أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْأَعْلَی قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدٌ حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي حَبِيبُ بْنُ أَبِي ثَابِتٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا الْعَبَّاسِ هُوَ الشَّاعِرُ يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو قَالَ قَالَ لِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّی اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عَمْرٍو إِنَّکَ تَصُومُ الدَّهْرَ وَتَقُومُ اللَّيْلَ وَإِنَّکَ إِذَا فَعَلْتَ ذَلِکَ هَجَمَتْ الْعَيْنُ وَنَفِهَتْ لَهُ النَّفْسُ لَا صَامَ مَنْ صَامَ الْأَبَدَ صَوْمُ الدَّهْرِ ثَلَاثَةُ أَيَّامٍ مِنْ الشَّهْرِ صَوْمُ الدَّهْرِ کُلِّهِ قُلْتُ إِنِّي أُطِيقُ أَکْثَرَ مِنْ ذَلِکَ قَالَ صُمْ صَوْمَ دَاوُدَ کَانَ يَصُومُ يَوْمًا وَيُفْطِرُ يَوْمًا وَلَا يَفِرُّ إِذَا لَاقَی
سنن نسائی · Hadith 2405
It was narrated that ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr said: “The Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم said to me: ‘‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr, you fast all the time and you stand (in prayer) at night, but if you do that your eyes will become sunken and you will become exhausted. There is no fast for one who fasts every day of his life. Fasting a lifetime means fasting three days each month, (that is) fasting all of a lifetime.’ I said: ‘I am able to do more than that.’ He said: ‘Observe the fast of Dawud; he used to fast one day and not the next, and he did not flee if he met (the enemy in battle).” (Sahih)
Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020