The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The most beloved deeds to Allah are those that are consistent, even if they are few.” And I love consistency in righteous deeds, such as standing in night prayer

The questioner : The questioner says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And I love consistency in righteous deeds, such as voluntary fasting, standing in night prayer, and the Dhuha prayer. But I do not pray the Dhuha prayer except on Thursdays and Fridays, and on the other days I am at school. How should I act in light of this hadith?

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. This hadith that the questioner referred to is a part of a hadith established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in which he forbade his Companions from overburdening themselves in deeds beyond what a servant can bear, and he said: Therefore, a person should not burden himself with deeds he cannot bear, even in the future, but rather he should perform the righteous deeds that he is able to do easily, especially since he must consider his state of old age, his state of illness, and the like. Look at 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: , and he said to him regarding standing in night prayer: But when 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As grew old, it became difficult for him to fast one day and break the fast the next, and he said: “I wish I had accepted the dispensation of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).” Then he began to fast fifteen days in a row and break the fast for fifteen days in a row. The important point is that a person should not judge himself by his current energy and strength, but rather he should adhere to the Shari'ah and to what he knows he will be able to achieve in old age. As for illness, if illness prevents a person from performing a deed, and it was his habit to perform that righteous deed while he was healthy, then he should be glad that he will be credited with what he used to do while healthy, because it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) that he said: And it is astonishing that some of the lazy people said: If the matter is such that if a servant travels, he is credited with what he used to do while resident, then I will not pray voluntary prayers, because I will be credited with what I used to do while resident. This is a great error. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not intend by this that a traveler should abandon voluntary and supererogatory deeds, as evidenced by the fact that he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray the Sunnah of Fajr, and he used to pray Witr, and he used to pray the Dhuha prayer while traveling. He did not say: “I am a traveler, and I will be credited with what I used to do while resident.” If we were to take the generality of this hadith: we would also say: Do not pray the obligatory prayers, because you will be credited with what you used to do while resident. But this is what I mentioned regarding the haste of some people in understanding the texts of the Book and the Sunnah, and this is a very great danger. This erroneous understanding occurs among many beginners in the pursuit of knowledge, so they must be cautious of haste. And others must be cautious of what they have deviated with, until they present it to someone who is greater in knowledge and understanding. The meaning of the hadith: is that if a person is prevented by illness or by travel from the righteous deeds he used to perform while resident and while healthy, then he will be credited with what he used to do while healthy and resident, because he left them due to the excuse of being occupied with travel or illness. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not intend that a sick person or a traveler should abandon what he is capable of doing of righteous deeds, relying on what he used to do while healthy and while resident.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good for this blessed guidance.