‘Ā’ishah, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her) and wife of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), reported: Al-Hawlā’ bint Tuwayt ibn Habīb ibn Asad ibn ‘Abdul-‘Uzza passed by while I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). So I said: This is Al-Hawlā’ bint Tuwayt, and they claim that she does not sleep at night. Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "She does not sleep at night! Do what you are capable of doing (regularly). By Allah, Allah never grows weary (of giving rewards) until you grow weary (of doing good deeds)."
Do what you are capable of doing (regularly). By Allah, Allah never grows weary (of giving rewards) until you grow weary (of doing good deeds)
GradingAuthentic
AttributionAgreed upon
Explanation
Al-Hawlā’ bint Tuwayt (may Allah be pleased with her) was with the Mother of the Believers ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and she left when the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) entered upon ‘Ā’ishah. ‘Ā’ishah said to him: This woman does not sleep at night; rather, she spends it in prayer. So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, disapproving of her being too hard on herself: She does not sleep at night! Engage in righteous deeds only as much as you can maintain regularly. By Allah, Allah does not get tired of rewarding His righteous, obedient servants for their acts of obedience, good deeds, and righteous actions until they grow weary and stop doing them.
Lessons
- Excessive worship beyond what the body can bear leads to boredom and fatigue, causing the soul to abandon it.
- Moderation and balance in performing acts of worship lead to their continuity and firm adherence to them.
- A small but consistent deed is better than a lot that is cut off.
- An-Nawawi said: With the continuity of a small act of worship, obedience is sustained through remembrance, mindfulness, sincerity, and turning to Allah, unlike a burdensome large deed. Indeed, the consistent small act grows to surpass the interrupted large one many times over.
Topics
Related hadiths
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- I advise you to fear Allah, and to listen and obey even if a slave is appointed as your leader. Whosoever among you shall live after me will see much discord. So hold fast to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly-Guided CaliphsAuthentic
- We pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to listen and obey at times of hardship and ease, energy and reluctance, and to endure if prejudice is held against usAuthentic
- There shall be rulers in charge of you, and you will approve and disapprove. So anyone who approves (their good deeds) shall be absolved, and anyone who forbids (their bad deeds) shall be safe, except for those who are content and complyAuthentic
- If a person falls ill or travels, he shall be credited with whatever good deeds he used to perform while being at home and in good healthAuthentic