[Faith-talk] The middle path.

[Mostafa]

Dear all, peace be with you.

Today I would like to talk about the subject of following the middle path.

If you ask youngsters about their future ambitions, you will find them talking much  about gaining enormous wealth and material property  as their top priority.

Their dream is to live in the most declamatory stratum.  

It is quite saddening experience of this social disintegration that we are constantly surrounded by.

People tend to complain about being impoverished.

I personally am not worried about being materially impoverished.

I am rather concerned of spiritual destitute. 

In Islam, it is traditionally taught that poor people are the ones to go to heaven first.

Rich people will go too, but after they are questioned about the source of their income, was it permissible or forbidden.

Prophet Muhammad was one of, if not the most poorest man of his town.

All the possession he had would conveniently fit in a compact box.

He died and left nothing behind.

In Matthew 19 21, Jesus said to the man who asked about the way to spiritual perfection, “Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect; go sell what you have and give to the poor,  thou shall have treasure in heaven; and  follow me”.

Some people interpret that verse incorrectly though.

Jesus did not command the man to sell his garment.

He just commanded him  not to fell in  love with this life treasure.

   This is indeed the middle path of devotion.

Some people are far away from any spiritual involvement to the extent that their hearts are impacted with this life treasure.

They could not live outside their aristocratic zone.

They deliberately miss the prayer and they never care.

On the other hand, there is the opposite party which completely departed any interests of this life, they have been sainted.

It is not either of both ways.

Both are committed to excess, one to the righthand extreme, and the other one is to the lefthand extreme.

Islam is essentially based on practicing religion in moderation.

Moderation is the fundamental factor of making religious life worthwhile.

Prophet Muhammad precluded any understanding that sequentially leads to committing religious nimiety.

Therefore, when three of his disciples decided to foresake life demands, he commanded them not to do so.

The first one decided to pray and never sleep.

The second one decided to fast and never eat.

And the last of them decided to never get married.

Prophet Muhammad corrected that excessive comprehension of worship,  he basicly disciplined their spiritual behavior.

He said to them; “I indeed am the most devout one of you to Allah but, I pray and lay down, I fast and eat, and I get married”.

“Whoever sought devotion in other than my Sunna, he is not my follower”.

These are by far one of the most precious authentic sentiments preserved about prophet Muhammad.


>From his prophetic tradition, he thought that what they apprehended was excessive and thus, he had to set them to the middle path.

He intensely declined that radical apprehension.

He initially reminded them, that you will never be devotional more than your prophet.

I am the most pious  of you.

He then established that sense of equilibrium, that is to pray and lay down, to fast and eat, and to get married if you wish.

  This is the beauty of the Sunna.

Religion was not made to strangle people.

To the contrary, it is expected to be the constant cause of their relief and healing.

Consequently, whenever you find religion being the source of repression, you ought to instantly recognize that this is a common problem of mass misunderstanding, not within the religion itself or its cores.

Peace be with you.