The conduct of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) regarding the dispensations that Allah granted them, in order to distance themselves from the religion of the Jews, which is based on strictness.

The Shaykh : And for this reason, you will find that the Companions of the Messenger (peace be upon him), specifically the jurists among them, were concerned with adhering to these dispensations and not being strict in them; because doing so would be imitating the Jews, who are harsh-hearted, as is explicitly stated in their Torah... which they still have today. It is authentic that the Companions were once invited to a gathering, and the time for prayer arrived. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud put Abu Musa al-Ash'ari forward—both of them being noble Companions—to lead the people in prayer. This is, in reality, a moral lesson we can learn from: how the Companions knew the virtue of one another and the distinction of some over others. Although hadiths praising Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) have been narrated, including, for example, what relates to our topic or this discussion, where he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He is Abdullah ibn Mas'ud. "Ibn Umm Abd" is a very beautiful Arabic expression. Nevertheless, what did Ibn Mas'ud do? He put Abu Musa al-Ash'ari forward because he knew that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had singled him out with a special distinction and a merit that no other Companion of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) had enjoyed, despite their knowledge and virtue. Among these distinctions is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by Abu Musa al-Ash'ari one night while he was reciting the Qur'an. When morning came, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: . He said: "O Messenger of Allah, if I had known that, I would have adorned it for you with the finest adornment."
"If I had known that, I would have adorned it for you with the finest adornment" means: I would have beautified it for you; that is, by singing with the Qur'an. And without a doubt, as an interjected phrase, the Messenger (peace be upon him) did not mean this kind of melodic singing or this chanting that some reciters adhere to, and who apply certain musical laws to their recitation, such as rising and falling and the like, and thundering. Rather, he meant what Abu Musa had learned from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and received from him practically, as an application by him (peace and blessings be upon him) of His saying (Mighty and Majestic): .
And here, on this occasion when the Messenger (peace be upon him) listened to Abu Musa and said that word to Abu Musa when morning came, he (peace be upon him) said: . Abdullah ibn Mas'ud knew this distinction with which the Messenger (peace be upon him) had described him; and therefore, when they were gathered there, he ordered him to step forward, and he stepped forward. The witness was wearing sandals, so Abu Musa took off his sandals, as many people do. Ibn Mas'ud became angry and said: "What is this Judaism?! Are you in the Sacred Valley?!"
Why do the Jews take off their sandals? Because Musa was ordered to take off his sandals, and... that is as in the Qur'an: . So Ibn Mas'ud said to him... to Musa: "What is this Judaism?!" meaning: What is this strictness?! Are you in the Sacred Valley and being addressed by the Lord of the Worlds, as was done with Musa (peace be upon him)?! He rebuked him for this, because the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace be upon him) was to pray sometimes barefoot and sometimes wearing sandals, praying however he was found. As for making an effort and feigning something, that is the excessive strictness and rigidity in religion for which the Jews are a very excellent example in their excessive strictness and rigidity in religion. The greatest example of that is the story of the cow: . They said: "What is its color? What is this?" and so on. Then: .