Does the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) practice of fasting on Mondays and Thursdays take precedence over his statement, "The best fasting is the fasting of Dawud," on the grounds that he does not leave behind the best?
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The questioner : The questioner:The questioner : He asks: Does the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) practice of fasting on Mondays and Thursdays take precedence over what is reported from him, namely his statement: Sunan an-Nasa'i 2389Sahih (Darussalam), on the grounds that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) does not leave behind the best?
The Shaykh : No, this is weak talk. It may be that the best for the Messenger (peace be upon him) is to leave off the act of worship entirely, in order to clarify the Shari'ah, and he has the same reward as the one who performed that act of worship.
It was narrated that Muhajid said: "Abdullah bin 'Amr said to me: My father got me married to a woman from a noble family, and he used to come to her and ask her about her husband. She said: What a wonderful man he is! He never comes to my bed. And he has never approached me since he married me. He mentioned that to the Prophet and he said: Bring him to me. So he brought him with him and (the Prophet) said: How do you fast? I said: "Every day." He said: "Fast three days of every month." I said: "I am able to do better than that." He said: "Fast for two days, and break your fast for one day." He said; "I am able to do better than that". He said: "Observe the best of fasts, the fast of Dawud, peace be upon him: Fasting for one day and breaking the fast for one day." 'Ata said: "someone who heard him told me that Ibn 'Umar (said) that the Prophet said: 'Whoever fasts every day of his life, then he has not fasted."
أفضل الصيام صيام داودThe Shaykh : No, this is weak talk. It may be that the best for the Messenger (peace be upon him) is to leave off the act of worship entirely, in order to clarify the Shari'ah, and he has the same reward as the one who performed that act of worship.
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