that it is a burden on the soul, tires it out, and invites boredom—and boredom, in turn, breeds dislike of worship. When a person becomes weary of something, he inevitably comes to detest it.
Likewise, the one who said, “I shall fast perpetually,” remaining in a state of fasting through summer and winter alike—this is undeniably strenuous.
The third man said, “I will keep away from women and never marry.” That, too, is hard on a person—especially on the young, for whom giving up marriage is particularly difficult. Moreover, tabattul (lifelong celibacy) and refraining from marriage are forbidden. ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn reported: “The Prophet ﷺ used to forbid us from tabattul; had he permitted it, we would have castrated ourselves.”
The point is that the forms of worship these men proposed were onerous and contrary to the Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ nonetheless questioned them: “Did you really say such-and-such?” They replied, “Yes.” He said, “By Allah, I am the most God-fearing among you and the most pious, yet I fast and break my fast, I pray and sleep, and I marry women. Whoever turns away from my sunnah is not of me.” In other words, whoever abandons his path and adopts harsher forms of devotion is not of him.
This shows that a person should practice moderation in worship—indeed, moderation in all matters. If he falls short, he forfeits much good; if he is overly severe, he will grow tired, become incapable, and turn back. Therefore a person should, in all his actions