CONCERNING HIS WORSHIP (PEACE AND BLESSINGS OF ALLAH BE UPON HIM) AND HIS EFFORT IN THAT
‘A’ishah said, “The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) used to fast till we said, he does not eat [he fasts everyday]. And he would eat till we said, he does not fast. And [sometimes] you wouldn’t wish to see him standing [praying] in the night except that you saw him. And [sometimes] you would wish not to see him sleeping except that you saw him [i.e. he would pray at different times of the night].”
She said, “The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) did not pray more than 11 Rak‘ah in Ramadan or outside it. He would pray 4, and do not ask about their quality and length. Then he would pray 4, and do not ask about their quality and length. Then he would pray the Witr three [Rak‘ahs].”
She said, “The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) used to read a Soorah then recite it to the extent that it would become longer than a Soorah that is longer than it.”
She said, “He would indeed stand till I would feel sorry for him due to the length of his standing.”
Ibn Mas‘ood mentioned that he prayed with the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) one night, and read in the first Rak‘ah al-Baqarah, an-Nisa’ and Aal-i-Imran. Then he performed the Rukoo‘ close to that [amount of time], and stood [after Rukoo‘] and made prostration similar to that.”
Narrated by Abu Dharr: the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) stood on one night until he reached the morning reading this verse: “If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily You, only You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise [Soorah al-Ma’idah: 118], narrated by Imam Ahmad.
All of this is in the two Saheehs and other than them from the authentic books of hadeeth, and the place of the elaboration of these matters is in the book al- Ahkamul- Kabeer.
It has been affirmed in the two Saheehs from al-Mugheerah bin Shu‘bah, “The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) stood till his feet blistered or cracked. So it was said to him, “Has not Allah already forgiven your previous and future sins?” He said, “Shall I not be a grateful slave.”
It has been affirmed in the two Saheehs from Abu’d-Darda’, he said, “We exited with the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) in Ramadan in extreme heat and there wasn’t anyone fasting among us except for the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and Abdullah bin Rawahah.”
In the two Saheehs from ‘Alqamah, he said, “I asked ‘Aishah, “Did the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) specify a day from the days?” She said, “No, His action was constant and who from you is capable of what the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) was able?”
It has been affirmed in the two Saheehs from the hadeeth of Anas, Abdullah bin ‘Umar, Abu Hurairah and ‘A’ishah, “Indeed the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) used to fast continuously and forbade his Companions from continuously fasting [and] he said, “I am not like one of you, I spend the night with my Lord – he feeds me and gives me drink.”
The truth [opinion] is that this feeding and giving of drink is metaphorical as has occurred in the hadeeth that Ibn Majah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Don’t force your sick to eat and drink, for indeed Allah feeds them and gives them drink.”
Narrated by Abu Hurairah he said, “The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Indeed I seek forgiveness from Allah 100 times every day.”
Al-Bukhari narrated from Abdullah, he said, “The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said to me, “Read to me.” So I said, “Shall I read to you when it was revealed to you?” He said, “I like to hear it from someone else.” So I read Soorah an-Nisa’ until I reached: How (will it be) then, when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you (O Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)) as a witness against these people?
[Soorah an-Nisa’: 41] He said, “That is enough.” He turned and I saw his eyes flowing [with tears].”
It has been affirmed in the Saheeh, “That he (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) would find a date on his mattress and say, “If I did not fear that it might be from charity I would have eaten it.”
Narrated by ‘Amr bin Shu‘aib, from his father, from his grandfather, “The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) found under his side, a date from the night then ate it. Thereafter he did not sleep that night so some of his wives said, “O Messenger of Allah, you were sleepless [last] night.” He said, “I found a date under my side so I ate it. We had dates from the dates of charity so I feared that it may be from it.”
And it has been affirmed from him also in the Saheeh that he said, “By Allah, I have the most Taqwa of Allah amongst you and the most knowledgeable in knowing with what I need to do to have Taqwa.”And in another hadeeth he said, “Leave that which causes doubt in you for that which does not raise a doubt in you.”
Narrated by Mutarrif bin Abdullah bin ash-Shikhkheer from his father, he said, “I came to the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) when he was praying and a noise from his chest [would be heard] like the boiling of [liquid in] a pot.”And in a narration, “And in his chest was a noise like the noise of a grinder from crying.”
Narrated by Ibn Abbas, he said, “Abu Bakr said, “O Messenger of Allah, I see that you have grown white hairs.” So he said, “[Soorahs] Hood, al-Waqi‘ah, al- Mursalat, “About what are they asking one another?” [Soorah Naba’] and, “When the Sun is wrapped,” [in darkness] [Soorah Takweer].”
His Courage
We mentioned in Tafseer from some of the Salaf, that it is derived from His statement, the Most High: “Then fight (O Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)) in the Cause of Allah, you are not tasked (held responsible) except for yourself, and incite the believers (to fight along with you) [Soorah an-Nisa’: 84], that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) was commanded not to flee from the idolaters when they faced him even if he was alone, from his statement: “you are not tasked (held responsible) except for yourself” [Soorah an-Nisa’: 84].
And he (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) was from the most courageous of people, most patient and the greatest of them in perseverance. He never fled from confrontation, even if his Companions fled from it. Some of the Companions said, “When the war heightened and the onslaught had heated up we would fall behind the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him). In the Battle of Badr he threw a handful of stones on 1,000 idolaters and it struck all of them when he said, “Shahatil-Wujooh [may their faces be debased].”
And similarly in the Battle of Hunain as has preceded, when most of his Companions fled in the second state [turn of events] in the Battle of Uhud he stayed firm in his place without leaving it and none but 12 remained with him, 7 of them were killed and 5 survived. It was at this time that Ubayy bin Khalaf was killed – may Allah’s curse be upon him – so Allah hastened him to the fire.
In the Battle of Hunain all of the people fled whilst they were 12,000 in number yet he (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) remained along with 100 from his Companions when he was riding on that day on his mule, galloping towards the enemy extolling his name and announcing saying, “I am the Prophet without a lie [doubt], I am the son of Abdul-Muttalib.” To the extent that al-Abbas, Ali and Abu Sufyan bin al-Harith tied themselves to the mule to slow it down from fear that one of the enemies would reach him. And he (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) remained like this until Allah helped him and assisted him in that situation and the people did not retreat except that gravel [pieces of stones] was in front of him.
By Ibn Katheer
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