‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"You fast continuously and stand in prayer at night?" I said: Yes. He said: "If you do that, your eyes will become weak, and your soul will become weary. No fasting counts for the one who fasts continuously. Fasting three days is like fasting the entire year". I said: Indeed, I am capable of more than that. He said: "Then fast the fast of Dāwūd (David) (peace be upon him); he used to fast one day and break his fast the next day, and he would not flee when facing the enemy."
Reported by Al-Bukhari (No. 1979, 3419), Muslim (No. 1159h, 1159i), At-Tirmidhi (No. 770), An-Nasa’i (No. 2397, 2399), Ibn Majah (No. 1706) and Ahmad (No. 6241, 6248, 6499, 6693).
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was informed that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) was fasting continuously without breaking his fast throughout the year and was praying the entire night without sleeping. So, he forbade him from doing that and said to him: Fast and break your fast, and stand in prayer and sleep. He forbade him from fasting continuously and standing in prayer all night, and said to him: If you do that, your eyes will become weak and sunken, and your soul will become exhausted and weary. The one who fasts the entire year has not truly fasted, as he does not obtain the reward of fasting due to violating the prohibition, and he does not experience the benefit of breaking the fast, as he is constantly abstaining. Then he guided him to fasting three days of each month, as it is equivalent to fasting the entire year, because each day is counted as ten days, which is the minimum multiplication of a good deed. ‘Abdullah said: Indeed, I am capable of more than that. He (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: Then fast the fast of David (peace be upon him), which is the best type of fast, as he used to fast every other day and he would not flee when facing the enemy because the way he adopted in fasting did not weaken his body.
Lessons
Fasting three days of each month is equivalent to fasting the entire year because a good deed is counted as ten, and this makes them thirty days. So, if one fasts three days each month, it will be as if he has fasted the entire year.
Among the methods of calling people to Allah is encouraging them to perform good deeds and mentioning their reward and the reward of regularly practicing them.
Al-Khattābi said: In conclusion, the story of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr denotes that Allah Almighty did not command His slave to worship Him through fasting alone, but through various types of worship. If he exhausts his effort in fasting, he will fall short in other acts of worship. Therefore, it is preferable to practice moderation in fasting so that one may retain some strength for other forms of worship. This is indicated by the Prophet's statement about David (peace be upon him): "And he would not flee when facing the enemy," because he would gain strength from breaking his fast for the sake of Jihad.
The prohibition of going to extremes and practicing affectation in worship, and goodness lies in adhering to the Sunnah.
The view adopted by the majority of scholars is the dislike of fasting continuously throughout the year. It becomes prohibited if one imposes undue hardship on oneself, harms oneself, or abandons the Sunnah of his Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and believes that something other than his Sunnah is better.
Explanation in Arabic
بَلَغَ النبيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أنَّ عبدَ الله بن عمرو رضي الله عنهما كان يَسْرُدُ الصومَ ولا يُفطر طوال السنة، ويصلي الليل كله ولا ينام، فنهاه عن ذلك وقال له: صم وأفطر، وقم ونم.
ونهاه عن سَرْدِ الصيام وقيام الليل كله، وقال له: إنك إن فعلت ذلك ضَعُفَتْ له عينُك وغارَتْ ودَخَلَتْ، ونَفِهَتْ له نفسُك وتَعبِتْ وكَلَّتْ؛ فلا صام من صام السنة؛ حيث إنه لم يحصل على أجر الصوم لمخالفة النهي، ولم يفطر لأنه أمسك.
ثم أرشده إلى صيام ثلاثة أيام من كل شهر فهو صوم السنة؛ لأن كل يوم بعشرة أيام وهو أقل المضاعفة للحسنة.
فقال عبدالله: إني أستطيع أكثر من ذلك.
قال صلى الله عليه وسلم: إذن فصم صوم داود عليه السلام وهو أفضل الصيام، كان يصوم يومًا ويفطر يومًا، وكان لا يَفِرُّ إذا لاقى العدو؛ لأن طريقة صومه لم تُضعِفْ بدنَه.
صيام ثلاثة أيام من كلِّ شهر كصيام السنة كلها، وذلك لأنَّ الحسنة بعشرة أمثالها، فتكون ثلاثين يومًا، فإذا صام من كل شهر ثلاثة أيام فكأنه صام السنة كلَّها.
من أساليب الدعوة إلى الله الترغيب في العمل وذكر ثوابه وثواب المواظبة عليه.
قال الخطابي: مُحَصَّل قصة عبد الله بن عمرو أن الله تعالى لم يَتَعَبَّد عبدَه بالصوم خاصة، بل تعبده بأنواع من العبادات، فلو استفرغ جهده لَقَصَّرَ في غيره، فالأولى الاقتصاد فيه ليستبقي بعض القوة لغيره، وقد أشير إلى ذلك بقوله عليه الصلاة والسلام في داود عليه السلام: "وكان لا يفر إذا لاقى"؛ لأنه كان يتقوى بالفطر لأجل الجهاد.
النهي عن التعمق والتكلف في العبادة، والخير التزام السنة.
مذهب جمهور أهل العلم كراهية صوم الدهر، ويكون حرامًا إذا شَدَّدَ على نفسه وأَضَرَّ بها وحَمَل عليها، ورَغِبَ عن سنة نبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم، واعتقد أن غير سنته أفضل منها.
السنن الكبرى للنسائي (2680)تقوم الليل وتصوم النهار ، لا صام من صام الأبد ، صم من كل شهر ثلاثة أيام ، قلت : زدني ، قال : صم من كل شهر خمسة أيام قلت : زدني ، قال : أفضل الصيام صوم داود ، يصوم يوما ، ويفطر يوم ، ولا يفر إذا لاقى
‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was told that I had said: "By Allah, I will fast every day and pray every night for as long as I live." The Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon…
