charting a middle course in islamic practices-poly ib

7/30/2019 Charting a Middle Course in Islamic Practices-poly Ib

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TOWARDS ACHIEVING A BALANCED UMMAH

Prologue

All thanks are indeed due to Allah, the Omnipotent and Omniscience, the

Sustainer and Cherisher of the universe in its entirety. I testify to the oneness of

Allah and apostleship of his messenger and prophet, Muhammad (SAW), who He

Has sent as a guide to the world. It is Allah Who destined us among the lucky ones

who made it to become Muslims; but for that special grace, we might probably have

been elsewhere and, in fact, justifying why we should be there. I must say this

appreciation actually applies only to those who are convinced of why they are

Muslims and not those who are being restrained to remain in the deen because of

whatever influence they deemed fit. In the actual sense this is the status all Muslims

must achieve so that they can be adequately rewarded for their efforts in this world.

May Allah make us really truthful to our claims (Amen).

Introduction

Talking about balanced ummah, in other words, pursuing middle course in

matters of religion, the religion of Islam has antecedents in its chronicle. Middle

course essentially refers to avoiding extreme positions in matters of religion. The

extremes here refer to both laxity and excessiveness. The experience had been that

people at these two extreme positions are usually the ones who accuse people of

being extremists; i.e. those given to excessiveness often accuse those who are not

with them as transgressors of the laws of Allah and those who are given to laxity

often accuse those who are not with them as being excessive. The fact is that Allah

and His apostle, Muhammad (SAW) condemned either of the extremes. In Quraan

22:11, Allah says regarding those given to laxity in matters of religion:

There are some people who worship Allah standing on the verge of faith

(half faith and half disbelief). When such a person is blessed with good

fortune he is content; but if he encounters a trial he turns back headlong;

thus losing both this world and the Hereafter, which is a clear-cut loss.


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Worshipping Allah on the verge is the circumstance of people given to laxity;

they do not border about adherence to the laws of Allah they do whatever pleases

them and leave alone what is not appealing to them. They have mostly been

influenced by the Western concept of personal liberty/freedom to the extent that they

do not consider Allah (SWT) fit enough to restrict them against their desires. They

hate that people should exhort them otherwise or hold other opinion contrary to

theirs and they consider such people as uncivilised, bigot and extremists. These

people, having disbelieved in Allah, believed that they should express their freedom

by listening to their own wishes. Allah says regarding them in Quraan 25: 43-44:

Have you ever seen the one who has taken his own desires as his god?

Would you take the responsibility of guiding him? Or do you think that

most of them listen or try to understand? They are nothing but animals -

nay, they are even further off track!

As for the people at the other extreme of excessiveness, Allah does not

encourage them either. In the Quraan 2: 143, Allah says:

Thus We have appointed you a middle nation, that ye may be witnessesagainst mankind, and that the messenger may be a witness against you.

Allah equally warned those who were given books of guidance before us as

follows:


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Tell them: "O people of the Book! Do not transgress the bounds of truth

in your religion, and do not yield to the fancies of those people who went

astray before you, They misled many others and have themselves

strayed away from The Right Way.

In a Hadith, the Prophet was reported to have said Beware of excessiveness

in religion. People before you (the Christians and the Jews) have perished as a

result of excessiveness Narrated by Ahmad, Al Nasai and ibn majah. In another

Hadith quoted by Ibn Kathir in the explanation of Quraan 57:27 and the

monasticism which they invented, We did not prescribe it for them, he (SAW) said

Do not overburden yourselves, lest you perish. People before you overburdened

themselves and perished. Their remains are found in hermitages and monasteries

Reported by Abu Yala on the authority of Anas ibn Malik.

Another dimension of excessiveness is to want to jettison the material comfort

of the world at all cost. Such is the practice of the monks in the monasteries as

mentioned earlier. What goes with it is the practice of seclusion from the people so

that they may not contaminate ones faith. These are not encouraged at all in Islam.

The deen considers the whole earth a field for religious practice; and everyone have

to experience the blessings of its pleasant provisions as well as bear the burden of

its development and improvements. Allah says in Quraan 2: 201-202:

But there are others (among men) who say: "Our Rabb! Give us the

good life, both in this world and in the Hereafter and save us from thetorment of the fire.Such people shall have their due share in both worlds

according to what they have earned, Allah is swift in settling the

accounts."

The prophet of Allah, Muhammad (SAW), in a Hadith narrated by Muslim,

also taught us a prayer that buttresses this position as follows;

O Allah, set right for me my religion, which is the safeguard of my affairs;

and set right for me my (life in this) world, wherein is my living; and set

right for me my hereafter, on which depends my afterlife; and make life


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for me (a source) of abundance for every good and make death a

source of comfort for me against all evil

Causes of Religious Extremism

For the fact that a mans behaviour is a product of his psyche and

environment, it is very easy to adduce these factors as the determinants of his

moderate or excessive behaviour. Of the environmental factors, Sheikh Yusuf al

Qaradawi opines that causes of extremism may be religious, political, social,

economic, psychological, intellectual or a combination of all of these. There can also

be immediate environmental factors such as the individuals interaction with the

family, which also border on his upbringing. An individuals disposition and reaction

to these factors will determine his behaviours which depict him as a moderate or

excessive individual. The Sheikh stressed further that lack of knowledge is

undoubtedly the main cause of religious extremism. This means that an excessive

individual, most of the time, do not have a good grasp of the insight, purpose, spirit,

and essence of the deen. It is a situation in which a possessor of half knowledge

feels he knows everything there is to be known and thereby act in ignorance. This

will lead such people to act in either extremes of excessiveness or

degeneration/laxity.

