By pondering over the biography of the Prophet (peace be upon him), we realize that he (peace be upon him) has set a model example to his nation in worship and following the commands of his Lord, and Allah made him the paragon for the nation and the model example a Muslim should follow until the day of Resurrection. Allah (may He be Exalted) says: “Indeed, in the Messenger of Allâh (Muhammad peace be upon him) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes for (the Meeting with) Allâh and the Last Day, and remembers Allâh much.” [Surat Al Ahzab: 21].
The condition of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in his worship:
During the Makkan Phase, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to stay up at night for worship, recite the book of Allah (may He be Exalted), read its Ayahs, ponder over its meanings, and extract therefrom provision and faith to become strong in worshipping His Lord, calling people to Him, bearing the message of Islam, and spread it to all people.
Whoever contemplates Surat Al Muzzammil shall realize fully the case of the Prophet (peace be upon him), which reads as follows: “O you wrapped in garments (i.e. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him)! * Stand (to pray) all night, except a little – * Half of it or a little less than that, * Or a little more. And recite the Qur’ân (aloud) in a slow, (pleasant tone and) style. * Verily, We shall send down to you a weighty Word (i.e. obligations, laws). * Verily, the rising by night (for Tahajjud prayer) is very hard and most potent and good for governing oneself, and most suitable for (understanding) the Word (of Allâh). * Verily, there is for you by day prolonged occupation with ordinary duties. * And remember the Name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him with a complete devotion. * (He Alone is) the Lord of the east and the west; Lâ ilâha illâ Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He). So take Him Alone as Wakîl (Disposer of your affairs). * And be patient (O Muhammad peace be upon him) with what they say, and keep away from them in a good way. * And leave Me Alone to deal with the deniers (those who deny My Verses), those who are in possession of good things of life. And give them respite for a little while.” [Surat Al Muzzammil: 1 – 11].
The author of “Azh-Zhilal” (may Allah be merciful with him) said: “Any soul wants to affect the phase of humanity and change its course to another direction should seclude, take some time alone, and keep away from the worldly matters, the noise of life, and tiny concerns of people. It needs sometime to contemplate the entire universe and its absolute facts as engaging in reality makes oneself familiar with it and does not try to change it. As for seclusion, it gives a person freedom to judge reality perfectly as it qualifies oneself to see the whole view perfectly and train himself for giving up people’s needs and extracting teachings from a source other than the common custom. Thus, Allah guided Muhammad (peace be upon him) to keep away from people to prepare him to carry the trust, change the face of earth, and change the history line.”[1]
The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to stay up at night for worship until his feet got swollen from the long duration of standing. `A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to offer Salah at night (for such a long time) that his feet used to crack. I said: O Allah’s Messenger! Why do you do it since Allah has forgiven you your faults of the past and those to follow? He said: Should not I love to be a thankful slave (of Allah)? When he became old, he prayed while sitting, but if he wanted to perform a bowing, he wound get up, recite (some other verses) and then perform the bowing.” [Reported by Al Bukhari and Muslim].
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to pray the (voluntary) night Salah in two Rak`ahs then performs Witr with one Rak`ah.” [Reported by Al Bukhari and Muslim].
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Sometimes Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) would not fast (for so many days) that we thought that he would not fast that month and he sometimes used to fast (for so many days) that we thought he would not leave fasting through-out that month and (as regards his prayer and sleep at night), if you wanted to see him praying at night, you could see him praying and if you wanted to see him sleeping, you could see him sleeping.” [Reported by Al Bukhari].
Let us ponder over the worship of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and see how he used to worship Allah in all conditions whether Qiyam (voluntary night Salah), reciting the Qur’an, Dhikr (mentioning Allah), glorification, fasting, and so on.
[1] Fi Zhilal Al Qur’an, Volume 6, Tafsir Surat Al Muzzammil.