This reflects the insight of Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with him: he viewed completeness and perfection as residing in adherence to the Prophet’s Sunnah, and he regarded whatever diverged from it—even if it involved a larger number of units—as deficiency and fault. That is hardly surprising, for the Messenger of Allah prayed for him, saying, “O Allah, grant him deep understanding of the religion and teach him the interpretation.”

In truth, anyone who is genuinely versed in the law cannot depart from this principle of Ibn ʿAbbās; rather, he must treat it as a foundational rule for everything brought by the flawless Sacred Law. Its opposite would imply ascribing deficiency or forgetfulness to the All-Wise Lawgiver—“and your Lord is never forgetful.” A fuller treatment of this point will be given elsewhere, if Allah, exalted is He, wills.

I also find compelling the words of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah in his rebuttal of the Shiʿite Ibn al-Muṭahhar:

“He alleged that ʿAlī used to perform one thousand rakʿahs in a single day and night, yet no sound report confirms this. Our Prophet never exceeded thirteen rakʿahs at night, and it is not recommended—indeed, it is disliked—to spend the entire night standing in prayer. The Prophet said to ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿAmr, ‘Your body has a right over you.’

“The Prophet himself used to pray roughly forty rakʿahs over the course of a day and night, and ʿAlī was more knowledgeable of his Sunnah and more devoted to his guidance than to contradict him in this manner, even if such a thing were possible. How, then, could one perform a thousand rakʿahs while also carrying out all other obligations? A person owes his own self its due—its needs of sleep, food, drink, relieving himself, ablution, intimacy with his wives and maid-servants, and attending to his children, family, and subjects, among other things… ⦗89⦘