“stay where you are”—that is, I have not failed to notice your gathering—“but I disliked that it should be prescribed for you and that you would then be unable to keep it up.” For this reason he ceased leading that night prayer in congregation, fearing it might become mandatory for the ummah, and this was part of his compassion ﷺ. He would often say, “Were it not that I might burden my community, I would have done such-and-such, or I would have ordered such-and-such,” as in his statement, “Were it not that I might burden my community, I would have ordered them to use the siwak before every prayer.”

A similar instance occurred when he delayed the ʿIshāʾ prayer until most of the night had passed; he then said, “This is its time,” meaning the end of its window, and added, “Were it not that I might burden my community….” Thus the Prophet ﷺ would sometimes forgo an action—or refrain from commanding it—out of fear that it would weigh heavily on the believers.

ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) also related that he forbade them to practise continuous fasting (wisāl) as a mercy to them. Wisāl is to connect two or more consecutive days of fasting without breaking the fast, i.e., to fast day and night for two, three, or even more days. The Prophet ﷺ prohibited this, yet the Companions understood his ban to stem from mercy rather than dislike of the act itself, so they continued to fast in that manner until the crescent of Shawwāl appeared. Whereupon he ﷺ said, “Had the new moon been delayed, I would have added more for you,” meaning he would have kept them fasting even longer.