The Middle Course

Q. What is meant by the middle course in religious matters?

A. The middle course in religious matters means that a person should not be excessive, exceeding the limits set by Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, nor be deficient, by not fulfilling what Allah, the Most Glorified, the Most High has ordained.

The middle course in religious matters is to hold fast to the way of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, while excess in religious matters is to exceed it, and deficiency is not to attain it.

An example of this is that a man says: I want to stand for the night prayer and I will not sleep any of the time, because prayer is one of the best forms of worship, so I love to spend all the night in prayer. We say: This is excess in the religion of Allah, and it is not right, for something like this happened during the life of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam: A number of people met and one of them said: I stand in prayer and I do not sleep, while another said: I fast and I do not break my fast, while a third said: I do not marry women. The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam was informed of this and he salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said:

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The Signs of Beneficial Knowledge

Ask yourself about how much you share from the signs of beneficial knowledge, which are as follows:

 

1. Implementing it.

 2. Hatred of being praised, complimented, or displaying haughtiness over others.

3. Increasing your modesty with the increase of your knowledge.

4. Fleeing from the love of leadership, fame, and worldly pleasures.

5. Abandoning the claim to have knowledge.

6. Having bad suspicions about oneself, and good suspicion about other people, so as to steer clear from disparaging them.

 

‘Abdullaah Ibn al-Mubarak used to say, in poetry if the manners of the Salaf were mentioned:

“Do not compare us to them

For the sound person who walks

is not the same as the crippled one.”

 

• The Etiquettes of Seeking Knowledge | Shaykh Bakr Aboo Zayd rahimahullaah

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