Accordingly (1), his—peace and blessings be upon him—solace was found in the prayer (2), just as he told us that the delight of his eyes lay in it. How far removed this is from the remark of one who says, “We pray, and then we rest from the prayer!”
For the lover, his comfort and the delight of his eyes are in the prayer (3); whereas the heedless one (4), the one who turns away (5), has no share in that. To him the prayer is burdensome (6), arduous (7); when he stands for it, he feels as though he were standing on hot coals until he can be done with it (8). The prayer he likes best (9) is the quickest and fastest, for he finds in it neither the delight of the eye nor any rest for his heart (10). Whenever a servant’s eyes are truly delighted by something and his heart finds repose in it (11), the hardest thing for him is to part from it—and as for the one who performs it with mere affectation
The hadith was narrated by Ahmad, al-Musnad, 6:501, no. 22578. It was also narrated by Abu Dawud through two chains in the Book of Etiquette, chapter on the Isha prayer, 5:262, nos. 4986 and 4985. Its chain was authenticated by al-Iraqi, al-Mughni an Haml al-Asfar, 1:165, and by al-Albani, Tahqiq Mishkat al-Masabih, 1:393, no. 1253.
(1) Manuscript C reads, “thus he informed,” instead of, “thus he made known.”
(2) The phrase, “Thus he made known that his rest, peace and blessings be upon him, was in prayer,” is omitted from manuscript B.
(3) The phrase, “Thus, the lover's rest and the comfort of his eye are in prayer,” is omitted from manuscript C.
(4) Manuscript C reads, “the heedless person.”
(5) “The one who turns away” is omitted from manuscript C.
(6) Manuscript B reads, “many.”
(7) Manuscript C reads, “it is burdensome and difficult for him,” instead of, “burdensome and difficult for him.”
(8) The phrase, “When he stands in it, it is as though he is upon burning coals until he is rid of it,” is omitted from manuscript C.
(9) Omitted from the base manuscript and supplied from manuscripts B and C.
(10) Manuscript B reads, “in it.”
(11) Manuscript B reads, “Otherwise, everyone whose eye finds comfort in something and who finds rest in it,” instead of, “When the servant's eye finds comfort in something and his heart finds rest in it.”