pebble. And on this occasion, he said to Ibn 'Abbas: So what do people do today when they throw the pebbles? We see astonishing things. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) directed the Muslim to pick up small pebbles because the intention is not a physical battle, but a spiritual, moral battle. Therefore, he advised against enlarging the pebble, lest it hit the heads of many of those gathered around the pillar, which happens often. If the pebble is large, it may harm the one it hits. Today, we see sandals piled up around the pillar, some on top of others, because the ignorant among the Muslims have not been trained in the etiquette of the religion. They imagine that there is actually a devil standing there waiting for them to stone him. The truth is not so; rather, it is a place where the devil obstructed our father Ibrahim (peace be upon him), so he threw the first pebble, then the second, then the third. The point is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned the Muslims against extremism in religion, even in enlarging the pebble used to stone the pillar. In worship, standing in prayer all night and fasting the entire year, it is even more necessary that the Messenger (peace be upon him) forbids it. When 'Amr heard from his daughter-in-law what he heard, he complained to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr said: "Either the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) met me, or he sent for me. He said: He said: "That was indeed the case, O Messenger of Allah." He said: Then he began to set for him a program to follow in his entire life, not to exceed it. He used to fast the entire year. He told him: "Fast three days of every month, and one good deed is ten times its like, so it is as if you fasted the whole month." What was the answer here? The point is, he said: "O Messenger of Allah, I am a young man with strength in me; I am able to do more than that." He is saying the exact opposite of what people say today. He is saying, "O my beloved, the beloved of my youth, I have wasted my time in less than this worship that I am performing." But the Messenger (peace be upon him) sees what we do not see, as Lady 'A'ishah said to him when he said to her: You are saying, "This is Jibril greeting you, and peace be upon him, and I believe what you say because you see what we do not see." If the Messenger (peace be upon him) sees with his eyes what we do not see, he is even more likely to see with insight what we do not see with insight. Therefore, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) saw the consequence of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr's exaggeration in his worship, and that actually happened. When Ibn 'Amr said, "I am a young man with strength in me; I am able to do more than that," he said to him (peace be upon him): "Fast like this." He also set for him another system. He said, "I am a young man, I am able to do more than that," repeating the previous statement. Finally, he said to him (peace be upon him): This is regarding standing in prayer at night. This is regarding fasting the entire year; the Messenger (peace be upon him) was not pleased with that for him, but he gave him fasting that actually equals half the year in reward, and the reward of the entire year. This is the true gain. And regarding keeping the entire night awake, which he used to do, he said to him (peace be upon him): "Read the Qur'an once every month." So he returned to his previous statement: "O Messenger of Allah, I am a young man with strength in me; I am able to do more than that," until the Messenger (peace be upon him) finally said to him: And with this, Ibn 'Amr parted from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), emotionally and religiously not satisfied, but he knew the saying of our Lord in the Noble Qur'an: [An-Nisa 4:65] So he submitted. Then the days passed and passed until he grew old and aged, and he used to say: "I wish I had accepted the dispensation of the Messenger of Allah," that I read the Qur'an once every month. I wish I had accepted it from him the first time. As for fasting, I fast three days of every month, and I have the reward of fasting the whole month. I wish I had accepted that from him. Thus were the righteous Salaf, whom we always call for emulation and following, because they truly responded to Allah and the Messenger. As for us, the best of us is not equal to the least of them. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke the truth when he said: Sunan Abi Dawud 4658Sahih (Al-Albani) And that is only because of their sincerity to Allah the Exalted and their obedience and complete submission. And this is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : ... O Messenger of Allah ... .
The Shaykh : No, this does not contradict that. That is a general rule, and this is an anomalous narration. Your last narration... regarding the end of time and specific individuals. As for that one, it is regarding all the Companions.
O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth
قل يا أهل الكتاب لا تغلوا في دينكم ولا تقولوا على الله إلا الحقPick up for me seven pebbles like the pebbles of the sling.
التقط لي سبع حصيات مثل حصى الخذفAnd beware of extremism in religion, for what destroyed those before you was their extremism in their religion.
وإياكم والغلو في الدين فإن ما أهلك الذين من قبلكم غلوهم في دينهمIt has reached me that you stand in prayer at night, fast during the day, and do not approach women.
بلغني أنك تقوم الليل وتصوم النهار ولا تقرب النساءFor your soul has a right over you, your body has a right over you, your wife has a right over you, your guest—meaning the one who visits you—has a right over you, and your host has a right over you.
فإن لنفسك عليك حقا ولجسدك عليك حقا ولزوجك عليك حقا ولزورك -أي الذي يزورك- ولضيفك عليك حقاO 'A'ishah, this is Jibril greeting you. She said: And peace be upon him, O Messenger of Allah. He said: You see what we do not see.
يا عائشة هذا جبريل يقرؤك السلام قالت وعليه السلام يا رسول الله ترى ما لا نرىFast one day and break the fast the next, for that is the best of fasting, and it is the fast of Dawud (peace be upon him). He used not to flee when he met the enemy. He said, “O Messenger of Allah, I want something better than that.” He said, “There is nothing better than that.”
صم يوما وأفطر يوما فإنه أفضل الصيام وهو صوم داود عليه الصلاة والسلام وكان لا يفر إذا لاقى قال يا رسول الله إني أريد أفضل من ذلك قال لا أفضل من ذلكRead the Qur'an in three [days], in a third of the nights. Whoever reads the Qur'an in three [days] is like one who reads the Qur'an in less than three [days] without understanding it.
اقرأ القرآن في ثلاث في ثلث ليالي فمن قرأ القرآن في ثلاث كمن قرأ القرآن في أقل من ثلاث لم يفقههBut no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.
فلا وربك لا يؤمنون حتى يحكموك فيما شجر بينهم ثم لا يجدوا في أنفسهم حرجا مما قضيت ويسلموا تسليماDo not revile my Companions; by him in whose hand my soul is, if one of you contributed the amount of gold equivalent to Uhud, it would not amount to as much as the mudd of one of them, or half of it.
لا تسبوا أصحابي فوالذي نفسي بيده لو أنفق أحدكم مثل جبل أحد ذهبا ما بلغ مد أحدهم ولا نصيفهThe questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : ... O Messenger of Allah ... .
The Shaykh : No, this does not contradict that. That is a general rule, and this is an anomalous narration. Your last narration... regarding the end of time and specific individuals. As for that one, it is regarding all the Companions.