١٢٢. عَنْ عُتْبَةَ بْنِ عَبْدٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ:
«لَوْ أَنَّ رَجُلًا يُجَرُّ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ مِنْ يَوْمِ وُلِدَ إِلَى يَوْمِ يَمُوتُ هَرَمًا فِي مَرْضَاةِ اللّٰهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَحَقَّرَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ».
122. Utba b. Abd (r.a.) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“If a person spends every minute of his life from his birth to his death for the sake of Allah’s content by worshipping, obeying Allah and serving in His way, on the Day of Judgment, he would not see this enough and wish that he would have done more.” (Ahmad, IV, 185; Baihaqi, Shuab, I, 479; Haythami, I, 51; X, 225, 358)
Explanations:
The Prophet informed us that supererogatory acts of worship are very important in getting us closer to Allah and encouraged us to perform them regularly. Few but regular deeds are considered more virtuous than the deeds that are more but performed irregularly.
Supererogatory acts of worship should be done without forcing it on people and tiring them out. There is no limit or end for being a servant of Allah. If a person gets further from moderation, he may exhaust himself by too much worship and may feel bored. However, no matter how many acts of worship we perform, it would not be enough. As Allah does not get bored from bestowing His blessings upon His servants, His treasure does not get reduced by His generosity.
Another version of this hadith mentioned in Bukhari explains its meaning better:
Once the Prophet came home while a woman was sitting with Aisha (r.anha) and asked:
“Who is this lady?”
Aisha (r.anha), the mother of believers, said:
“She is so and so”[1] and told him about her (excessive) praying.
Upon this, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said disapprovingly:
“Do not mention this; Doing (good) deeds within your capacity (without being overtaxed) is enough. I swear to Allah, unless you are tired of asking, Allah does not get tired (of giving rewards) but (surely) you will get tired.”
At the end of the narration, it is said:
The best kind of good deeds that the Messenger of Allah liked the most were the deeds of the Companions which are done regularly. (Bukhari, Iman, 32; Tahajjud, 18; Muslim, Musafirin, 221)
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) advised us to be moderate in our deeds. Another point that draws our attention in this hadith is that the Messenger of Allah did not approve to mention and praise someone’s deeds and acts of worship when introducing him/her. Introducing him/her in such a way may lead to pride and hypocrisy. Also, encouraging people to compete in their supererogatory acts of worship may lead some unintended negative consequences. For this reason, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) used the term “within your capacity” when defining their limits.
It is true that the power and the capacity of people are limited. Before this power is gone, it should be spent in the best way. Our Lord has pointed out that we must not take the responsibility of things that we cannot do by teaching us how to pray for not laying upon ourselves a burden greater than we have strength to bear,[2] and He referred to us as “justly balanced nation.”[3] Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) did not perform some of the deeds and worships regularly thinking that his followers would not be able to perform them regularly and he encouraged us to do easier deeds which we can perform regularly. As a matter of fact, when Companion Abdullah b. Amr b. As (r.a.) wanted to perform excessive supererogatory acts of worship in his youth, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) did not give him permission to do that.
Abdullah (r.a.) reported this exemplary story as:
“Allah’s Apostle was informed that I had taken an oath to fast daily and to pray (every night) all the night throughout my life.
Upon that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) came to me and asked whether it was correct:
“Are you the one who said that?”
I replied:
“Let my parents be sacrificed for you! I said so.”
He said:
“You cannot do that. Fast (for some days) and give up fasting (for some days); pray and sleep, for your eyes have a right on you, and your body and your family (i.e. wife) has a right on you. Your children have a right on you as well. Fast three days a month as the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times and that will be equal to one year of fasting.”
I replied:
“I can do better than that.”
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“Fast one day and give up fasting for a day!”
I replied:
“I can do better than that” and the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“Fast one day and give up fasting for a day and that is the fasting of Prophet David and that is the best fasting. The best prayer on the sight of Allah is the prayer of Prophet David. He used to sleep half of the night and wake up to pray one third of the night and then again go to sleep for the one sixth of the night. He used to fast one day and give up fasting for a day and he used not to flee on meeting the enemy.”
