Excessiveness in Religion Carried Out with Great Enthusiasm

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Standing Against Extremism
excessiveness-in-religion
Author ::
Salzar Rahman Sabu
Jul 27, 2025
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Allah entrusted His Messenger (peace be upon him) with the responsibility of establishing divine guidance and the true religion in human life (Surah Al-Fath 28, Surah As-Saff 9, Surah At-Tawbah 33).
 
The reason is clear—only when Allah’s true way of life is implemented, can the world be freed from injustice, oppression, war, bloodshed, conflict, and unrest. Humanity will then be able to live in peace.
 
After the Prophet’s demise, the Ummah of Muhammad strove with singular focus for about 60–70 years to fulfill the divine duty he left behind.
 
Within this short period, they established the final version of Islam across a significant portion of the then-known world. Unfortunately, this noble effort was later disrupted by deviation in purpose and belief—starting with the first distortion: excessive interpretation and overcomplication of religion.
 
Throughout history, after every prophet departed, their followers began interpreting and overinterpreting the faith they were left with.
 
This led to divergent opinions, forgetfulness of the religion’s core message, and disputes over minor rulings and fatwas. As a result, communities fractured, unity was lost, and nations were destroyed.
 
To prevent a similar distortion in the final religion, Allah issued a stern warning:
"Say, O People of the Book, do not go to extremes in your religion unjustly, and do not follow the desires of those who went astray before and led many others astray and deviated from the straight path" (Surah Al-Ma’idah 77).
 
Also, in Surah An-Nisa (4:171), Allah says: “Do not exaggerate in your religion.”
 
This warning does not mean not to be devout, or not to follow religion earnestly, or not to strive to be a good Muslim. Rather, the excessiveness refers to overanalyzing the commands of the religion—digging too deeply into the fine details of every ruling.
 
The same nation that once abandoned worldly attachments and, from the shores of the Atlantic, reached the borders of China within 60–70 years to establish truth and justice, later abandoned this mission and began focusing on extreme interpretation.
 
From Adam (A) to the final Messenger (PBUH), Allah sent down the same essential religion: Tawheed—belief in the One and only Lord and Lawgiver.
 
His command alone is to be followed. This is what Allah called “Dinul Qayyimah” (the upright, eternal religion). In Surah Al-Bayyinah (98:5), Allah says: “He has commanded nothing more than this.” Because only His laws can ensure true peace in society.
 
Let us now examine the Prophet’s (PBUH) own warnings about excess in religion:
 
“Beware of exaggeration in religion! For those before you were destroyed due to such excessiveness.” (Ahmad, Nasa’i, Ibn Majah)
“Cursed are those who are overly meticulous and split hairs in religion.” (Muslim, Ahmad, Abu Dawood)
 
“Do not burden yourselves excessively lest you be destroyed. The nations before you were destroyed for doing so—their ruins are found in old temples.” (Abu Ya’la, Tafsir Ibn Kathir on Surah Al-Hadid: 27)
 
Ibn Abbas (RA) narrates: A man told the Prophet (PBUH), “Whenever I eat meat, I feel an uncontrollable sexual urge, so I’ve decided to abstain from meat.” Immediately, a verse was revealed, warning against such extremism, and the man changed his mind.
 
Anas Ibn Malik (RA) narrates that a group came to ask the Prophet’s wives about his worship. After hearing about his routines, they considered their own worship inadequate.
 
One said, “I’ll pray all night,” another, “I’ll fast all year and never break it,” and another said he’d never marry. When the Prophet (PBUH) heard this, he said: “By Allah, I fear and obey Allah more than any of you. Yet I fast and break my fast, I pray and I sleep, and I marry women. Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not from me.”
 
When the Prophet saw excessiveness, he would turn red with anger and strongly rebuke those responsible. Even when asked about necessary matters, he would answer simply. But if someone dug too deep into unnecessary details, he would get upset.
 
For instance, someone once asked what to do about items found on the road. The Prophet gave a clear answer. Then the man asked, “What if it’s a lost camel?” The Prophet’s face turned red in anger (Bukhari, narrated by Zaid ibn Khalid al-Juhani).
 
Excessive interpretation is not unique to our time or to Islamic scholars alone. It happened in previous faiths too. Their overly devout scholars destroyed the religions through scholarly overreach. One vivid example is from the life of Prophet Musa (A):
Allah simply instructed Bani Israel to sacrifice a cow.
 
Had they done so without question, the matter would have been settled. But they kept asking: What age? What color? Is it trained for farming? For watering? Should it be without blemish?
As each condition piled up, it became harder to find a suitable cow. A simple command became unnecessarily complicated (Surah Al-Baqarah: 67–71).
 
In the same way, just 60–70 years after the Prophet (PBUH) passed away, religious scholars began this exact same cycle—obsessively analyzing and fragmenting the religion. The Prophet only left behind two commands:
 
Obey none but Allah.
 
Accept no system but the one revealed by Allah and work to establish it across the earth.
 
Simple, clear guidance. With iron unity, his Ummah began to fulfill it, forging an unprecedented history. But like the scholars of past faiths, this Ummah’s scholars too eventually destroyed it.
 
This is not an attack on Fiqh or jurists. In fact, organizing and codifying Islamic rulings from Qur’an and Hadith is essential. Without it, no Muslim society can function.
 
If only scholars had stopped after presenting the basics and advised not to delve further into minor details, they would have served Islam immensely.
 
But instead, they toiled endlessly to break down divine laws and Prophetic practices into such fine details that it became almost impossible for the average person to fully follow, let alone work for establishing the religion globally.
 
As a result, the Ummah became obsessed with petty issues—like whether the Prophet was made of clay or light, whether his shadow appeared, whether the congregation should say “Ameen” loudly or softly, how to pronounce “Dwaallin,” what color the turban should be, the shape of the cap, or the length of the beard. None of these relate to the core of the religion. These issues only breed division.
 
Why did this excessiveness arise? Because the Ummah forgot its original mission—to establish Allah’s system worldwide—just 60–70 years after the Prophet’s death. The caliphate became monarchic, enjoying luxury. Some Muslims focused solely on personal purification and withdrew from social reform.
 
Others drowned in legal technicalities. Thus, the two essential aspects of religion—Ma’rifah (spiritual understanding) and Shariah (legal code)—were separated, crippling the religion. This excess continues to this day.
 
The consequences are dire. Excessiveness has caused divisions, shattered unity, and derailed the Ummah from its real mission. Instead of striving to establish Allah’s system globally, Muslims became preoccupied with performing the finest religious rituals in their personal lives.
 
And now, the once mighty Muslim nation is shackled in servitude. Once destined to lead, Muslims today are kicked around like a football by other nations.
 
If the Muslim Ummah wants to survive and reclaim its rightful place of global leadership, it must forget all internal disagreements and unite under the banner of Tawheed. They must declare once and for all: From personal to collective life, we will follow none but Allah’s laws.
And they must rise together to strive for the global establishment of Allah’s system.
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