Worship & The Night Vigil (Qiyam al-Layl)

Sayyidah Aisha رضي الله عنها narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would stand in prayer at night until his feet cracked and swelled. She asked him: 'O Messenger of Allah! Why do you do this when Allah has already forgiven all your past and future sins?' He replied with tears of devotion: **'Afala akuna abdan shakura?'** (Should I not then be a grateful servant?). In his prostration, he would weep softly, sounding like a boiling kettle from the emotion in his chest. Yet, when leading the community, he commanded imams to be brief and merciful to the elderly, weak, and working individuals.