As for the hadiths, he (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned among them the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : As for the hadiths, he (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned among them the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: Riyad as-Salihin 1163 : The word "so-and-so" is a euphemism used for a human being, a man; for a woman, it is said "so-and-so (feminine)." This word "so-and-so" could be from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), meaning that the Messenger did not mention his name to 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr out of respect for him, because the intention is the issue, not the person. It is also possible that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) specified him, but 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) kept it vague. In any case, the important thing is the action and the issue: a man used to stand in prayer at night, then he abandoned standing in prayer at night; he did not persist in it, nor did he maintain it, even though standing in prayer at night is originally a recommended practice (sunnah); if a person did not do it, he would not be blamed. That is, if he did not stand in prayer at night, no one would blame him, nor would anyone say to him, "Why did you not stand in prayer at night?" because it is a recommended practice (sunnah). But the fact that he used to stand in prayer and then returned and abandoned it—this is what he is blamed for. For this reason, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Ibn Majah 1331Sahih (Darussalam) .
And among that—and it is more important and greater—is that a person begins by seeking religious knowledge, and then, when Allah opens up for him what He opened up, he abandons it. Indeed, this is ingratitude for the blessing that Allah bestowed upon him. So, if you begin seeking knowledge, persist in it unless something occupies you from it out of dire necessity. Otherwise, persist, because seeking knowledge is a collective obligation (fard kifayah). Whoever seeks knowledge, Allah rewards him for his seeking with the reward of an obligatory act, and the reward of an obligatory act is greater than the reward of a voluntary act, as came in the authentic hadith that Allah the Exalted said:Sahih al-Bukhari 6502 : So, seeking knowledge is a collective obligation (fard kifayah); if a person fulfills it, he fulfills an obligation on behalf of the entire Muslim community. It may be an individual obligation (fard 'ayn) if a person needs it for himself, such as one who wants to pray; he must learn the rulings of prayer. And one who has wealth must learn the rulings of zakah. The buyer and the seller must learn the rulings of buying. And one who wants to perform Hajj must learn the rulings of Hajj. This is an individual obligation (fard 'ayn). As for the rest of the knowledge, it is a collective obligation (fard kifayah). So, if a person begins seeking knowledge, he should not return; he should persist unless a necessary matter prevents him from doing so, and that is a different matter. For this reason, the hypocrites are those who, when they begin an action, abandon it. In the Battle of Uhud, about a thousand men went out with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), of whom approximately one-third were hypocrites. When they were on the way between Madinah and Uhud, the hypocrites returned, because they had not gone out for the sake of Allah. They returned and said: [Ali 'Imran 3:167] Allah the Exalted said: [Ali 'Imran 3:167] , so the conclusion is that the Muslim should.
"Do not be like so-and-so O 'Abdullah! He used to pray during the night, then stopped the practice."
يا عبد الله! لا تكن مثل فلان، كان يقوم الليل فترك قيام الليلDo not be like so-and-so, who used to pray voluntary night prayers then stopped praying voluntary night prayers.
لا تكن مثل فلان كان يقوم الليل فترك قيام الليلAnd among that—and it is more important and greater—is that a person begins by seeking religious knowledge, and then, when Allah opens up for him what He opened up, he abandons it. Indeed, this is ingratitude for the blessing that Allah bestowed upon him. So, if you begin seeking knowledge, persist in it unless something occupies you from it out of dire necessity. Otherwise, persist, because seeking knowledge is a collective obligation (fard kifayah). Whoever seeks knowledge, Allah rewards him for his seeking with the reward of an obligatory act, and the reward of an obligatory act is greater than the reward of a voluntary act, as came in the authentic hadith that Allah the Exalted said:
