Al-Nasāʾī also recorded this report.

An authentic narration further relates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ bargained with him until he brought the recitation down to three nights, and he forbade him to finish it in fewer than three (1). This took place with the portion of the Qur’an that had already been revealed; after that statement the remainder of the Qur’an was sent down.

The lowest degree of this prohibition, therefore, is that it is disliked to complete the entire Qur’an in less than three nights, for anyone who does so will neither understand nor ponder what he is reciting.

Were a person to recite and chant the Qur’an over the course of a week and keep to that habit, it would be a meritorious act, for the religion is ease. By Allah, to recite one-seventh of the Qur’an during the night vigil while also preserving the regular supererogatory prayers, the ḍuḥā prayer, the prayer of greeting the mosque, the sound, transmitted litanies; to utter the prescribed phrases upon sleeping, waking, after the obligatory prayers and in the pre-dawn hours; to study beneficial knowledge and devote oneself to it purely for Allah’s sake; to enjoin what is right, guide and teach the ignorant, censure the sinner and the like; to perform the obligatory prayers in congregation with humility, composure, brokenness and faith; to discharge required duties, avoid major sins, engage much in supplication and seeking forgiveness, give charity, maintain family ties, practice humility and sincerity in all of that—this is an immense and weighty occupation. It is the rank of the People of the Right and Allah’s God-fearing friends, for all of this is sought after.

Whenever a worshipper busies himself with completing a full reading every single day, he departs from the easy, upright way, cannot uphold most of what we have just mentioned, nor does he reflect on what he recites.

This noble, devout Companion used to say, when old age overtook him, “Would that I had accepted the concession of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” (2)

Likewise, concerning fasting the Prophet ﷺ addressed him and kept reducing the requirement