Explanation of the hadith of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As, and the advice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to him regarding fasting, night prayer, and reciting the Qur'an.

The Shaykh : This hadith, and what follows it in similar meaning, 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. He spent the entire night in prayer; he did not sleep except for 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 says: "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 about the story, which I have mentioned to you many times and will not repeat now. The lesson 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) presented to him a moderate plan that he could endure and act upon until the last breath of his life. 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 limit permitted by the Shari'ah. He said to him: , and he said: .
And so 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr parted from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding that matter. The point is that the days passed, and the man grew old and time wore him down until he became weary. This is the Sunnah of Allah in His creation: . At that time, he realized the wisdom of the Wise Lawgiver when He inspired His noble Prophet to say to him: only. He did not accept from him anything other than fasting one day and breaking the fast the next. And he also said to him: . He did not accept anything other than reciting the Qur'an in three nights. After much hesitation and a period of time, he said—and here is the point: "I wish I had accepted the dispensation of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)."
So, if the Muslim knows this truth that our Messenger ...