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What is meant by being balanced in the religion? We hope from you (O
honorable Shaykh) a complete clarification of this issue. May Allaah reward
you with the best of rewards.

Being balanced in the religion means that a person does not have Ghuloo
(exaggeration/ extremism) in the religion, whereby he goes beyond the bounds
set by Allaah-the Mighty and Majestic. It also means that a person does not
neglect the religion, whereby he falls short of the limits set by Allaah-the
Most Perfect and Most High.

So being balanced in the religion is to hold onto and follow the biography
of the Prophet (SAllaahu 'Alaihee Wasallam). Where as extremism in the
religion is to go beyond its bounds and to fall short means to not even
reach its boundaries. An example of this is where a man says: I want to
stand and pray all throughout the night and I do not want to sleep, because
the prayer is from the best forms of worship, so I wish to spend the whole
night in prayer. We say that this type of person has gone to extremes with
the religion of Allaah and is not upon the truth. Indeed the like of this
occurred in the time of the Prophet (SAllaahu 'Alaihee Wasallam), where a
group gathered and one from amongst them said; I will stand in prayer all
night and will not sleep, another said; I will fast and not break the fast,
the third said; I will not marry women. So this reached the Prophet
(SAllaahu 'Alaihee Wasallam) and he said: "What is wrong with a people, who
say such and such, I fast and break my fast, I stand in prayer and I sleep
and I marry women; so whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not from me." So
these individuals went to extremes with regards to the religion. As such the
Messenger (SAllaahu 'Alaihee Wasallam) freed himself from them, because they
turned away from his Sunnah, which encompasses fasting and breaking the
fast, standing in prayer and sleeping and marrying women.

As for the one who is negligent and falls short, then he is the type of
person who says: I have no need to carry out optional acts of worship, I
will simply carry out that which is obligatory. And perhaps he will fall
short in the obligatory duties as well. So this type of individual is
negligent and falls short of what is required.

Where as the one who is balanced is the one who takes the path of the
Messenger (SAllaahu 'Alaihee Wasallam) and follows his rightly guided
Khulafaa and is upon what they were upon.

Another example is where there are three men; before them is a sinful
person. One of them says: I will not give salaams (salutations) to this
sinful person and I will make Hajr of him (abandon him) and I will keep well
away from him and I will not speak to him.

The second man says: I will be with this sinful person and I will give him
salaams and I will smile and be cheerful with him. I will even invite him
round and accept his invitation and to me he is nothing except like a
righteous person.

The third says: This is a sinful person, I hate him for his sins and love
him for his faith (Eemaan) and I will not make Hajr (abandonment) of him,
except where the Hajr is the cause of his rectification and if it is not a
cause towards his rectification, rather if it only increases him in the sin,
then I will not abandon him.

So we say the first man has gone beyond the bounds and has exaggerated, the
second falls short and compromises, whereas the third is balanced. This also
applies to all other forms of worship and dealings with the creation;
meaning that people will either fall short, exaggerate or be balanced.

A third example is where a man is a prisoner to his woman, she directs him
to wherever she wants and he does not rebuke her against sins, nor does he
encourage her towards any goodness. Rather she completely controls his
intellect and thus becomes the one who protects him and maintains him. A
second man we find is oppressive, arrogant and looks down upon his woman. He
pays no attention to her and she is to him less than a mere maid. A third
man is balanced and deals with her as ordered by Allaah and His Messenger:

*"And they (women) have rights (over their husbands) similar (to those of
their husbands) over them, to what is reasonable." * [Al-Baqarah: 228]

And the statement of the Prophet (SAllaahu 'Alaihee Wasallam):

*"Let not a believing man hate a believing woman, if he dislikes from her a
particular behavior, he will be pleased with another"* [Muslim]

So the third man is balanced, where as the first falls short and compromises
and the second goes to the extremes in dealing with his wife. This can also
be compared to and analogized with the rest of the actions and the different
forms of worship, and Allaah the Most High knows best.