عَن ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِي اللّه عَنْهُما قالَ: نَهَى رسُولُ اللّهِ صَلّى اللّهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّم عَنِ الْوِصالِ. قَالُوا: إِنَّكَ تُواصِلُ؟ قَالَ: «إِنِّي لَسْتُ مِثْلَكُمْ، إِني أُطْعَمُ وَأُسْقَى» متفقٌ عليه، وهذا لَفْظُ البُخاري.
Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade continuous fasting (al-wisal). They said: But you practice continuous fasting? He said: "I am not like you; I am fed and given drink." Agreed upon (al-Bukhari and Muslim); this is the wording of al-Bukhari.
الشرح · explanation
إنك تواصل: هو استفهام عن حكمة نهيهم مع فعله صلّى اللّه عليه وسلّم، مع أنّهم مأمورون باتباعه فيما يفعل. لست مثلكم: أي من حيث التكليف والقدرة. إني أطعم وأسقى: ذكر العلماء في معناها عدة أقوال أرجحها قول الجمهور: إنّه كناية عمّا يلزم من الطعام والشراب وهو القوة، أي أنّ اللّه تعالى يجعل فيّ قوة كأني أطعم وأسقى.
"But you practice continuous fasting": this is a question about the wisdom of forbidding them from it while he himself did it (peace and blessings be upon him), even though they are commanded to follow him in what he does. "I am not like you": that is, with respect to religious obligation and capacity. "I am fed and given drink": the scholars have mentioned several views on its meaning, the most correct being that of the majority: that it is a figurative expression for what food and drink produce, namely strength—that is, Allah the Exalted places within me a strength as though I had been fed and given drink.
الدروس · lessons
أنّ للنّبيّ صلّى اللّه عليه وسلّم خصوصيات في التكليف، فقد يجب عليه ما لا يجب على الأمة، ويجوز في حقه ما لا يجوز في حقها، ويحرم عليه أحيانًا ما يباح لها زيادة في الابتلاء والتشريف ولا يجوز الاقتداء به صلّى اللّه عليه وسلّم في مثل ذلك من خصوصياته. ومن خصوصياته عليه الصلاة والسلام جواز المواصلة في الصوم، فإنه أعطي من القوة والصبر والتحمل ما لا يعطاه غيره من الناس صلّى اللّه عليه وسلّم. الوصال: هو المواصلة في الصوم يومين أو أكثر دون الشرب والأكل بينهما
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had particularities in religious obligation: something may have been obligatory upon him that was not obligatory upon the community, something permitted for him that was not permitted for them, and at times something forbidden to him that was permissible for them—as an added trial and honor. It is not permissible to emulate him (peace and blessings be upon him) in such particularities of his. Among his particularities (upon him be blessings and peace) was the permissibility of continuous fasting, for he was granted a strength, patience, and endurance that no other person is granted (peace and blessings be upon him). Al-wisal (continuous fasting): to fast continuously for two days or more without drinking or eating in between.