A. Moderation in religious matters means that a person should not
be extreme by exceeding the limits set by Allah - the Almighty, the
All-Powerful - nor be neglectful by not fulfilling what Allah has
ordained.
The middle course in religion is to hold fast to the way of the
Prophet (salla Allahu Alaihi wa sallam) and extremism in religion is to exceed it, while negligence is not to attain it.
An example of this is a person who says: I want to stand the whole
night in prayer and I will not sleep, because prayer is one of the best
forms of worship, so I love to spend all the night in prayer. We say:
this person is being excessive in the religion of Allah, and he is not
upon the right path. A similar incident occurred during the life of the
Prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam)a number of people gathered together and one of them
said: I shall stand in prayer (the whole night) and not sleep, while
another said: I shall fast without interruption, while a third said: I shall
not marry women. The Prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) came to know of this and he (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam)
said:
"What is the matter with people who say such and such? I
(both) fast and break my fast, I stand in prayer and I sleep
(also), and I marry women; so whoever forsakes my Sunnah,
he is not from me."[١]
These people had intended to be excessive in their religion, and the
Messenger (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) repudiated them for forsaking his Sunnah which includes (both) fasting and breaking the fast, standing in prayer and sleeping, and marrying women.
As for the one who is neglectful, he is the one who says: There is
no need for me to perform voluntary acts of worship, and thus, I shall
confine myself to performing the obligatory worship only. He might
also be deficient in performing the obligatory acts. This is the one who
is neglectful.
And the moderate person is the one follows the footsteps the Messenger (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) and his rightly guided caliphs.
Another example would be that of three men before whom is a
sinful man. One of the three says: I shall not say Salam to this sinner,
and I shall cut him off, and stay away from him, and not speak to him.
The second says: I shall keep company with him, greet him, smile
at him, invite him to my house, and accept his invitation; and as far as
I'm concerned there is no difference between him and a righteous man.
The third person says: I hate this sinner for his sins, while I love
him for his Iman (faith), and I shall not cut him off except when
boycotting him is a means of rectifying him, but if it does not lead to
his rectification, instead causes him to increase in his impiety, then I
shall not cut him off.
We say that the first person is excessive and extreme, while the
second is lax and neglectful, and the third is moderate.
Same is the case in all acts of worship and dealings with others;
people are either neglectful or extreme or moderate.
A third example: There is a man who is a slave to his wife; she
directs him in any way she likes. He does not prevent her from doing
evil, nor does he encourage her to strive for virtue. She has come to
possess his mind, and has become in charge of him. There is another
man who is repressive, arrogant and domineering over his wife; he
pays no heed to her as if she were lower than a maidservant.
A third man is moderate; he treats her as Allah and His Messenger (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) have commanded him:
"And they (women) have rights (over their husbands)
similar (to those of their husbands) over them, in a
reasonable manner." [Al-Baqarah: ٢٢٨]
"A believing man should not hate a believing woman. If
there is some characteristic in her that he dislikes, there
remains some other characteristic in her which pleases
him." [2]
This last one is moderate while the first is extreme in his treatment
of his wife and the other is neglectful. All deeds and acts of worship
can be assessed and evaluated in the same manner.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(١) Reported by Al-Bukhari, in the Book of Manners (٦١٠١); and by Muslim in the Book of Marriage (١٤٠١).
(2) Reported by Muslim in the Book of Suckling (١٤٦٩).
