Excesssivenes - Inner Clarity & Stability

In the Qur’an, those who are excessive are people who transgress proper limits, morally, spiritually, socially, or materially.

Excess (isrāf) is not limited to money or consumption; it includes excess in behavior, desire, power, sin, arrogance, and even despair.

The Qur’an repeatedly condemns excess because it represents a departure from balance, which is central to Islamic understanding of human nature (fitrah).

Key Characteristics of the Excessive in the Qur’an

The Qur’an describes the excessive as people who:

1. Overstep moral boundaries: They go beyond what is permitted, even when guidance is clear.

2. Follow desires without restraint: Desire becomes the master rather than the self being disciplined.

3. Abuse power or blessings: Wealth, authority, or ability are used without accountability.

4. Persist in wrongdoing: Excess is not a momentary slip but a repeated pattern.

5. Lose inner balance: Excess leads to spiritual imbalance and moral blindness.

   
   

Importantly, excess is the opposite of moderation, which the Qur’an presents as the ideal human posture.

Qur’anic Ideal of Balance

Islam emphasizes wasatiyyah (the middle way).

The Qur’an presents the human being as a steward, not an owner, of life, desires, and power. Thus, excess is not enjoyment itself, but loss of moral control.

Self-Purification (Tazkiyat al-Nafs)

Tazkiyat al-nafs means purifying, disciplining, and elevating the self so that it aligns with:

• Fitrah (the natural God-given disposition),

• Reason (`aql),

• and divine guidance (wahy).

It is not self-denial or self-hatred, but moral and spiritual refinement.

The Qur’an makes this central to success:

“Successful indeed is the one who purifies it, and failed is the one who corrupts it.” (Qur’an 91:9–10)

In One Line Tazkiyat al-nafs is the disciplined return of the self to its fitrah through responsibility, knowledge, and direct reliance on God, without intermediaries.

Islam describes the self (nafs) in states, not fixed identities:

• The Commanding Self (al-nafs al-ammārah)

  Drives toward desire and impulse if unchecked.

·       “Indeed the self commands to evil…” (Qur’an 12:53)

• The Self-Reproaching Self (al-nafs al-lawwāmah)

  Aware, struggling, feeling guilt and accountability.

• The Tranquil Self (al-nafs al-muṭmaʾinnah)

  At peace through alignment with God.

·       “Return to your Lord, pleased and pleasing.” (Qur’an 89:27–28)

As an example (Extravagance) belongs to the lower commanding self; moderation and discipline are signs of spiritual ascent. Tazkiyah is the journey from the first to the last via moderation and spiritual ascent.

Tazkiyah works on three integrated levels:

1. Correct belief (ʿAqīdah)

   • Knowing who God is

   • Knowing who you are

   • Knowing your purpose

     Without correct belief, discipline becomes hollow or ego-driven.

2. Inner struggle (Mujāhadah / Jihād al-Nafs)

   • Resisting the commanding self (al-nafs al-ammārah)

   • Training the self through restraint, patience, and awareness

   • Replacing impulses with intention

3. Consistent practice (ʿIbādah and Akhlāq)

   • Prayer, fasting, charity

   • Truthfulness, humility, justice

     These practices reshape the soul over time.

From this perspective:

• Excess is a disease of the nafs and Tazkiyah is its treatment

As the excessive self:

• seeks immediate gratification,

• resists accountability,

• and rejects limits.

The purified self:

• accepts discipline,

• practices restraint,

• and seeks long-term moral clarity.

Doctrinal not Conceptual

Many traditions warn against excess:

• Buddhism emphasizes moderation through the “Middle Path,” avoiding indulgence and extreme asceticism, seeks detachment from desire, but without a Creator-centered purpose.

• Greek philosophy (e.g., Aristotle) promotes balance and virtue as a mean between extremes.

• Christian monasticism disciplines desire through restraint.

• Hindu yogic paths aim at self-realization, sometimes dissolving the self into the absolute.

• Modern psychology focuses on self-regulation, but often without moral transcendence.

  
  

However, Islam differs in three key ways:

• Balance is grounded in tawḥīd (oneness of God), not merely psychological harmony No guru mediates accountability or No monk replaces self-discipline.

• Responsibility is personal and direct, no intermediaries purify the self on one’s behalf. No priest absolves excess.

• Discipline (tazkiyah) is integrated into everyday life, not withdrawal from it.

Thus, Islam frames excess not as a philosophical error alone, but as a spiritual breach of divine trust.

• The self is disciplined, not erased

• Desire is regulated, not denied

• Growth is tied to accountability before God

• Success is not self-mastery alone, but God-conscious mastery of the self

disciplining the self without destroying it

Excess is condemned not because desire exists, but because desire becomes unrestrained.

Be Alert:

Violation of Fitrah

In Islam, fitrah is the innate human disposition inclined toward truth, balance, and recognition of God. The Extravagant musrif violates this inner compass.

Allah says:

“So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth the fitrah of Allah upon which He has created mankind.”(Qur’an 30:30)

Extravagance occurs when the self:

• prioritizes desire over guidance,

• excess over balance,

• ego over submission to God.

Thus, isrāf is not accidental, it is a conscious drift away from fitrah.

Final Reflection

In the Qur’an, extravagance is ultimately a spiritual disorder, not an economic one.

It represents resistance to fitrah ( the innate human disposition ), rejection of guidance, and misuse of freedom.

Moderation, gratitude, and self-restraint are presented as the path to inner stability and moral clarity.

Conclusion

In the Qur’an, the Extravants (musrifūn )are not merely wasteful people, they are those who exceed God’s limits by abandoning balance, fitrah, and self-discipline.

Extravagance represents a failure of self-purification and personal responsibility.

Through tazkiyat al-nafs, Islam offers a path back to harmony, where the self, intellect, and heart align under tawḥīd.

The Qur’anic call is not to suppress the self, but to restore it to its natural, balanced state, free from excess and anchored in Divine Guidance.

Allah knows Best