This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Hafiz Mubashir Hussain Lahori's book Signs of the Day of Judgment in the Light of Authentic Ahadith.
Sign of the Day of Judgment: There will be an excess in supplication and purification
عن عبد الله بن مغفل رضى الله عنه عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : سيكون بعدي قوم من هذه الأمة يعتدون فى الدعاء والطهور
It is narrated from Hazrat Abdullah bin Maghfal (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: Soon after me, there will appear among my Ummah some people who will be excessive in supplication and purification.
Reference: Ahmad (3/4 - 122) (73/5) Abu Dawood: Kitab al-Taharah: Bab al-Israf fi al-Wudu (96) Ibn Hibban (6763) Ibn Majah (3864) Sahih al-Jami (684/1)
Hazrat Saad (may Allah be pleased with him) heard his son supplicating like this: O my Lord! I ask You for Paradise, its blessings, its splendors, and its freshness, etc., and I seek refuge from the Fire, its chains, and its collars. Then Hazrat Saad (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You have asked Allah for abundant good and sought refuge from abundant harm, while I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say that soon there will be people who will be excessive in supplication. Then this verse was recited:
"Call upon your Lord with humility and in secret. Indeed, He does not like transgressors."
Reference: Al-A'raf: (55)
It would have sufficed you to say: "O my Lord! I ask You for Paradise and for every word and deed that brings me closer to Paradise, and I seek refuge in You from Hellfire and from every word and deed that brings me closer to Hellfire."
Reference: Ahmad (213)
Benefits:
➊ Excessiveness in supplication and ablution is a sign of the Day of Judgment.
➋ When Hazrat Saad (may Allah be pleased with him) saw that his son was being excessive in supplication, he disliked it and recited this command to him:
إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ
"Indeed, Allah does not like the excessors."
Reference: Al-A'raf: (55)
➌ There are many forms of excessiveness in supplication, for example, supplicating like this: O Allah! Grant me a very great Paradise in which there are large and magnificent palaces, and the palaces are adorned with such and such kinds of precious stones, its doors are of such and such type, the doors have engravings... whereas it is sufficient to say: O Allah! Grant me Paradise.
And when Paradise is granted, all these things will automatically be present in it, and whatever a person desires there will immediately be available. Similarly, demanding eternal life is also against the etiquettes of supplication, and in fact, demanding anything that is forbidden is equivalent to excessiveness in supplication.
➍ Washing the parts of ablution at least once and at most three times is Sunnah, but exceeding three times falls under excessiveness in purification. As an Arab once came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and asked about the method of ablution, he taught him to wash the parts three times each and said:
هكذا الوضوء فمن زاد على هذا أو نقص فقد أساء وظلم
"This is the complete ablution, and whoever does it more than this has done wrong and has wronged himself."
Reference: Abu Dawood: Kitab al-Taharah (135)
➎ While avoiding exaggeration and excessiveness in supplication and purification, one should suffice with the prescribed Sunnah acts only.
