Don’t be such a fanatic!

Praise be to Allah.

Whoever is advised concerning something that is haraam according to sharee’ah, so that he can avoid it or give it up, or is told of an obligation so that he can fulfil it, then he says something like this, is doing wrong. What he should do, if he is advised, is to thank the person who has offered the advice, then he should look at himself and if the advice was justified, then he should avoid the haraam thing and do what is obligatory. As far as his comment “you are a fanatic” is concerned, fanaticism, laxity and moderation are all to be understood in reference to sharee’ah. Whatever is in accordance with sharee’ah is moderate; whatever exceeds that is extreme and whatever falls short of that is laxity. The standard in all cases is sharee’ah and the meaning of moderation is that which is in accordance with the sharee’ah. Whatever is in accordance with sharee’ah is moderate.