Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
Qurʾān Bukhārī Muslim Nasāʾī Abū Dāwūd Tirmidhī Ibn Mājah Mālik Aḥmad Dārimī Ḥākim Ibn Ḥibbān Ṭabarānī Nasāʾī's Kubrá Bayhaqī al-Adab al-Mufrad al-Luʾluʾ wa-al-Marjān Ibn Rajab's Fifty Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn Aḥmad's Zuhd Suyūṭī Misc

ذِكْرُ الْعِلَّةِ الَّتِي مِنْ أَجْلِهَا كَانَ يَتْرُكُ ﷺ بَعْضَ الطَّاعَاتِ

ibnhibban:313 – al-Ḥusayn b. Idrīs al-Anṣārī > Aḥmad b. Abū Bakr > Mālik > al-Zuhrī Ibn Shihāb > ʿUrwah > ʿĀʾishah

[Machine] She said, "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to avoid performing certain actions that he liked, out of fear that people might see him doing them and then feel obligated to do the same."  

ابن حبّان:٣١٣ – أَخْبَرَنَا الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ الْأَنْصَارِيُّ قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ أَبِي بَكْرٍ عَنْ مَالِكٍ عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ عَنْ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ

أَنَّهَا قَالَتْ «كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ لَيَدَعُ الْعَمَلَ وَهُوَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ النَّاسُ فَيُفْرَضَ عَلَيْهِمْ»  

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Collected by Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, Mālik, Aḥmad, Nasāʾī's Kubrá
bukhari:1128 – ʿAbdullāh b. Yūsuf > Mālik > Ibn Shihāb > ʿUrwah > ʿĀʾishah

Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to give up a good deed, although he loved to do it, for fear that people might act on it and it might be made compulsory for them. The Prophet ﷺ never prayed the Duha prayer, but I offer it.  

البخاري:١١٢٨ – حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ يُوسُفَ قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا مَالِكٌ عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ عَنْ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ؓ قَالَتْ

إِنْ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ لَيَدَعُ الْعَمَلَ وَهْوَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ النَّاسُ فَيُفْرَضَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَمَا سَبَّحَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ سُبْحَةَ الضُّحَى قَطُّ وَإِنِّي لأُسَبِّحُهَا  

muslim:718 – Yaḥyá b. Yaḥyá > Mālik > Ibn Shihāb > ʿUrwah > ʿĀʾishah

I have never seen the Messenger of Allah ﷺ observing the supererogatory prayer of the forenoon, but I observed it. And if the Messenger of Allah ﷺ abandoned any act which he in fact loved to do, it was out of fear that if the people practised it constantly, it might become obligatory for them.  

مسلم:٧١٨ – حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ يَحْيَى قَالَ قَرَأْتُ عَلَى مَالِكٍ عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ عَنْ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ

أَنَّهَا قَالَتْ مَا رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ يُصَلِّي سُبْحَةَ الضُّحَى قَطُّ وَإِنِّي لأُسَبِّحُهَا وَإِنْ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ لَيَدَعُ الْعَمَلَ وَهُوَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ النَّاسُ فَيُفْرَضَ عَلَيْهِمْ  

abudawud:1293 – al-Qaʿnabī > Mālik > Ibn Shihāb > ʿUrwah b. al-Zubayr

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ never offered prayer in the forenoon, but I offer it. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would give up an action, though he liked it to do, lest the people should continue it and it is prescribed for them.  

أبو داود:١٢٩٣ – حَدَّثَنَا الْقَعْنَبِيُّ عَنْ مَالِكٍ عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ عَنْ عُرْوَةَ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ زَوْجِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ أَنَّهَا قَالَتْ مَا سَبَّحَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ سُبْحَةَ الضُّحَى قَطُّ وَإِنِّي لأُسَبِّحُهَا وَإِنْ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ لَيَدَعُ الْعَمَلَ وَهُوَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ النَّاسُ فَيُفْرَضَ عَلَيْهِمْ  

malik:9-34 – Mālik > Ibn Shihāb > ʿUrwah b. al-Zubayr

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az- Zubayr that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ said, "I never once saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ doing the voluntary prayer of duha, but I myself do it. Sometimes the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would refrain from a practice that he loved to do, fearing that people would do the same and it would become fard for them ."  

مالك:٩-٣٤ – وَحَدَّثَنِي عَنْ مَالِكٍ عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ عَنْ عُرْوَةَ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ زَوْجِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ أَنَّهَا قَالَتْ مَا رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ يُصَلِّي سُبْحَةَ الضُّحَى قَطُّ وَإِنِّي لأُسَبِّحُهَا وَإِنْ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ لَيَدَعُ الْعَمَلَ وَهُوَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَعْمَلَهُ خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ النَّاسُ فَيُفْرَضَ عَلَيْهِمْ  

ahmad:25451 – ʿAbd al-Raḥman Mālik > Ibn Shihāb > ʿUrwah b. al-Zubayr

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ never offered prayer in the forenoon, but I offer it. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would give up an action, though he liked it to do, lest the people should continue it and it is prescribed for them. (Using translation from Abū Dāʾūd 1293)  

أحمد:٢٥٤٥١ – قَرَأْتُ عَلَى عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ مَالِكٌ عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ عَنْ عُرْوَةَ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ زَوْجِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ أَنَّهَا قَالَتْ مَا صَلَّى رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ سُبْحَةَ الضُّحَى قَطُّ وَإِنِّي لَأُسَبِّحُهَا وَإِنْ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ لَيَدَعُ الْعَمَلَ وَهُوَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ النَّاسُ فَيُفْرَضَ عَلَيْهِمْ  

nasai-kubra:482 – Qutaybah b. Saʿīd > Mālik > Ibn Shihāb > ʿUrwah > ʿĀʾishah

I have never seen the Messenger of Allah ﷺ observing the supererogatory prayer of the forenoon, but I observed it. And if the Messenger of Allah ﷺ abandoned any act which he in fact loved to do, it was out of fear that if the people practised it constantly, it might become obligatory for them. (Using translation from Muslim 718)  

الكبرى للنسائي:٤٨٢ – أَخْبَرَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ مَالِكٍ عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ عَنْ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ قَالَتْ

«مَا رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ يُصَلِّي سُبْحَةَ الضُّحَى قَطُّ وَإِنِّي لَأُسَبِّحُهَا وَإِنْ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ لَيَدَعَ الْعَمَلَ وَهُوَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَعْمَلَهُ خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ النَّاسُ فَيُفْرَضُ عَلَيْهِمْ»