Back to search

How authentic is the Hadith that mentions fasting, prayer (qiyam), and the number of days for reciting the Qur’an in a month, which includes the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "Do you fast during the day?" I said: Yes. He said: "And do you pray during the night?" I said: Yes. He said: "But I fast and break my fast, I pray and I sleep, and I touch women. So, whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me." He said: "Recite the Qur’an every month." I said: I find myself stronger than that. He said: "Then recite it every ten days"?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The aforementioned hadith is authentic, agreed upon by scholars as sound. It was narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim from Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-Aas, where his father complained to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, about Abdullah's lack of attention to his wife due to his excessive fasting, praying, and reciting the Qur'an. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, then forbade him from fasting perpetually and advised him to fast one day and break fast one day, and to recite the Qur'an every seven nights. Abdullah ibn Amr later regretted not accepting the Prophet's concession, especially after he grew weak.

Scholars differed on the minimum period for reciting the Qur'an. Some disliked reciting it in less than three [days], while others held that the matter varies according to a person's ability, vigor, and understanding, and according to their engagement in knowledge or public affairs, while warning against boredom and excessiveness.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy