On The Notion Of The Golden Mean
in everything according to the Islamic
Tradition
The
model of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
may God honour him with His unitive graces and His salvific
peace - illustrates the equilibrium (temperance) which he
observed in everything under the rule of a divine and omnipresent
wisdom. From this follows that any persistent negligence
or acute excess can only drive the muslim toward an imbalance
(loss of self-control) or the privation of (divine) graces.
The revelation of the following quranic verses:
O
you who believe! do not forbid (yourselves) the good things
which Allah has made lawful for you and do not exceed the
limits; surely Allah does not love those who exceed the
limits. And eat of the lawful and good (things) that Allah
has
given you, and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, in Whom
you
believe. Qur'ān
5-87,88
These verses were revealed at the occasion of an explanation
given by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
peace and blessings upon him - to different questions put
to him by the companion Othman ben Mas`ūn. According
to a report by Sa`īd ben al-Musayib, Othman came to
the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
peace and blessings upon him - and said the following:
- ”O Messenger of Allah! I am constantly afflicted
by my soul speaking to me (hadith nafs), but I do
not want to act before having consulted you concerning it.
The Prophet asked: ”What does your soul suggest?”
- ”O Messenger of Allah! It incites my to castrate
myself (to preserve my chastity)” he said. The Prophet
ﷺ peace and blessings
upon him - answered: ”Not that fast, oh Othman! For
you have to know that the equivalent to castration in my
community is the practice of fasting (al-siyām).”
- ”O Messenger of Allah! My soul talks to me and says
I should withdraw to the mountain-tops to live a monastic
life, he said. And the Prophet - peace and blessings upon
him - answered him: ”Not that fast, oh Othman! The
monastic life of my community lies in the practice of retiring
to the mosques while waiting to perform the prescribed daily
prayers (al-salawat).
- ”O Messenger of Allah! My soul tries to engage me
to live the life of a travelling pilgrim (al-siyāhah)”,
he said. But the Prophet ﷺ
peace and blessings upon him - answered him: ”Not that
fast, oh Othman! You have to know that the life of a travelling
pilgrim (al-siyāhah) is in my community consists in
fighting in the way of Allah (al-ghazwu fi sabīli
Llāhi), the pilgrimage (al-hajj) and the visit
(al-`umrah) to the Holy House at Mecca.
- ”O Messenger of Allah! My soul insists I should rid
myself of all my belongings”, he said. The Prophet
ﷺ peace and blessings
upon him - answered him: ”Not that fast, oh Othman!
For charity done from time to time to care for your needs
and the needs of your family, and your charity for the poor
and the orphans is much more excellent than what your soul
incites you to do.
- ”O Messenger of Allah! My soul commands me to repudiate
my wife Khaulah”, he said. The Prophet ﷺ
peace and blessings upon him - answered him in the following
general way: ”Not that fast, oh Othman! For the emigration
in my community consists in fleeing from what Allah has
forbidden, to emigrate to me in my earthly life or to visit
my tomb after my death, or again to leave behind after your
death your wife (or wives), two, three or even four.
- ”O Messenger of Allah! Having forbidden for me to
divorce my wife, my soul hinders me to carry out the sexual
act”, he said. The Prophet ﷺ
peace and blessings upon him - answered him: ”Not that
fast, oh Othman! You should know that when a muslim man
has intercourse with his wife or his captive and if from
this sexual relationship no child is born, he will never-the-less
has assigned to him a servant in Paradise (wasīf)
(who will serve him); but if a child is born out of this
relationship and it dies before his father, it will be a
forerunner (faratan) for him and an intercessor (shafi`an)
on the Day of Judgement (ie. his child will take him by
the hand to lead him into Paradise); if however this child
dies after him, it will then become a special extra light
on the Day of Judgement”.
- ”O Messenger of Allah! My soul pushes me to abstain
from eating meat”, he said. The Prophet ﷺ
peace and blessings upon him - answered him: ”Not that
fast, oh Othman! For concerning me, I love meat and I eat
it willingly on occasion. Had I asked my Lord to nourish
me with it every day, He would have certainly accorded it
to me”.
- ”O Messenger of Allah! My soul suggests me to refrain
from perfumes”, he said. The Prophet ﷺ
peace and blessings upon him - answered him: ”Not that
fast, oh Othman! Because the archangel Gabriel - peace and
blessings be upon him - has ordered me to use perfume from
times to times. First of all don't abandon it on Fridays
(on the occasion of the Friday prayer)! Don't forget
this, oh Othman and never turn away from my sunnah (life-pattern)!
For whoever turns away from my sunnah and dies before having
had the chance to repent, will see the angles turn him away
from my basin (haud) (meaning it will not be allowed
for him to quech his thirst after which he would never again
feel any thirst)”. It was then when the above quranic
verses were revealed.
|