The story of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As's exertion in worship and the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) advice to him to be moderate in it.

The Shaykh : This is what happened to 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As. His father married a young woman from Quraysh. The age difference between him and his father was fifteen years, meaning his father married early, so he wanted to marry his son early as well. This is a good thing, and I wish the fathers of this time would follow this good example, rather than not marrying their sons off until they are thirty or older, so that they can study, get their high school diploma, university degree, doctorate, and so on, and then Basra is ruined. The point is, when he married him, after a few days, as is natural, he went to his daughter-in-law and asked her about her situation with her husband. She said, "He has not yet lain with us in a bed," meaning it was as if the marriage had not taken place. Without a doubt, the father here is extremely angry and complains to the Messenger (peace be upon him), saying, "We married our son to protect his chastity and for such and such reasons," and so on. Yet he remained in his worship and did not ask about his wife. What was his worship? The Messenger came to him, or he met him, as the narration goes, and said to him: He said to him, "That has indeed happened, O Messenger of Allah." So how did he harm her? With fasting, prayer, and what else? And standing in prayer? What did he (peace be upon him) say to him? : Meaning, whoever visits you. In another hadith, it happened between Salman and Abu al-Darda', He said, "O Messenger of Allah, I am a young man with strength, and I am able to do more than that." When did he say this? After he had established a method for him, that he would read instead of... He used to complete a recitation of the Qur'an every night. So what good is it for a man who completes the Qur'an every night to be with women? And what good is it for a man who fasts all the time to be with women? So he said to him: Regarding fasting, he had said to him: Because one good deed is rewarded with ten times its like. And if you fast three days, it is as if you fasted a month. He used to say, "O Messenger of Allah, I am a young man with strength, and I am able to do more than that." He said to him: The Messenger (peace be upon him) departed to the highest companion, and 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr lived a long, blessed life thereafter. He grew old and became elderly, and he was persistent in following the method the Messenger established for him. Not fasting all the time, nor completing the Qur'an every night. No, completing the Qur'an in three days, and fasting one day and breaking the fast the next day was the most generous thing he gave him. When he reached that age, he used to say, "I wish I had accepted the dispensation of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." The point is It is not permissible to harm yourself, even with good deeds. This is important for you to understand. Just as it is not permissible to harm others, even with good deeds. These stories are examples of the two ends of the matter: harm to oneself and harm to others. Without a doubt, the woman here was harmed.

The questioner : What if it is with smoking?

The Shaykh : Well done, well done. And there is a second hadith for this. The point is, may Allah reward you. The jurists, based on his (peace be upon him) statement, when he heard a voice in the mosque reciting the Qur'an, lifted the curtain and said: This is a correct addition, even if it is not known in many books of hadith. So how do you harm the believers? By raising your voice in recitation. It is as if he is telling them, "Lower your voices in recitation, for each of you is conversing with his Lord. So what is the benefit of raising the voice?" The jurists built the following scenario on this, and it is very wonderful. He said: If there is a man sleeping in the mosque, and another man feels like reciting the Qur'an, it is not permissible for him to raise his voice in reciting the Qur'an. Why? Because he harms the sleeper. So by raising his voice in the Qur'an, he is not sinful, nor is he prohibited from doing so. Rather, it is permissible. It is permissible to raise your voice in the Qur'an, especially if a person fears boredom if he reads silently, and some people feel this. But if there is a person sleeping in the mosque, it is not permissible to raise your voice in the Qur'an. If we know these legal facts, how is it permissible to say that it is permissible for a living person to donate one of his kidneys to another, when there may be harm to him, either in the near future or the distant future? This statement is supported by remembering a fact that every believer believes in. Our Lord said in the Qur'an: Meaning, He made him know what He willed him to know and ignorant of what He willed him to be ignorant of, because not everyone knows this fact. But the Muslim benefits from knowledge from his Lord's Book and from his Prophet's hadith. Do you think that when our Lord created two kidneys for man, and created for him two hands and two feet, it was in vain? I see no difference at all between a person who volunteers one of his kidneys and another who volunteers one of his hands or feet. There is absolutely no difference between this and that, absolutely.

The questioner : Donating kidneys is more dangerous and more dangerous.

The Shaykh : More dangerous. Well done. A witness from among them has testified. I was waiting for him to come. May Allah reward you with good. So, I am saying something, and we mention this to clarify the reality and as a lesson for those who take heed. I, who am speaking to you with these words, according to some doctors—I do not know if they are right or wrong—I am now living before you with one kidney, because the right kidney is non-functional. So if I had been one of those who were deceived by such a fatwa, and I had donated this kidney and the other one became non-functional, I would have been in the world of the dead without a doubt.

The questioner : May Allah preserve you.

The Shaykh : Therefore, it is a grave error to say that it is permissible to donate one of the kidneys. This is regarding the living person, because he needs it. Otherwise, As we said, and these examples of the hands and feet are tangible examples. And as you heard, this is a hidden, internal matter. And I believe that if a hand were cut off, there would be no danger to the person whose hand was cut off, as evidenced by the fact that the Shari'ah prescribes cutting off the hand, and how many people committed the sin that requires cutting off the hand, and perhaps the leg as well. What did they live? But the second kidney, if it is exposed to danger, it may lead to death. And therefore, as you heard, it is more dangerous to donate one of the kidneys. This is regarding the living person. As for the dead person, many people who issue fatwas permitting the opening of the dead person's chest and extracting one of the kidneys for the benefit of the living person overlook or neglect this. Here I recall a word attributed to Abu al-'Ala al-Ma'arri, and although he is a man whose words are not cited as evidence, the statement is true whether it comes from one who is not qualified or from one who is. When he saw a sick man, and they described to him the meat of a kid goat or a small sheep, he said: (laughs) They have taken advantage of the dead and ruled that it is beneficial to take one of his kidneys. But the Shari'ah says it is not permissible to mutilate, even the disbelievers. And this is part of the etiquette of Islam. So what about mutilating Muslims? And he (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) said: So your opening of his belly and his nerves, and I do not know what passes through the doctor's method—I know less than you do—to reach this kidney, this is mutilation of this dead person. And unfortunately, when they issue this fatwa, they do not distinguish between the Muslim and the disbeliever. And our Lord says: If they wish, and if such a fatwa is necessary to achieve the benefit, they claim the benefit of the living person at the expense of the dead person. At the very least, they should restrict it to the disbeliever. Because when the Messenger said: He described him as a believer and said: