whatever He willed: He ordained for me fifty prayers in every day and night. I came back down to Moses, peace be upon him.

He asked, ‘What has your Lord made obligatory for your community?’

I answered, ‘Fifty prayers.’

He said, ‘Return to your Lord and ask Him to lighten the burden, for your community will not be able to carry that. I have tried the Children of Israel and know them well.’

So I returned to my Lord and said, ‘My Lord, ease the burden on my community,’ and He reduced it for me by five. I went back to Moses, peace be upon him,

and told him, ‘He has reduced it by five.’

He said, ‘Your community will still not manage that. Go back to your Lord and ask Him for a further reduction.’

I kept going back and forth between my Lord—blessed and exalted is He—and Moses, peace be upon him, until He said, ‘O Muhammad, they are five prayers every day and night. For each prayer there are tenfold rewards, making them fifty in the balance. Whoever intends a good deed but does not do it, one good deed is written for him; if he does it, ten are recorded. Whoever intends an evil deed but does not commit it, nothing is written against him; if he commits it, one evil deed is recorded.’

I then descended until I reached Moses, peace be upon him, and informed him. He said, ‘Go back to your Lord and ask Him to lessen it still further.’

The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, ‘I replied, “I have returned to my Lord so many times that I am now ashamed before Him.”’

In another narration he said: ‘I came and was taken to Zamzam, where my chest was opened…’