Excessiveness is the Way of Satan

When excessiveness befalls some people, they go beyond all limits.
Some of these people want to do the most perfect of acts, but theygo
astray. Facts state that such people end up giving up the performance
of these righteous deeds altogether. Ibn Hajar said, "If a person
delves into religious deeds and abandons moderation, he will stop and
will become unable to continue, and will be consequently overwhelmed."
The Prophet said: "The religion [of Islam] is easy. Whoever
overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in
that way." Satan has driven such people to excessiveness when he found
in them audacity and courage, so hecaused them to deviate from the
right path.
The religion of Allaah is only one true religion: Islam. It is in a
middle stage between excessiveness and disinclination. The Prophet
warned us against excessiveness and said: "Beware of excessiveness in
religion. Indeed excessiveness in religion caused those [nations]
before you to perish." Ponder over what the Prophet said when he knew
about the case of the three people who swore to do excessive acts; one
of them said, "I will not marry." The second said, "I will not eat
meat," and the third said, "I will not sleep on a bed." Then, the
Prophet said: "How is it that some people said such and such a thing?
I pray and sleep; fast andbreak my fast and marry women. So, whoever
turns away from my Sunnah is not a true follower of me." Moreover, the
Prophet said thrice: "Doomed are those who go to extremes" Does not
this indicate the danger of excessiveness and extremism?
The Righteous Predecessors' Warning Against Excessiveness
The righteous predecessors and scholars knew the danger of
excessiveness and warned against it. When a man asked 'Umar ibn
Al-Khattaab about the meaning of the Arabic word "Abb" which means
"grass" in the verse (which means): {And fruit and grass} [Quran
80:31], 'Umar said, "We were forbidden from excessiveness and
exaggeration." Also, 'Ubaadah ibn Nusayy once said to his people, "I
witnessed people who neither went to extremes like you nor asked
questions like you."
In another example, a man wrotea letter to 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-'Azeez
asking about fate. 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-'Azeez wrote in reply,
I advise you to fear Allaah, to be moderate in applying His commands,
to follow the Sunnah of His Prophet and to abandon what innovators
innovated [in the religion] after the Sunnah of the Prophet was
established. They [the righteous predecessors] were saved [by Allaah
The Almighty] from the burden of innovation [as Allaah The Almighty
has completed and perfected His religion in a way that makes it free
of the need of any additions or omissions]. You should follow the
Sunnah, for it will protect you[from deviation, destruction or
punishment].
You should know that for any innovation in religion, there is a proof
before it [mentioned in the Quran or the Sunnah to indicate that it is
a religious innovation] or there is a lesson in them [in the Quran and
Sunnah] which proves that [this new thing is a religious innovation].
After all, the Sunnah is prescribed by the One who knows that what
contradicts it is wrong, faulty, and foolish.
So, follow the same way that wasadopted by the righteous predecessors,
for they had great knowledge, and with deep insight they forbade
[religious innovations]. They were more able to recognize matters [of
religion]. They are worthier to be followed by virtue of their state
of belief. If what you follow is the[true] guidance, then, you have
surpassed and preceded them to it [which is clearly wrong].
If you said that which was innovated after them, it is [also wrong]
because it was invented by those who followed other than their way and
were preferred to them, indeed, you are wrong for they were the
foremost [in faith and performing righteous deeds]. They [the
righteous predecessors] identified and clarified religious matters
extensively and thoroughly in a way that leaves no room for anyone to
increase or decrease inthem.
Some people abandoned matters that they [the righteous predecessors]
did not abandon so that they became negligent; and some aspired to go
beyond them so that they went to extremes. However, the righteous
predecessors are in themiddle of these two levels, as they were
following the right path.
You wrote to ask about fate [whether believing in it is Sunnahor
religious innovation]. You haveasked, Allaah willing, a knowledgeable
person. I do not know of any innovation whose effects are clearer or
more established than [writing and recording] belief in fate. People
used to mention it even in the dark pre-Islamic era in their
discussions and poetry to consolethemselves on what they had missed.
Then Islam enhanced andclarified belief in fate. The Prophet mentioned
it in morethan one or two Hadeeths. Muslims heard it from him and
talked about it during his lifetimeand after his death. They did so
while they were certain of it and submissive to their Lord, believing
that it is impossible for anything not to be encompassed by the
knowledge of Allaah The Almighty, nor recorded in His Book [the
Preserved Tablet], nor decreed and effected by Him.
Fate is mentioned in the decisive verses of the Quran, and they
[therighteous predecessors] quoted and learned it from them. If you
ask, "Why did Allaah reveal the verse of such and such? Why did He say
such and such?" then you should realize that they [the righteous
predecessors] read what you have read and knew about its meanings what
you are ignorant of. After that, they admitted that there is a decree
and a fate [predestined by Allaah The Almighty], that misery was
decreed [on some people], that whatever is destined will take place,
that what Allaah wills happens, and what He does not will does not
happen, and that we do not possess for ourselves harm or benefit.
Then, they liked [good deeds] andfeared [committing wrongdoingswithout
taking their belief in fateas a justification for not doing good
deeds]. [Abu Daawood, Al-Albaani - Saheeh]
Yet another example is that a man came to Ibn 'Aqeel and said, "I dip
myself in water several times but I doubt whether my Ghusl is valid or
not, what is your opinion?" Ibn 'Aqeel said, "O man, go! You are
notrequired to perform prayer." The man asked, "Why?" Ibn 'Aqeel said,
"Because the Prophet said: Three [types of people] are not held
responsible for their acts: the insane until he regains consciousness
…' and a person who dips himself in water severaltimes and then doubts
whether water touched him or not, is clearly insane!"
Types of Excessiveness
Excessiveness has many types:
Excessiveness in Religion: This occurs when a person has false
beliefs, such as the Christian belief that 'Eesa (Jesus) is God or the
son of God, and the Jewish belief that he was an illegitimate child.
This type of excessiveness exists also in the deviated sects such as
the Khawaarij, the Shiites, and the Murji'ah.
Excessiveness in Knowledge: This occurs when words are distorted from
their proper usages.
Excessiveness in Worship: This occurs when a person overburdens
himself in worship until he gets apathetic, then hates worship and
quits it altogether.
Excessiveness in People or Groups: This occurs when a person holds
some people or a particular group in a higher rank than theirs or
takes their opinions and attitudes as the very basis of allegiance and
disassociation.
How Can we Know Excessiveness?
If excessiveness is so dangerous, is every person entitled to judge
that certain individuals or groupsmay have gone beyond Sharee'ah
limits? Here, reliable scholars should be referred to in this regard
in order to judge whether some acts or doings are excessiveor not.
Dissolute and secular people consider every religious act excessive;
they regard the Hijaab, the beard and the referring to the Islamic
Sharee'ahitself, for example, as acts of excessiveness.
Is Excessiveness an Islamic Phenomenon?
In other words, does excessiveness exist only in Islamic societies? In
fact, reality and history prove that excessiveness is not confined to
Muslims only; Christians and Jewsalso have many forms of
excessiveness. Some modern societies also suffer from a lot of
excessiveness. Different groups inthe world, whether religious or
nationalistic, also suffer from thisdisease. So, it is improper to
blindly follow others and confine this accusation to Muslims. Worse
than this is when some of us approve other's opinions which claim that
the teaching of the Sharee'ah and religious curricula in Muslim
countries is the cause behind some types of excessiveness, although
our history and reality prove that ignorance of Islamic rulings is, in
fact, the greatest cause of excessiveness, but would anyone heed the
lesson?
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