English translation
5052. Narrated 'Abdullāh bin 'Amr bin Al-'Āṣ: 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 ﷺ who said to my father, “Let me meet him.” Then I met him and he asked me, “How do you observe Saum (fast)?” I replied, “I observe Saum daily.” He asked, “How long does it take you to finish the recitation of the whole Qur'an?” I replied, “I finish it every night." On that he said, "Observe Saum for three days every month and recite the Qur'an (and finish it) in one month." I said, "But I have strength to do more than that." He said, "Then observe Saum for three days per week." I said, "I have the power to do more than that." He said, "Then observe Saum for one day and leave for two days. I said, I have the strength to do more than that. He said, then, fast the most superior type of fasting, (that is), the fasting of (Prophet) Dāwūd (David) عليه السلام, who used to observe Saum every alternate day; and finish the recitation of the whole Qur'an in seven days." I wish I had accepted the permission of Allāh's Messenger ﷺ as I have become a weak old man. It is said that 'Abdullāh used to recite one-seventh of the Qur'an during the daytime to some of his family members for he used to check his memorization of what he would recite at night, so that it would be easier for him to recite at night. And whenever he wanted to gain some strength, he used to give up observing Saum (for some days and count those days to observe Saum) for a similar period, for he disliked to leave those things which he used to do during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ.