Life-of-Muhammad

212Life of Muhammad sawas made of dried palm branches and leaves, leakedwhenever it rained. On such occasions the HolyProphet sa and members of the congregation would bedrenched with rain and mud but he would continuewith the prayers till the end and on no occasion did hegive any indication that he would postpone the serviceor remove to more weather-tight shelter (Bukhari,Kitabus Saum).He was also watchful regarding his Companions.‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar ra was a man of extreme piety andpurity of life. Concerning him the Holy Prophet sa oncesaid: " ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar ra would be an even betterman if he were to be more regular with regard to hisTahajjud prayers." 1 When this was communicated to‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar ra he never thereafter missed theseprayers. It is recorded that the Holy Prophet sa ,happening to be in the house of his daughter Fatima ra ,inquired of her and his son-in-law, ‘Ali ra , whether theywere regular with regard to their Tahajjud prayers. ‘Ali rareplied: "O Messenger of Allah sa ! We try to get up forTahajjud prayers but on occasion when God so wills thatwe are unable to wake up in time we miss them." Hewent back and, on the way, repeated several times averse of the Qur’an which means that a man is oftenreluctant to admit his fault and tries to cover it up withexcuses (Bukhari, Kitabul Kusuf ). The Prophet sa meantthat ‘Ali ra should not have attributed his default to Godby saying that when God willed that they should notwake up they were unable to wake up in time, butshould have admitted his own weakness in the matter.DISAPPROVAL OF PENANCEThe Holy Prophet sa , however, strongly disapproved offormality in the matter of worship and condemned theimposition of any penance upon oneself as a form of1 This is a voluntary prayer which is said in the latter part of the night and isnot one of the daily prayers.—Ed.