- The father – i.e., the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) – did not forget to advise his daughter to be patient in bearing the difficulties that she was facing. In Tahdheeb al-Tabari, additional details of this story of Faatimah were narrated via Abu Umaamah from ‘Ali: “He said, ‘Be patient, O Faatimah, for the best of women are those who benefit their families.”
Reminding the daughter of the reward that she will earn if she serves her family herself will help her to be patient. This is what the wise father does.
Many people nowadays do not bring servants for their wives, either because of restricted finances, or because they fear fitnah (temptation) for themselves, or for some other reasons. Some of the wife’s relatives might interfere and cause trouble because of that. If the husband is well-off and there is no shar’i reason such as fitnah or the possibility of being alone with the servant, or employing a servant who is a kaafir or immoral or a practitioner of witchcraft, then the husband should do whatever will make things easier for his wife. If there are financial or shar’i reasons that prevent them having a servant, then the wife should be patient and her family should encourage her to be patient, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did; they should not try to stir things up and make matters worse or pour oil on the flames. Let them take what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did as an example to be followed.
In al-Jamee’ it says “thirty-three”, then at the end it says that Sufyaan said in one report, “thirty-four.” According to a report narrated by al-Nasaa’i from Qutaybah from Sufyaan, “I do not know which of them is thirty-four.” According to a report narrated by al-Tabari via Abu Umaamah al-Baahili from ‘Ali in al-Jamee’: “Thirty-three, and conclude them with Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah.” And he narrated via Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah from ‘Ali: “And say Allaahu akbar and Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah thirty-four times.” And he narrated via Abu Maryam from ‘Ali: “Say al-hamdu-Lillaah thirty-four times.” He narrated something similar from Um Salamah. And he narrated via Hubayrah that Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah should be said thirty-four times, but he did not mention saying al-hamdu Lillaah. Ahmad also reported this via Hubayrah, as did the Jamaa’ah. Anything other than this is shaadhdh (odd).
Continually remembering Allaah and following the advice of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) even at times of hardship when people lose their equilibrium. ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, when speaking of the adhkaar mentioned above: “I never stopped doing that.” They said, “Not even on the night of Siffeen?” He said, “Not even on the night of Siffeen.”
Al-Bazzaar narrated from ‘Ataa’ ibn al-Saa’ib: “ ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Kawwaa’ – who was one of the companions of ‘Ali, but he used to ask too many questions – said to him, ‘Not even on the night of Siffeen?’ He said, ‘Woe to you! You ask too many questions! I did it just before dawn…’ He remembered it at the end of the night and said it.”
Siffeen is a place between Syria and Iraq, where ‘Ali fought in a battle.
‘Iyaad (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Various kinds of du’aa’s to be recited when sleeping have been narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), depending on the circumstances, who he was speaking to and the times. All of them are good.
Al-Muhallab said: The Prophet taught his daughter the kind of dhikr that will be most beneficial in the Hereafter, and he gave preference to the Ahl al-Suffah because they devoted all of their time to listening to knowledge and preserving the Sunnah in return for something to eat. They did not wish to earn money or have children, but they sold themselves to Allaah in return for a few mouthfuls to eat. From this incident we learn that seekers of knowledge should be given priority over others when the khums is distributed. This episode also tells us of the harsh life which the righteous predecessors (al-salaf al-saalih) lived, how little they had and how difficult things were for them. Allaah protected them from this dunya even though it was possible for them to enjoy the luxuries of this life, but He wanted to protect them from the consequences of that. This is the way of most of the Prophets and awliya’ (close friends of Allaah).
al-Muhallab said: This also shows that a man should expect from his family what he expects from himself in terms of preferring the Hereafter over this life, if they are able to do that.
It cannot be taken from this hadeeth that it is permissible for a father to look at private matters of intimacy between the husband and wife or to look at his daughter in a state of undress, because ‘Ali and Faatimah (may Allaah be pleased with them) were covered. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sat between them, all that that meant was that he put his feet between them, and his foot was close to Faatimah’s chest. This is permissible according to sharee’ah. It was reported in some versions of this hadeeth that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked permission before entering:
“He came to us when we had gone to bed. When he asked permission to enter, we rushed to get dressed…”
Whatever the case, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was ma’soom (infallible) and no one else can be compared to him who is not ma’soom like him.
The hadeeth also clearly points to the virtue of ‘Ali and Faatimah (peace be upon them). It clearly points to the Prophet’s utmost compassion towards his daughter and son-in-law, and his being informal with them, so he did not make them move from their places; rather he left them as they were, lying down. He went further than that when he sat with his feet between them and stayed with them until he taught them the dhikr which was best suited to their situation, instead of giving them the servant that they had asked for. This was by way of responding to a person with something other than what was asked for, in order to point out that what was more important was provision for the Hereafter, patience in bearing the difficulties of this world, and avoiding the temptations of this world. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) withheld it from his daughter, the dearest of all his relatives to him, and gave it to other people. We also learn from this hadeeth that a man may expect from his family what he expects from himself in the way of making do with little and being an ascetic (zuhd) in this world, and being content with what Allaah has prepared for His patient close friends (awliyaa’) in the Hereafter.
This hadeeth also indicates that whoever persists in reciting this dhikr when going to sleep will not be exhausted, because Faatimah complained about being exhausted by her work, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) advised her to do this instead. This is the lesson that Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) drew from this hadeeth.
The phrase “shall I not tell you of something that is better than that which you asked for?” indicates that the one who persists in remembering Allaah (dhikr) will be given more strength than that which he would gain be having a servant, or things will be made easier for him so that what he does will become easier than having a servant. Even if we assume that the benefits of this tasbeeh are limited to the Hereafter and the benefits of having a servant are limited to this world, the Hereafter is still better and more lasting.