It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: My father married me to a Qurayshi woman. When I entered upon her, I did not pay her any attention nor gave her any time, because I had been given great strength to worship in the form of fasting and prayer. When Sayyiduna Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) came to his daughter-in-law and asked her: How did you find your husband? She said: He is the best man, or he is the best husband; he neither sought my company nor recognized my bed (meaning, due to being occupied in worship, he did not even come near his wife). Hearing this, my father turned to me, reproached me greatly, and spoke harshly, saying: I married you to a Qurayshi woman of noble lineage, and you have separated yourself from her and have done such and such. Then he went to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and complained about me to him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called me, and I came to him. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Do you fast during the day? I said: Yes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And do you stand in prayer at night? I said: Yes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: But I fast and I break my fast, I pray and I sleep, and I fulfill the rights of my wives. Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not from me.

Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Complete the recitation of the Qur’an in a month. I said: I find myself stronger than that. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Then complete it in ten days. I said: I consider myself stronger than that. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Then complete it in three days. In another narration: Complete the recitation in seven days and do not do more than that. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Fast three days in every month. I said: I am stronger than that. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) kept increasing for me until he said: Fast one day and break your fast the next day; these are the best fasts, and these are the fasts of my brother Dawud (peace be upon him).

Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Every worshipper has zeal and eagerness, then after every eagerness comes slackness and deficiency. Its end is either towards the Sunnah or towards innovation. So, whoever’s end is towards the Sunnah, he will be guided, and whoever’s end is in another form, he will be destroyed.

Imam Mujahid says: When Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) became weak and old, he would fast according to that amount; sometimes he would fast several days consecutively, then break his fast for the same number of days consecutively, and his purpose in this was to gain strength. Similarly, he would do with his Qur’anic portion; some nights he would recite more, and some nights less, but the total amount would be the same, either completing the Qur’an in seven days or in three days.

And Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say later: If I had accepted the concession of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), it would have been more beloved to me than anything in the world that could be compared to it. But now, I dislike to oppose the routine of action upon which I parted from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).