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.

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 witnesses against 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:

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 the torment 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

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.

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 of Islam and peak of its activity. Each maximum has a peak of activity, and a peak of

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 would be 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 effort Apathy - 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