Riyad al-Salihin - Al-Nawawi - (1/90)

Riyad al-SalihinAl-Nawawi

he said: “If My servant draws near to Me a handspan, I draw near to him an arm’s length; if he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom; and if he comes to Me walking, I come to him running.” Recorded by al-Bukhārī.

98 – The third: Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Two blessings (1) concerning which many people are cheated are good health and leisure.” Recorded by al-Bukhārī.

99 – The fourth: ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand for prayer at night until his feet cracked (2). I asked him, “O Messenger of Allah, why do you do this when Allah has forgiven you your earlier and later sins (3)?” He replied, “Should I not love to be a grateful servant?” Agreed upon; this is al-Bukhārī’s wording.

100 – A similar narration appears in both Ṣaḥīḥs from al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah.

101 – The fifth: ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: When the last ten nights began, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would revive the night in worship, awaken his family, exert himself, and tighten his waist-cloth. Agreed upon.

The intent is the final ten nights of Ramadan. The mi’zar is a waist wrap; it is a euphemism for refraining from marital relations. Others say the meaning is that he would roll up his garment for worship; people say, “I tightened my waist-cloth for this task,” meaning: I rolled up my sleeves and devoted myself to it.

(1) In other words, they are two immense blessings. The expression “maghbun fihima” (of which he is defrauded) comes from ghubn, which refers to buying something for several times its actual price or selling it for less than its fair value. The Prophet ﷺ likened the morally-responsible person to a merchant, and bodily health together with freedom from distractions that impede obedience to capital, because they are the means of profit and the preliminaries to success. Whoever deals with Allah by obeying His commands and takes quick advantage of his health and free time will make a gain; whoever squanders this capital will feel regret when regret is of no avail. (2) That is: it splits apart. (3) Imam Ibn Abi Jamrah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: No one should imagine that the “sins” which Allah, by His grace, declares He will forgive the Prophet ﷺ are of the kind in which we fall—God forbid. Rather, they relate to fulfilling what divine Lordship deserves of veneration, exaltation, and gratitude, and to acknowledging human limitation—even though his rank was raised—for a created being is intrinsically incapable of perfect fulfillment. Because the favors bestowed upon the one whose rank has been elevated surpass those granted to others, his obligations are multiplied; his inability to meet them completely necessitates forgiveness for that shortfall.

قال : « إِذَا تَقَرَّبَ الْعَبْدُ إِلَيَّ شِبْرًا تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ ذِرَاعًا ، وَإِذَا تَقَرَّبَ إِلَيَّ ذِرَاعًا تَقَرَّبْتُ مِنْهُ بَاعًا وَإِذَا أَتَانِي يَمْشِي أَتَيْتُهُ هَرْوَلَةً » رواه البخاري . ٩٨ - الثالث : عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما قال : قال رسول الله ﷺ : « نِعْمَتَانِ (١) مَغْبُونٌ فِيهِمَا كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ : الصِّحَّةُ ، وَالْفَرَاغُ » رواه البخاري . ٩٩ - الرابع : عن عائشة رضي الله عنها أن النبي ﷺ كان يقوم من الليل حتى تتفطر قدماه (٢) فقلت له : لِمَ تَصْنَعُ هَذَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَقَدْ غَفَرَ اللَّهُ لَكَ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ (٣) ؟ قال : « أَفَلَا أُحِبُّ أَنْ أَكُونَ عَبْدًا شَكُورًا » متفق عليه . هذا لفظ البخاري . ١٠٠ - ونحوه في الصحيحين من رواية المغيرة بن شعبة . ١٠١ - الخامس : عن عائشة رضي الله عنها أنها قالت : كان رسول الله ﷺ إذا دخل العشر أحيّا الليل ، وأيقظ أهله ، وجد وشد المئزر . متفق عليه . والمراد : العشر الأواخر من شهر رمضان . و « المئزر » : الإزار ، وهو كناية عن اعتزال النساء . وقيل : المُرَادُ تَشْمِيرُهُ لِلْعِبَادَةِ ، يُقَالُ : شَدَدْتُ لِهَذَا الْأَمْرِ مِئْزَرِي : أَيْ تَشَمَّرْتُ وَتَفَرَّغْتُ لَهُ .

(١) أي : عظيمتان « مغبون فيهما » من الغبن وهو الشراء بأضعاف الثمن ، أو البيع بدون ثمن المثل . شبه النبي ﷺ المكلف بالتاجر ، والصحة في البدن والفراغ من الشواغل عن الطاعة برأس المال ، لأنهما من أسباب الأرباح ومقدمات نيل النجاح . . فمن عامل الله تعالى بامتثال أوامره ، وابتدر الصحة والفراغ يربح ، ومن أضاع رأس ماله ، ندم حيث لا ينفع الندم . (٢) أي : تشقق . (٣) قال الإمام ابن أبي جمرة رحمه الله : لا يخطر بخاطر أحد أن الذنوب التي أخبر الله تعالى أنه بفضله يغفرها للنبي ﷺ من قبيل ما نقع نحن فيه ، معاذ الله . . إنما ذلك من قبيل توفية ما يجب للربوبية من الإعظام والإكبار والشكر ، ووضع البشرية وإن رفع قدرها حيث رفع ، فإنها تعجز عن ذلك بوضعها لأنها من جملة المحدثات ، وكثرة النعم على الذي رفع قدره أكثر من غيره تضاعف الحقوق عليه فحصل العجز فالغفران لذلك .