Exaggeration in Religion and Imitating People

Question:
There are those who see that advising in religion regarding a wrong that has spread and become popular among most people is an exaggeration in religion. They say, "Do not be severe, lest Allah be severe with you." What is the true exaggeration? And what is Your Eminence's opinion regarding what most people do in imitating others, and when they are advised, they say, "People do it"? First, those who claim that forbidding evil and interpreting the Torah is not severity in religion—this

Answer:
is a mistake. This is a reversal of the facts. In fact, the severity in religion that deters one from increasing in religion, whispering to oneself, or coming with acts of worship for which Allah has not sent down any authority, or repeating acts of worship due to whisperings, or not breaking the fast, or fasting during the day and standing in prayer at night without breaking the fast—this is the severity. As for the one who enjoins good and forbids evil, he is not the severe one; rather, he is a reformer and a regulator for Allah and His servants.