Once, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) asked the companions, “Who amongst you keeps fast throughout the year without even missing a single day?” Salman Al-Farasi (AS) replied, “Ya Rasool Allah (SAW), I do”. Then the Prophet (SAW) asked, “Who amongst you keeps up and prays throughout the night?” Nobody answered but Salman Al-Farasi (AS) replied, “Ya Rasool Allah (SAW), I do”. The Prophet (SAW) once again addressed all the companions present and asked a third question, “Who amongst you reads the whole Quran every day?” Once again there was silence except Salman Al-Farasi (AS) replied, “Ya Rasool Allah (SAW), I do”. Hearing this one of the companions became enraged and said to the other companions that “this Persian wants to stand out in us Quraish and is lying, for I have myself seen him (Salman Al-Farasi) without fasting many times, and observed on several occasions that he sleeps through the night, and many days pass by that he does not recite the Quran”. The Prophet (SAW), upon hearing this replied, “Salman Al-Farasi is the like of Luqman (The prophet), any body who doubts this can ask Salman himself and he shall respond.
Straight away, the companion inquired about this with Salman Al-Farasi, upon which he replied, “I fast 3 days each month. Allah (SWT) says that every good dead will be rewarded by 10 equal deeds, therefore my 3 fasts equal 30 fasts. As a result my fasting 3 days each month throughout the year equals fasting for an entire year. In fact I fast a lot more than this if you take into account my daily fasting during the months of Sha’ban and Ramadan, in which I join the fasts of Sha’ban with those of Ramadan”.
With regards to the question of keeping awake and praying throughout the night, Salman Al-Farasi (AS) replied, “I make ablution before going to sleep for I have heard from the Prophet (SAW) that the person who makes ablution and then sleeps will get rewards equal to the rewards for a person who has kept awake and has spent the whole night praying to Allah (SWT)”.
Answering the question about reading the whole Quran every day, Salman Al-Farasi (AS) replied, “I read Surah Akhlas (aka. Surah Tauheed) 3 times every day, for I have heard the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) say to Ali (AS): ‘Ya Ali (AS), your example for my Ummah is like that of Surah Akhlas to the Glorious Quran, in that the person who recites Surah Akhlas once will receive reward for reading one-third of the Quran, and the one reciting it twice will receive reward for reading two-third of the Quran, similarly, the one who recites it three times will receive reward for reading the whole Quran. Likewise, Ya Ali (AS), the one who expresses friendship towards you only by his tongue, one-third of his religion is complete (Kamil), whereas the one who is your friend by tongue and by heart, his two-third religion is complete, and for the one who is your friend by tongue, by heart, and also supports you by hand is the one whose religion is entirely complete (Kamil). Ya Ali (AS), by the One who sent me with trust for guidance, I swear by His truthfulness, that if the dwellers of land were as good friends of you as the dwellers of heaven, Allah (SWT) would not punish anyone’”.
When Salman Al-Farasi finished, none of the companions could speak nor question anything that was said.
Allahumma Sallay Ala Muhammad Wa Alay Muhammad
[Reference: Tehzeeb-ul-Islam, by Allama Mohammad Baqir Majlisi]
