Al-Sa'ib bin Farrukh (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I heard Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) say that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "I have been informed that you fast by day and stand in prayer by night." I said: "Indeed." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not do so. If you do this, your eyesight will weaken and you will become exhausted. Your eyes and your self have a right over you, and your family has a right over you. Fast and break your fast, stand in prayer and also sleep."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 4732
Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Regarding the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): if you wanted to see him praying at night, you could see him, and if you wanted to see him sleeping, you could see that too."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 4733
Humayd (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked about the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his voluntary fasting. He said: "When he (peace and blessings be upon him) began fasting in a month, we would say that he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not intend to leave off fasting, and when he (peace and blessings be upon him) began leaving off fasting in a month, we would think that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would not fast that month. At whatever part of the night we wanted to see him (peace and blessings be upon him) praying, we saw him, and when we wanted to see him sleeping, we saw that too."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 4734
Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that he (peace and blessings be upon him) loved constancy in deeds. I said: "At what part of the night did he (peace and blessings be upon him) wake up?" She said: "When the rooster crowed."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 4735
Urwah narrates from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her): Al-Hawla bint Tuwayt bin Habib bin Asad bin Abd al-Uzza passed by me while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was with me. I said: "This is al-Hawla bint Tuwayt, and they say she does not sleep at night." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Why does she not sleep at night?" Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do as many deeds as you are able to. By Allah, Allah does not grow weary until you grow weary."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 4736
Hisham bin Urwah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from his father that a woman of the Banu Asad tribe came to Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came in and asked: "Who is this?" Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "This is so-and-so, who does not sleep at night." The narrator said: her prayer was mentioned, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Take upon yourselves only as much as you are able to do. By Allah, Allah Almighty does not grow weary until you yourselves grow weary." The narrator said that Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "The best worship is that of the person who is constant in his worship."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 4737
Hisham narrates from his father that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and she said: "This is so-and-so," and her prayer was being mentioned. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Stop! Allah does not grow weary until you yourselves grow weary, and the most beloved worship is that which is done constantly."
(b) Abu Bakr al-Isma'ili explains his (peace and blessings be upon him) statement 'Fa inna Allaha la yamallu hatta tamallu' "Indeed Allah does not grow weary until you yourselves grow weary" as meaning that Allah does not grow weary of giving reward until you grow weary of doing deeds.
(Note) Using the word "weariness" for Allah is not correct, since Allah Almighty does not tire.
(c) These words were brought only to match wording with wording, and this is permissible in the speech of the Arabs, as in the saying of Allah Almighty: "The recompense of an evil deed is an evil like it" [Surah al-Shura: 40]. Here the first word "evil" means sin, and the second word means recompense.
Retaliation (qisas) is justice, not evil, as in the saying of Allah Almighty: "So whoever transgresses against you, transgress against him in the same measure as he transgressed against you" [Surah al-Baqarah: 194].
In retaliation there is neither injustice nor transgression; the use of identical words is only for matching the wording.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 4738
Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the mosque and saw a rope tied between two pillars. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What is this?" They said: "This belongs to Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her); she prays with its support when she becomes tired." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Untie it. Let each of you pray while energetic, and when he becomes tired, let him sit down."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 4739
Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is none of you whose deeds will save him." They said: "O Messenger of Allah, not even you?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No, not even me, unless Allah covers me with His mercy." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Stay on the right course and be moderate," or he said: "Keep close (to it), and travel in the evening, and travel in the morning and part of the night; and be moderate, be moderate, and you will reach your goal."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 4740
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The religion is easy, and whoever is harsh in this religion, this religion will overcome him. So stay on the right course, keep close (to it), rejoice in glad tidings, and seek help through the morning, the evening and the night prayer."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 4741
Uyaynah bin Abd al-Rahman (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from his father that Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I was walking along and saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and I thought that he (peace and blessings be upon him) had some need. So at times I would come in front of him (peace and blessings be upon him) and at times I would keep back, until he (peace and blessings be upon him) called me and took hold of my hand. He (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a man who was bowing and prostrating a great deal. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do you think he is showing off? Do you think he is showing off?" Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) let go of my hand and said: "Adopt moderation, adopt moderation." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) struck one of his hands on the other and said: "Whoever is harsh in this religion, it will overcome him."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 4742
Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "This religion is firm, so enter into it gently, and do not make the worship of Allah hateful to yourself, otherwise you will lose your goal."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 4743
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This religion is firm, so enter into it gently, and do not make the worship of your Lord hateful to yourself, and do not push ahead so far that you lose your goal. Act like a man who thinks he will never die, and be as cautious as one who fears that death may come to him tomorrow."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 4744
Abd al-Rahman bin Yazid narrates from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that moderation in the Sunnah is better than exertion in innovation (bid'ah).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 4745
Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the mosque and saw a rope tied between two pillars. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Whose rope is this?" The people said: "It belongs to so-and-so (a woman); she prays with it, and when sleep overcomes her, she hangs on to it." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Let her pray as long as she is alert, and when she fears that sleep will overcome her, let her sleep."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 4746