Volume 6, Book 61, Number 572:
Narrated ‘Abdullah bin Amr bin Al-As:
My father got me married to a lady of a noble family, and often used to ask my wife about me, and
she used to reply, “What a wonderful man he is! He never comes to my bed, nor has he approached
me since he married me.” When this state continued for a long period, my father told the story to the
Prophet who said to my father, “Let me meet him.” Then I met him and he asked me, “How do you
fast?” I replied, “I fast daily,” He asked, “How long does it take you to finish the recitation of the whole
Quran?” I replied, “I finish it every night.” On that he said, “Fast for three days every month and recite
the Qur’an (and finish it) in one month.” I said, “But I have power to do more than that.” He said,
“Then fast for three days per week.” I said, “i have the power to do more than that.” He said, “There –
fore, fast the most superior type of fasting, (that is, the fasting of (prophet) David who used to fast
every alternate day; and finish the recitation of the whole Qur’an In seven days.” I wish I had accep –
ted the permission of Allah’s Apostle as I have become a weak old man. It is said that ‘Abdullah used
to recite one-seventh of the Qur’an during the day-time to some of his family members, for he used
to check his memorization of what he would recite at night during the daytime so that it would be
easier for him to read at night. And whenever he wanted to gain some strength, he used to give up
fasting for some days and count those days to fast for a similar period, for he disliked to leave those
things which he used to do during the lifetime of the Prophet.
Volume 6 – 1128 / 1700
SAHIH BUKHARI VOLUME 6 > BOOK 61: VIRTUES OF THE QUR’AN