Prophetic Hadiths on Moderation

• The ḥadīth of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Al-Firdaws is a hill in Paradise, its middle and its highest part.”
• The ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them) in which the Prophet ﷺ said: “When the food is placed, eat from its edges and leave its middle, for the blessing descends upon its middle.”
• The ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said: “This religion is easy, and no one overburdens himself in the religion except that it overwhelms him. So be moderate, come close (to the ideal), and receive the good tidings.”
• The ḥadīth of the three men who considered the worship of the Prophet ﷺ to be little, so one of them said he would fast continuously, another said he would pray all night, and a third said he would not marry women. The Prophet ﷺ replied: “I fast and I break my fast, I pray and I sleep, and I marry women. Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not from me.”
• The ḥadīth of the splitting of the nations: “The Jews split into seventy-one or seventy-two sects, and the Christians split into seventy-one or seventy-two sects, and my Ummah will split into seventy-three sects.”
• His saying ﷺ: “The best of people is my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them.”
• His saying ﷺ: “Be upright and come close (to perfection), and travel in the morning, the afternoon, and a portion of the night, and be moderate, be moderate, and you will reach (your goal).”
• His description of the dīn as “al-ḥanīfiyyah as-samḥah” – the upright and easy religion.
• The advice to ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr (may Allah be pleased with them) to fast and pray in a balanced way: “Fast and break your fast, pray and sleep, for your body has a right over you…”
• The prohibition of exaggeration in worship, such as the man who vowed to stand in the sun and not sit, and those who tied ropes in the masjid to force themselves to stand – and the Prophet ﷺ ordered them to be moderate and gentle.
• His saying ﷺ: “The religion is easy, and Allah has not made hardship for you in the religion,” and his choice of the easier of two permissible matters as long as it was not sinful.
• The ḥadīth: “Read the Qur’an, but do not exaggerate in it, do not be harsh with it, and do not make worldly gain from it.”
• The ḥadīth in which Jābir ibn Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) described the prayer and sermon of the Prophet ﷺ as moderate in length.
• The ḥadīth: “None of you truly believes until his desires follow what I have brought.”
• His saying ﷺ: “The extremists will be destroyed” – he said it three times.
• His saying ﷺ regarding continuous fasting (wiṣāl): “Do not practice wiṣāl,” and his advice: “Take from deeds only what you are able to bear.”
• His saying ﷺ: “The most beloved deeds to Allah are those that are consistent, even if they are few.”
• His saying ﷺ: “No one will be saved by his deeds alone… so be upright and come close, and travel in the morning, the afternoon, and a portion of the night, and be moderate, be moderate, and you will reach (your goal).”
• The story of Salmān and Abū ad-Dardā’ (may Allah be pleased with them both), where Salmān said: “Your Lord has a right over you, your self has a right over you, and your family has a right over you, so give each one its right,” and the Prophet ﷺ approved it.
• The story of Ḥanzalah (may Allah be pleased with him), and the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: “O Ḥanzalah, there is a time and a time (saʿah wa saʿah)” repeated three times.