“If a woman is making dhikr and gets angry when the child wakes up and begins to cry then she has not understood dīn.”

In a ḥadīth qudsī Allāh informs us, “No slave gets close to Me with anything more beloved to Me than that which I have made obligatory on them; and My servant continues drawing near to me by optional acts until I love them.”(Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī)

Ibn Hajr writes, “From this ḥādīth we understand that performance of the obligatory is the most beloved of actions to Allāh. The obligatory is like the basis, roots, and foundation while the optional are like the branches and the building. In fulfilling the obligatory in the manner commanded one complies with that which was ordered, respects the one who gave the command, glorifies Him by submitting to Him, makes manifest the greatness of Lordship and the baseness of enslavement, thus drawing near by means of this is the mightiest action.” Some of our elders have said, “Whoever is too occupied with the obligatory to perform the optional is excused, but the one who is too occupied with optional actions to fulfill the obligatory is deceived.”(Fatḥ al-Bārī)