The Reality of Extremism

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)