How do we reconcile the statement of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): "And those who sleep from it are better," with his statement (peace and blessings be upon him)?

The questioner : Is the hadith authentic? When 'Umar gathered them for the standing prayer on one man, he said: "And those who sleep from it are better..."

The Shaykh : "And those who sleep from it are better."

The questioner : Better.

The Shaykh : Yes, this is in al-Bukhari.

The questioner : Fine, and with the hadith of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that whoever stands with his imam is recorded as having stood the rest of the night, what is the way to reconcile...?

The Shaykh : No, there is no contradiction. "Those who sleep from it" refers to the time. For example, if a mosque imam and the congregation agree with the imam to delay the standing prayer to the end of the night, this imam and his congregation have combined the two virtues: the virtue of congregation and the virtue of time. This is the time to which 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was pointing, and he did not intend to say more than that. In truth, the greatness of Islam in legislation is manifested in its ease on one hand and its comprehensiveness on the other. It draws attention to some acts of worship from one angle and to other acts of worship from another angle. Here, a balance is struck between this virtue and that virtue, and people may differ greatly in such matters. You mentioned earlier the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), and this is one of the subtleties of his knowledge, from which we often benefit in answering some issues that appear to be problems.