I replied:
“I can do better than this.” The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“There is no better fasting than that.” He then said:
“Whoever fasts daily throughout his life is just as the one who does not fast at all” and he repeated this three times.
I realized that it would have been better for me if I had accepted the permission of the Prophet (i.e. to fast only three days a month).
Then the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked me:
“How do you recite the whole Qur’an?”
I replied:
“I recite it every night.”
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“Recite the whole Qur’an once a month!”
I replied:
“O the Messenger of Allah! I could do more than this.”
The Prophet said:
“Then recite the whole Qur’an once every twenty days!”
I again said:
“O the Messenger of Allah! I could do more than this.”
He said:
“Then recite the whole Qur’an every ten days!”
I insisted and said one more time:
“I could do more than this, o the Messenger of Allah!”
“Then recite the whole Qur’an every seven days but do not exceed this!”
As I increased, it was for my disadvantage. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“You do not know, maybe your life will be long?”
At the end it happened as the Messenger of Allah said. Afterwards, when I became old, I wished that I had accepted the permission of the Prophet.”
When Abdullah (r.a.) got old, he used to say “I wish I had accepted the permission of the Prophet!” To sleep better every night he used to recite one seventh of the Qur’an to his family members during the day and made them listen. When he wanted to be strong and energetic, he skipped fasting for a couple of days. Then he would fast for the days that he hasn’t in order to keep his promise to the Messenger of Allah. (See. Bukhari, Sawm, 55, 56, 57; Tahajjud, 7; Anbiya, 37; Nikah, 89; Muslim, Siyam, 181-193)
People should take the responsibility of the things within their capacity and shouldn’t skip performing the things that they have started for the sake of Allah unless there is a valid excuse. Even if one cannot perform this kind of worship on time, he should perform it at another time. The following story describes an easier way on this subject:
One night, Umar (r.a.) couldn’t recite the Noble Qur’an. The next day, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said to him:
“O the son of Hattab, Allah has revealed a verse about you” and recited:
“And it is He Who made the Night and the Day to follow each other: for such as have the will to celebrate His praises or to show their gratitude.”[4]
Then he said:
“Perform the deeds that you could not perform at night during the day, and perform the deeds that you could not do during the day at night.” (Razi, XXIV, 93, [In the interpretation of Al-Furqan; 25:62)
In supererogatory acts of worship, Allah has bestowed upon us various blessings. One of them is this: When a person cannot perform a good deed which he used to perform regularly due to a valid excuse, Allah rewards him as if he did perform the deed.
It is expressed in another hadith that:
“When someone falls ill or travels (for jihad or another good cause), then he will get the same rewards to that he gets for good deeds practiced at home when in good health.” (Bukhari, Jihad, 134; Ahmad, IV, 410, 418)
The following verse of the Qur’an points out the same meaning:
“Except such as believe and do righteous deeds: For they shall have a reward unfailing.” (Al-Tin; 95:6)
Scholars who study and interpret the Qur’an explained the meaning of this verse as:
If a believer regularly performs good deeds, our Almighty Lord blesses him with the same rewards as if he had performed them when he cannot perform them in difficult times such as during travel, illness, or in old age. When he is in such a condition that he is unable to perform any physical deeds or even after his death, the rewards will continue forever.
In our second hadith, the fact that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) regularly performed the deeds that he had started to do is concisely explained. His deeds are compared to the blessed spring rains that keep raining. The spring rains, also known as “forty later afternoon rains” since it lasts for forty days, became the symbol of abundance and mercy with its soft touching and regularity since it brings life to earth and ensures the fruitfulness of the seeds.
Performing few but regular good deeds may seem easy and not a big deal at first, however when it is performed patiently, it builds up an important richness in time. This is the abundance of regularity.
In the hadith, it is expressed that the Messenger of Allah did not save any one of his days for a special worship. However, one shouldn’t infer from this sentence that he never appointed some of his worships to certain times. There are strong reports that the Messenger of Allah fasted on certain days. We know from various reports that he fasted on Mondays and Thursdays, three days in every month, and on the day of Ashura in the month of Muharram, and increased his obedience and worships on holy days and nights. The hadith expresses that the Messenger of Allah did not limit his deeds to these special days but rather performed good deeds on other days as much as he could, and he was tolerant on this subject.
