—is flanked by two eases, one that comes before it and one that comes after. Allah the Exalted says: “For indeed, with hardship comes ease; indeed, with hardship comes ease” (al-Sharḥ 94:5-6). Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with them both, remarked, “One hardship can never overcome two eases.”

This ḥadith in which the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—counselled ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with them both, is something a person should keep constantly in mind, relying on these useful pieces of advice with which the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—advised his cousin ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with them both. Allah alone grants success.

63 – The Fourth ḥadith: Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “You people commit deeds that appear in your eyes finer than a hair, yet in the time of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—we used to regard them as among the ruinous sins.”

Explanation: Anas ibn Mālik—may Allah be pleased with him—lived to an advanced age, remaining for roughly ninety years after the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him. Over the course of his lifetime conditions changed, people’s states shifted, and they began to take lightly matters that, in the Companions’ time, had been viewed as weighty—such as the congregational prayer. The Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—held that none stayed away from it except a hypocrite or someone ill with a valid excuse, but people began to neglect it and would no longer