Path of Moderation

Al-Baqara (The Cow) - Chapter 2: Verse 143 (partial)

"Thus We have made of you a community justly balanced that you might be witnesses over other nations and the Messenger a witness over yourselves."

The renowned Quran commentator, Ibn Kathir wrote concerning this verse that the Muslim community (ummah) qualifies as a witness because of its commitment to moderation (wasatiyyah) and truth.

The renowned Tunisian scholar, Muhammad Tahir ibn Ashur, went on record that 'in moderation lies the essence of all virtues and it is a great protector against indulgence in corruption and caprice.'

Yusuf al-Qaradawi has similarly observed that moderation is the correct path that leads the Muslim community to its ideals of attaining material and spiritual success: 'It is the divinely ordained moral and humanitarian mission of the Muslim community to pursue all its goals through moderation. 

Deviation from the path of moderation brings nothing but destruction and loss.'

Moderation is manifested, according to Wahbah al-Zuhaili, in the balanced attention one pays to one's rights over, and one's obligations towards, others, to the material world and the spiritual world; it also means a balance between forgiveness and resistance, between extravagance and niggardliness, and a resolute aversion to extremism and terrorism in all their manifestations. Zuhaili added that Islam advocates these values, not only among Muslims themselves, but also in their relations with other communities and nations.

One ought to acknowledge, perhaps, in the same spirit of moderation, that something has gone wrong with the substantive equilibrium of Islamic legal thought concerning the treatment of women. To refer once again to Yusuf Al-Qaradawi's insightful remarks: 'It is an obligation of the ummah to protect the women from the excesses of the Muslim juristic legacy of the past, and those of the Modern West, both of which strip women of their essential humanity.' Both need to be corrected through search for balanced and moderate solutions.

Lastly, is it a coincidence, one might ask, to note that this verse of moderation occurs in the exact middle of the longest chapter (al-Baqarah) of the Quran, which consists of 286 verses.

Compiled From:
"Shariah Law - An Introduction" - Mohammad Hashim Kamali, pp.288-296