The Messenger of Allah ﷺ met me and said, "Have I not been told that you stand in prayer all night? Or are you the one who says, 'I will surely stand in prayer all night and fast all day'?"I believe he said, "Yes, Messenger of Allah, I did say that."He said, "Then stand in prayer and also sleep, fast and also break your fast. Fast three days of every month, and you will have the reward of fasting all year."I said, "Messenger of Allah, I am capable of more than that."He said, "Then fast one day and break your fast for two days."I said, "I am capable of better than that."He said, "Then fast one day and break your fast one day. That is the most balanced fast, and it is the fast of Dawud."I said, "I am capable of better than that."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, "There is nothing better than that."
حدثنا عبد الرزاق حدثنا معمر عن الزهري عن ابن المسيب وأبي سلمة بن عبد الرحمن
لقيني رسول الله ﷺ فقال ألم أحدث أنك تقوم الليل أو أنت الذي تقول لأقومن الليل ولأصومن النهار قال أحسبه قال نعم يا رسول الله قد قلت ذلك قال فقم ونم وصم وأفطر وصم من كل شهر ثلاثة أيام ولك مثل صيام الدهر قلت يا رسول الله إني أطيق أكثر من ذلك قال فصم يوما وأفطر يومين قلت إني أطيق أفضل من ذلك قال فصم يوما وأفطر يوما وهو أعدل الصيام وهو صيام داود قلت إني أطيق أفضل من ذلك فقال رسول الله ﷺ لا أفضل من ذلك
Its isnad is sahih, and it is an abridgment of 6477, being one of its narrations, and likewise the two hadiths after it, 6761 and 6762, and we had already indicated there its narration in the Musnad, but we failed to indicate these three and also the hadith that follows, 6764.This isnad and the one after it come through the narration of Zuhri from Saeed bin Musayab and Abu Salama bin Abdul-Rahman, and the two Shaykhs narrated it through chains from the hadith of Zuhri, among them what is in Bukhari 4:191-192 and 6:327, and Muslim 1:319, and we had already indicated at 6477 many of the narrations of this hadith in the six books and elsewhere.