عن عائشةَ رضي اللّهُ عنها أَنّ النبيّ صَلّى اللّهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّم دخَلَ عليْها وعِنْدها امْرأَةٌ قال: «منْ هَذِهِ؟» قالت: هَذِهِ فُلانَة تَذْكُرُ مِنْ صَلاتِهَا قالَ: «مَهْ، عليكُمْ بِما تُطِيقُون، فَوَاللّه لا يَمَلُّ اللّهُ حتَّى تَمَلُّوا»، وكَانَ أَحَبُّ الدِّينِ إِلَيْهِ ما داوَمَ صَاحِبُهُ علَيْهِ. متفقٌ عليه
Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) entered upon her while a woman was with her. He asked: "Who is this?" She said: "This is so-and-so," mentioning her excessive praying. He said: "Stop! You must only take upon yourselves what you can bear. By Allah, Allah does not tire of giving reward until you tire of doing deeds." And the most beloved act of worship to him was that which its practitioner performed consistently. Agreed upon (narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim).
الشرح · explanation
تَذكُر من صلاتِها: أي تَذكُر كثرة عبادتها وصلاتها. مَهْ: كَلِمة نَهْي وزَجر. عليكُم ما تُطِيقُون: أي اشتغِلوا بما تَستطيعون المُداومة علَيه من الأعمال لَيَدُوم ثَوَابه لَكُم وفَضْلُه. لا يملُّ اللّه: نفي الملل عن اللّه تعالى أي لا يَقْطَع فَضله وثَوابَه عنكم. حَتَّى تَملُّوا: حتى تَتركوا وتَزهدوا. وكان أحب الدِّين إليه: أي إلى رسول اللّه صلّى اللّه عليه وسلّم. وفي رواية: "وكان أحبّ الدين إلى اللّه" ولا منافاة بين الروايتين فإن ما كان أحبّ إلى اللّه كان أحبّ إلى رسوله.
"Mentioning her excessive praying" means praising the abundance of her worship and prayer. "Stop" (mah) is a word of prohibition and rebuke. "You must only take upon yourselves what you can bear" means occupy yourselves with deeds you can maintain consistently, so that the reward and merit will last for you. "Allah does not tire" — this negates weariness from Allah, the Most High; it means He does not cut off His grace and reward from you. "Until you tire" means until you abandon deeds and lose interest in them. "The most beloved act of worship to him" means to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). In another narration: "The most beloved act of worship to Allah" — and there is no contradiction between the two narrations, for what is most beloved to Allah is most beloved to His Messenger.
الدروس · lessons
كراهة كثرة العبادة خشية الملل والفتور. أنّ الإنسان ينبغي له أن يعمل العبادة على وجه الاعتدال، لا غلوَّ ولا تفريط، حتى يتمكن من الاستمرار عليها. أكثر الأعمال ثوابًا أدومها وإن قلت. الحثّ على المداومة والاستمرار في الطاعة. القليل الدائم يزيد على الكثير المنقطع. تَوْفِيَة النفس حقّها من المباحات فيه أجر وثواب إذا كان القصد التَّقَوِّي على العمل الصالح وعبادة اللّه.
It is disliked to worship excessively out of fear of boredom and burnout. A person should worship in a moderate manner, without excess or neglect, so that he is able to continue in it. The most rewarding deeds are those performed consistently, even if they are few. Encouragement to persevere and be consistent in acts of obedience. The small deed performed consistently surpasses the large deed done intermittently. Giving the soul its due share of permissible pleasures carries reward when the intention is to strengthen oneself for righteous deeds and the worship of Allah.