A narration has been reported in various books of Hadith. Its translation is: “Beware of extremism in religion (iyyakum wal-ghulu), for the people before you were destroyed because of extremism in religion” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 3248). The literal meaning of the word ghulu is extremism. Extremism invariably becomes a cause of destruction.
The fact is that religion has two aspects. One is the basic aspect, and the other is the secondary aspect. If emphasis is placed on the basic aspect of religion, no harm is caused. But when excessive emphasis is placed on the secondary aspect, this gives rise to extremism and becomes a cause of destruction.
For example, in religion, the real importance lies in the spirit, while the form has a secondary status in comparison. In prayer, humility (khushu‘) holds a fundamental position, whereas the outward form of prayer occupies a secondary position. If excessive emphasis is placed on the form of prayer, and the validity or invalidity of prayer is made dependent on form alone, this constitutes extremism. The result is that people give great attention to form, while the spirit of prayer becomes practically irrelevant to them. It is this kind of rigidity that has been described in the Hadith as destruction.
The spirit of religion is always one, while differences exist in its form. If emphasis is placed on the spirit of religion, no problem arises. But if excessive emphasis is placed on form, sects come into existence. This is because unity is possible in matters of spirit, whereas uniformity is not possible in matters of form.
Therefore, the correct approach is to accept diversity in matters of form—that is, to recognize that this is also correct and that is also correct. For example, in prayer, saying Ameen silently is correct, and saying Ameen aloud is also correct. In shaking hands, shaking with one hand is correct, and shaking with both hands is also correct. If this principle of diversity in form is accepted, sectarianism will never arise in religion. (Al-Risala, April 2017)
