The Devotion of Life — Page 88
88 Hadrat Anas ra narrates that one day the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to the house of Umme Saleem ra. She came and presented some dates and some butter. The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Put the butter in a utensil and also the dates because I am fasting. Then the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went to a corner of the house and performed his obligatory and superogatory prayers and supplicated for Umme Saleem ra and her household. Afterwards, Umme Saleem ra said, ‘O Apostle of Allah, I have a special child. ’ When asked which one, she replied, ‘This is your servant Anas. ’ (Bukhari Kitab al Saum) There were such devotees among them who had decided never to marry so that it would not interfere with their work for the faith. But the Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told them to desist from such resolution and said that marrying was his ‘ Sunna’. There were such Companions who had decided to stay awake all night and pray and would fast all day and would never break their fast. When the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to know about this, he stopped them. There is a tradition from Bukhari that is narrated by Hadrat Anas ra , that three persons came to the houses of the wives of the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and enquired about his worship. When they were told, they felt their own state of prayers to be insufficient and they asked, ‘What is our status when the Prophet