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Alhamdulillah to Whom opened our chests to Islam, guided us to follow the best of creation and beautified faith in our hearts and made us hate disbelief and disobedience!
Muslims! Have taqwa of Allah for it is the provision of the arifīn [people of wisdom], the garment of the sālikīn [wayfarers] and a characteristic of the repentant. Allah – praised be He – says in Surat Al-Baqara:
In this way We have made you a middlemost community,
so that you may act as witnesses against mankind
and the Messenger as a witness against you.[1]
(2:143)
Believers! Islam is a moderate deen, and there is no room for extremism or exaggeration in it. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, forbade making things difficult when he said: “Take ease and not difficulty and give glad tidings and do not frighten people”. He also said: “Those who act unwisely will perish”. He repeated this three times and Sayyiduna Omar said: “Congratulations to the one who follows the path of moderation and ease, who has attained forbearance and has been safe from extreme things”. Moderation, muslims, is a beautiful principle that educates souls about values and akhlaq [good character and behaviour]. It makes the soul forgiving, brings the distant and the evasive closer. It creates harmony between people. It encourages the souls to abandon anger and revenge. However, extremism does the complete opposite, it drives people away from deen and angers the others.
All good is in moderation and ease, and all bad is in extremism and exaggeration. Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: “Beware of extremism in the deen, indeed extremism made those before you perish”. And Allah Almighty said in Sura An-Nisaa:
People of the Book! do not go to excess in your deen.
Say nothing but the truth about Allah.
(4:171)
The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, commanded us to be moderate even in worship. Once three persons went to the houses of the Prophet’s wives and asked them about the Prophet’s dedication in the deen. When they were told about his discipline, they thought that what they were doing was insufficient, and said, “Who are we in comparison to the Prophet, when indeed Allah has forgiven him all his past and future sins?” One of them said: “I will spend all the nights of my life in prayer.” Another said: “I will fast every day without rest”. Th third one said: “I will keep away from women and never marry”. The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, came, and when he heard this, he said, “Are you the ones who made such claims? By Allah, I am the most God-fearing and the most pious among you, and indeed I fast some days and not others; sometimes I pray at night, and sometimes I sleep; and, indeed, I marry women. Whoever wishes to follow an example different from mine, he is not of my community.”
Servants of Allah! The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, explained to his companions that Islam is moderation in everything, even in worship and that Islam is neither exaggeration nor negligence. And he, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, forbade wasting, even in spending. Allah Almighty describes the servants of Ar-Rahman in Surat Al-Furqan:
those who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor mean,
but take a stance mid way between the two
(25:67)
And he also said in Surat Al-Isra’:
Do not keep your hand chained to your neck
but do not extend it either to its full extent
so that you sit there blamed and destitute.
(17:29)
This indicates that Islam demands moderation and middle way in all matters. Ibn Masoud was told, “If only you would admonish us every day.” To which he replied, “What prevents me from doing that is that I detest to bore you. I’d rather admonish you from time to time, as the Messenger did, for fear of boredom.” Even sermons and lessons are given sparingly, briefly and from time to time, dealing with various topics, so as not to bore the listener. The best speech is that which is brief and meaningful, and the works most beloved to Allah are those that are continuous, even if they are few.
Servants of Allah! Allah Almighty said in Sura Al-Hajj:
(…) He has selected you
and not placed any constraint upon you in the deen (…)
(22:78)
Allah Almighty does not command His servants to do the impossible in worship and dealing with people. Whoever is able to pray standing, does so, otherwise does it sitting down; and whoever is able to fast, fasts; otherwise he stops fasting. This deen is a deen of mercy, in which there is no hardship or compulsion. Allah wants ease for us and not hardship. Whenever the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, had to choose between two matters, he would choose the easier one, unless it was a bad action. Moderation is the balance between exaggeration and negligence, between extravagance and frugality. There are two reprehensible aspects in every matter: Excess and insufficiency. The best things are those that are done in moderation.
It was narrated from Abu Hurairah, that the Prophet had said: “None of you will be safe by his deeds”. They said: “Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “Not even I, unless Allah covers me with His mercy”. Until He said: “Be moderate, be moderate, and you will ascertain.” Moderation and balance are necessary in order for the believer to achieve success. The Prophet warned against exaggeration and said: “The deen is easy and anyone who does not take it in moderation will become weary”. In other words, exaggerating in the deen causes incapacity, even giving up worship, and consequently the servant will vanquish.
Allah, may He be praised, has created us as humans, with our desires, our reasoning and our body. We must give each one the right it deserves. Our soul has rights over us, our body has rights over us and our deen has rights over us. Had Allah willed, He would have created us as infallible angels, dedicated only to worship Him. But because of His hikmah, He has created us as human beings and has given us reasoning and commanded us to worship Him according to our capacity and ability. So, have taqwa of Allah as much as you can.
He also said, “Do not forget your share of the dunia.” And he said, “Work, because Allah will see your deeds, as will His Messenger and the believers.” To devote oneself only to worship and abandon work is extreme behaviour. Working day and night and abandoning worship is exaggeration. Moderation is working at the time of work, worshipping Allah at the time of worship and sleeping at the time for sleep.
Allahumma! Make the Garden our abode and open our vision to understand Your deen and enlighten our inner selves to follow the Sunnah of Your Prophet!
And be our guardian, helper, and supporter and place us among Your righteous servants!
May our nation follow your deen, and resurrect us under the banner of Your Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam!
Allahumma! Grant victory, ya Rabb, to our brothers who are dying now at every moment!
Allahumma! have mercy on them with Your all-encompassing mercy, and grant them victory over their enemies and defeat the oppressive aggressors, for they are not beyond Your power!
Allahumma! Stop the shedding of their blood, accept their dead as martyrs, and heal their wounded and sick!
[1] English translation of all ayats from: The Noble Qur’an: A New Rendering of Its Meaning in English by Abdalhaqq and Aisha Bewley
