What is the meaning of moderation in religion?

The questioner : He says: Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.

The Shaykh : Peace be upon you.

The questioner : A young man repeats a doubt, saying: I want to be moderate in religion. I ask for clarification on what moderation is.

The Shaykh : Moderation in religion is that a person does not go to extremes in it, thereby transgressing what Allah the Mighty and Majestic has prescribed, nor does he fall short, thereby falling below what Allah the Exalted and Sublime has prescribed.
Moderation in religion is to adhere to the biography of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Going to extremes in religion is to transgress it, and falling short is to not reach it. An example of this is a man who said, "I want to stand in prayer at night and not sleep, because prayer is among the best acts of worship, so I love to keep the whole night alive with prayer." We say this is an extremist; this is an extremist in the religion of Allah, and he is not on the right path. Another man says, "I love to fast forever, because fasting is among the best deeds. Indeed, Allah the Exalted said: 'Every good deed of the son of Adam is multiplied ten times, except fasting, for it is for Me and I shall reward it.'" So I want to fast the whole day. A third man said, "I want not to marry, but to devote myself and cut myself off for the worship of Allah, and not give my soul its share of that, meaning of marriage." This occurred in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). A group gathered, and some of them said, "I fast and do not sleep," and another said, "I fast and do not break my fast," and the third said, "I do not marry women." This reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: These people went to extremes in the religion, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) disavowed them because they preferred to abandon the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), which includes fasting and breaking the fast, standing in prayer and sleeping, and marrying women. As for the one who falls short, he is the one who says, "There is no need for voluntary acts, so I do not perform voluntary acts and only come to the obligatory ones, and perhaps he also falls short in the obligatory ones." So this is one who falls short. And the moderate one is the one who follows what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Rightly Guided Caliphs were upon. Another example: three men.
In front of them is an open sinner. One of them said, "I do not greet this open sinner, and I boycott him, and I stay away from him, and I do not speak to him." The second says, "I walk with this open sinner, and I greet him, and I smile in his face, and I support him, and I accept his invitation, and I see him as no different from a righteous man." And a third man said, "I hate this open sinner for his open sinfulness, and I love him for his faith, and I do not boycott him except where the boycott is a cause for his reform. If the boycott is not a cause for his reform, but rather a cause for him to increase in his open sinfulness, then I do not boycott him." So we say the first is an extremist, meaning from the category of going to extremes. The second is one who falls short and is negligent, and the third is moderate. And so we say regarding all other acts of worship and dealings with creation: people are either falling short, going to extremes, or moderate. A third man, a third, a third.
One was a prisoner to his wife, who directed him wherever she wished. He did not turn her away from a name, nor did he encourage her to virtue. She had mastered his mind, and she became the one in authority over him. And another man had tyranny, arrogance, and haughtiness toward his wife; he did not care about her, and she was in his eyes less than a servant. And a third man was moderate; he treated her as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded: , "A believing man does not dislike a believing woman for a bad character trait in her, but he will be pleased with another good trait in her." So this last one is moderate, the first is dominant in his treatment of his wife, and the third is one who falls short. And judge the rest of the actions and acts of worship by this standard.