Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said, in what he quoted from 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Perishing is the opposite of remaining, meaning that they were destroyed and lost. The ones who are extreme are those who are severe in their religious and worldly affairs. For this reason, it came in the hadith: Look at the story of the Children of Israel when they killed a person and they disputed and argued over it until the fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) was about to break out among them. So Musa (peace be upon him) said to them: Meaning, take a part of it and strike the dead man with it, and then it will tell you who killed him. So they said to him: Meaning: Tell us to slaughter a cow and strike the dead man with a part of it, and then it will tell you who killed him. If they had submitted and surrendered to the command of Allah and slaughtered any cow, their objective would have been achieved. But they were difficult and stubborn, so they perished. They said, "Call upon your Lord to make clear to us what it is?" Then they said, "Call upon your Lord to make clear to us what its color is?" Then they said, "Call upon your Lord to make clear to us what it is and what its work is?" And after it was made difficult for them, they slaughtered it, and they were almost not to do it. Likewise, among the severity in worship is when a person is severe with himself in prayer or fasting or in other things that Allah has made easy for him. If he is severe with himself in what Allah has made easy for him, he is perishing. Among this is what some of the sick people do, especially in Ramadan. Allah has permitted them to break their fast because they are sick and need to break it by eating and drinking, but they are severe with themselves and remain fasting. So we also say that the hadith applies to them. Among this is also what some of the striving students in the chapter of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) do. You find that when verses or hadiths regarding the attributes of the Lord (Mighty and Majestic) pass by them, they start digging into them and asking questions that they were not tasked with, and upon which the Salaf (the earliest generations) of the Ummah, the Companions, the Tabi'un (the generation after the Companions), and the Imams of guidance after them did not proceed. You find one person digging into things that are not among the matters for which he was tasked, out of extremity and exaggeration. So we say to these people: if what sufficed the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) suffices you, then hold back. And if it does not suffice you, then may Allah not suffice you. And be certain that you will fall into severity, difficulty, and anxiety. For example, some people say that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has fingers, as came in the authentic hadith: So he searches for how many of these fingers there are? Do they have fingertips? How many fingertips do they have? And so on. Likewise, for example, He descends to the lowest heaven every night when the last third of the night remains. He says, how does He descend? How does He descend? The last third of the night revolves around the whole earth? Does that mean He is constantly descending? And so on, of speech for which they are not rewarded and for which they are not praised. Rather, they are closer to sin than to safety, and they are closer to blame than to praise. These are matters for which the human being was not tasked, and they are from the matters of the unseen. And the one who is better than him and more eager to know Allah by His names and attributes did not ask about them. It is obligatory for him to hold back from them and to say, "We heard and we obeyed, and we believed and we had faith." As for searching into fine details that have no benefit, then this is undoubtedly from extremity. Among this is also what some of the students do by introducing rational possibilities into the textual evidences. You find him saying, "It is possible that it is such and such, and it is possible that it is such and such," until the benefit of the text is lost, and until the entire text remains doubtful and nothing is derived from it. This is a mistake. Take the apparent meaning of the texts and leave the rational possibilities. If we applied rational possibilities to the textual evidences in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), not a single hadith or verse would remain by which a person could argue. If everything were brought upon them, these rational matters may be illusions and fantasies that Satan throws into the heart of a person to shake his 'aqidah (creed) and his faith, may Allah protect us from that. Among this is also what some of the severe people do in wudu' (the ablution for prayer). You find, for example, that he performs wudu' three, four, five, seven, or more times, while he is in a state of well-being regarding that. It is mentioned that Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to perform wudu', and if you looked at the ground beneath him, there were only drops of water from the small amount of water he used. Some people, you find, are severe with the water, so Allah makes it severe for them. If he follows this waswas (whispers), four, five, six, or more times will not suffice him. He follows Satan until he goes beyond his limit until he says, "Is there any sane person who behaves in this behavior?" In ghusl (the full ritual bath) from janabah (major ritual impurity) as well, you find that he tires himself, tires himself greatly in the ghusl, in putting water in his ears, in putting water in his nostrils, and so on, so he tires himself. All of this falls under the saying of the Messenger (peace be upon him): So everyone who is severe with himself in a matter in which Allah has been lenient with him falls under this hadith. And Allah is the One who grants success.