The purport conveyed by this ḥadīth accords with what we cited earlier in the Almighty’s words:

“And He lifts from them their burden and the shackles that were upon them” (al-Aʿrāf 7:157)(1),

which indicates that imitating those former communities in imposing burdens and fetters is disliked. The “burdens” (ālṣār) refer to onerous obligations, while the “shackles” (aghlāl) denote stringent prohibitions. The term iṣr itself implies heaviness and severity—that is the nature of what is made obligatory—whereas a ghull (shackle) restrains the shackled person from moving, and that is the nature of what is forbidden.

To the same effect is His saying, “O you who believe, do not forbid the wholesome things that Allah has made lawful for you, and do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not love the transgressors” (al-Māʾidah 5:87)(2). The reason for this verse’s revelation is well-known.

In the same vein, the two Ṣaḥīḥs relate from Anas ibn Mālik: “Three men came to the houses of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ asking about the Prophet’s worship. When they were informed, they deemed it insufficient and said, ‘Where are we in comparison to the Prophet ﷺ when Allah has forgiven him his past and future sins?’ One of them said, ‘As for me, I shall spend the entire night in prayer.’ Another said, ‘I shall fast every day without break.’”