The extremists are those who burden themselves with excessive rigidity in both their religious and worldly affairs. Hence the ḥadith, “Do not be overly strict, for Allah will be strict with you.”

Consider the story of the Children of Israel when a man was killed and they began accusing one another until discord almost erupted among them. Moses said to them, “Indeed, Allah commands you to slaughter a cow” (al-Baqarah 2:67)—meaning: take a part of it and strike the slain man with it so that he will tell you who killed him. They retorted, “Do you take us in ridicule?”—in other words: Are you telling us to slaughter a cow, strike the corpse with a piece of it, and then expect him to reveal his murderer? Had they simply submitted to Allah’s command and sacrificed any cow, their purpose would have been fulfilled. Instead, they kept demanding more detail and were destroyed by their own obstinacy: “Ask your Lord to make clear to us what kind of cow it is,” then, “Ask your Lord to clarify its color,” and finally, “Ask your Lord to specify what sort of cow it is and what it does.” After Allah imposed all these restrictions on them, they finally slaughtered the cow—though they nearly failed to do so.

The same holds true for worship: when a person imposes unnecessary hardship on himself in prayer, fasting, or any other act that Allah has made easy, he ruins himself. A common example is the sick person—especially in Ramadan—whom Allah has permitted to break the fast because he needs food and drink, yet he insists on fasting. Such a person, too, fits the Prophet’s words: “The extremists have perished.”