Performing acts of worship only for a couple of hours during the holy days and nights and not practicing any of them on other days would not be consistent with the spirit of the hadith. Everyone knows the fact that the deeds that are not performed on a regular basis cannot be fruitful and productive.
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh), sent to humanity to save it from the darkness, has enlightened the humanity in the extent that has never seen before and brought it back to life. He sometimes used the symbols of revival and mercy such as “rain” and “spring” in his sayings that brought life to humanity, which will last until the Day of Judgment. In our third hadith, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) compared winter with spring for Muslims. Spring is a cheerful, blessed and an anticipated season since it brings life and blessings to earth. It gives the good news that the summer is approaching in which farmers harvest their crops. In the same manner, by comparing winter with “the spring of a believer,” the hadith points out that days and nights of winter can be utilized by performing good deeds and can be conducive towards the life of a believer in order to be spiritually alive and fruitful. During this time period where most of the animals go on hibernation and most of our activities are limited, believers’ spiritual energy will surely make him experience a new spring. As a matter of fact, one of the reports of Baihaqi reads as follows:
“Winter is the spring of a believer. Its days get shorter so he fasts during them; its nights are longer so he revives them with acts of worship.” (Baihaqi, Shuab, III, 416)
In another saying of the Prophet (pbuh):
“Fasting during winter is like spoils that are earned comfortably without pain.” (Tirmidhi, Sawm, 74/797; Ahmad, IV, 335)
Winter’s characteristic to be the spring of a believer is explained by the suitability of its days for fasting and of its nights for other acts of worship. The important thing is to be aware of the opportunities that winter has. A believer should not waste these opportunities by being busy with unnecessary things but rather he should try to earn some rewards for the Hereafter.[5]
In the fourth hadith, it is explained why the supererogatory acts of worship which are encouraged this much are so important. A servant of Allah gets closest to Allah through obligatory (fard) acts of worships. However, since this is the responsibility of all responsible believers, one is in need of supererogatory deeds to reach a special closeness to Almighty Lord and be one of his beloved friends. The journey of the ultimate union which starts with the obligatory acts can continue with voluntary acts of worship. As a matter of fact, Allah loves His servant who gets closer to Him by supererogatory acts of worship and in a sense He becomes his hearing ears, seeing eyes, working hands, and walking feet. In other words, Allah helps him in everything. He provides anything that he wishes and protects him if he takes refuge in Him. Our Almighty Lord loves so much this kind of servants that He does not like the things that they do not like, either. So much so that, since they do not like death, Allah does not want to take their souls. And Allah declares war on those who are hostile to them.
This great happiness is the result of regular performance of supererogatory acts of worship.
The declaration “I will be their hearing ears, seeing eyes…” does not mean that Allah the Almighty enters into their bodies. This is a strong and nice metaphoric explanation of how divine help will take place in various aspects of life.
In the fifth hadith, it is pointed out that the real value of the supererogatory deeds will be realized in the Hereafter. If a person spends his whole life with worship and in the service of Allah and bears many troubles on this way, then he will surely gain many divine rewards. However, in the hereafter, when the truth becomes visible to everyone and when everyone sees the rewards and the blessings of Allah given for the supererogatory acts of worship, believers will realize how little they have worshipped in this world and wish that they had done more. Even if a believer spent his whole long life with worship, what he had done would look too little then. As Muhammad b. Abi Umayra said:
“…they’ll wish to return to earth to increase their deeds and rewards.” (Ahmad, IV, 185; Haythami, I, 51; X, 225)
Abu Hazim said:
“Abu Huraira and I visited a newly buried grave. Abu Huraira said:
“For me, even a two cycle of prayer that you think of as a simple act of worship is more valuable and sweeter in here (grave) than this world.” (Ibn Abi Shayba, Musannaf, VII, 126/34702)
Then, before we die, while the opportunity is in our hands, let’s increase our supererogatory deeds so that our regrets will be less in the Hereafter. In this respect, one shouldn’t belittle even the smallest effort. As Abu Huraira said, even a two cycle prayer performed with the recitation of short chapters from the Qur’an will be more valuable in the grave and in the hereafter than the worlds.