—in that brief yet momentous span.

This ḥadīth yields several benefits. One of them is that when a man finds someone with his family he should ask, “Who is this?” for it may be that the visitor is a person whose presence he would not welcome. Some women, for example, enter a household and draw its occupants into sinful conversation—backbiting and the like. A woman may come—whether with good intentions or not—and begin to inquire about the home: What does the husband do? What does the son do? What does your brother do? When she hears the answers she exclaims, “That is so little! Why does he give you only this? Why does he provide nothing but these clothes, this food?” and similar remarks, until she turns the wife against her husband. Therefore, whenever a man encounters a visitor with his family he should ask, “Who are they?” just as the Prophet ﷺ asked ʿĀʾishah about the woman who was with her.

Another lesson is that a person should not overburden himself with worship and a great number of deeds, for if he does so he will grow weary and abandon them. Remaining constant—though the deed be small—is better. News reached the Prophet ﷺ that ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ had said, “I shall fast by day and stand in prayer by night for as long as I live,” out of eagerness for virtue. When the Prophet ﷺ heard this he asked him, “Are you the one who said that?” He replied, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet said, “You will not be able to keep that up.” He then directed him to fast three days of every month. ʿAbd Allah said, “I can manage more than that,” so the Prophet told him to fast one day and break the fast for two. He replied, “I can manage more than that.” The Prophet then said, “Fast one day and break the next.” Again he said, “I can manage more than that,” whereupon the Prophet declared, “No more than that—this is the fast of David.”