Such people concentrate on marginal and trivial issues only and fail to see

how parts connect to make the whole issue. Such can be applied to most

experiences of those who adopt either of the extreme positions. For instance, there

are now cases of those who feel they do not have anything to do with the

contemporary society and opted to go and live inside bushes; they do not ride on

vehicles, they would rather mount camels among other bizarre practices they

indulge in. If such people have a good grasp of the whole issue the essence of

deen in a society, they would not have acted like that. To the other extreme are

people who, for example, feel that a young Muslim man need not have a beard

which they say makes him look old and haggard nor is it necessary for a Muslim

woman to wear an hijab. We have even heard of some who said that Muslims

dedication of too many hours to religious observances (in the five daily salawaah) is

responsible for reduced productivity among the Muslims. They thereby advocated

that Muslim scholars should meet and come up with an abridged salah formula that

will not take too much of Muslims times so that they can favourably compete with

people of other faith who obviously have more time at their disposal on daily basis.


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As ridiculous as these may sound, this is the product of their psyches and their

respective environments immediate and remote. This is accentuated by lack of

and their assumption religious knowledge as enumerated earlier.

Defects of Extremism

To advocate moderation and discourage extremism is necessary because of

inherent dangers in treading the extreme paths. Obviously, laxity has no basis in our

religion; it actually applied to those who want to be elsewhere and feign that they are

also with us. About them Allah says in Quraan 2: 8-9:

There are some people who say: "We believe in Allah and the Last Day"

yet they are not true believers. They try to deceive Allah and the

believers. However, they deceive none except themselves yet they do

not realise it.

Hence, what mostly applies to us is excessiveness in religion. The defects are

as given here. The first fact is that excessiveness is not in consonance with the

ordinary human nature. Even if a few people could put up with it for sometime, the

majority would not be able to do so. Allah legislation addresses all people of various

capabilities and not a people with special abilities; who have unique capacity for

endurance. That was why the prophet (SAW) was once angry with Muadh (RA)

saying O Muadh! Are you putting the people on trial? Repeating it thrice (reported

by Bukhari). This happened when someone reported to the prophet (SAW) that

Muadh prolonged salah too much. And when he (SAW) sent Muadh and Abu Musa

to Yemen, he told them Facilitate (matters to people) and do not make (things)

difficult. Give good tidings and do not put off (people) (Authenticated by all

authorities).

Another manifestation of the defect of excessiveness is that it is not

sustainable. In a Hadith, Abdullah ibn Umar said The messenger of Allah (SAW)

was told of men who were exhausted by ibaadah. He said This is the maximum ofIslam and peak of its activity. Each maximum has a peak of activity, and a peak of


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activity is followed by lassitude he whose lassitude is in tune with the Book and

Sunnah is on the right path, but he whose lassitude is for disobedience will perish

Reported by Ahmad. Hence, the essence of the advice against excessiveness is

such that Muslims would not overburden themselves in ibaadah so that they wouldbe able to practice the deen consistently.

The third manifestation of the defect is that excessive practices jeopardise

other rights and obligations. When the prophet (SAW) learnt that Abdullah ibn Umar

was so absorbed in ibaadah that he neglected his duty towards his wife, he (SAW)

said to him O Abdullah! Have I not been correctly informed that you do siyam daily

and offer ibaadah throughout the night? He replied Yes, O Messenger of Allah!

The Prophet then said Dont do that, but do fasting and break your fast; offer

ibaadah during the night but also sleep. Your body has right on you, your wife has a

right on you, and your guest has a right on you

Conclusion

Having established that neither laxity nor excessiveness has basis of

acceptance in Islam, it becomes clear that no one has anything to gain by being

excessive but so much to lose. If the pleasure of Allah in the hereafter is the focus of

anyone, then excessiveness is surely not the sure path to achieve that.

Bibliography

1. al Qaradawi, Y. (1991): Islamic awakening between rejection and extremism.

New English edition revised and edited by Al Shaikh-Ali, A. S. and Wasfy, B. E.

International Islamic Publishing House, Riyadh.

2. Malik, F. (undated): Quran Translation. The Alim software. ISL Software

Corporation. USA

Author

Taofeeq Yaqeen (Abu Mardiyyah), Department of Agricultural Economics and

Extension, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso Oyo State.

Lassitude- tiredness and apathy: a state of weariness accompanied by listlessness or apathy

Listless - weary and uninterested: lacking energy, interest, or the willingness to make an effortApathy - lack of enthusiasm or energy: lack of interest in anything, or the absence of any wish to do anything

emotional emptiness: inability to feel normal or passionate human feelings or to respond emotionally

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