Unfortunately, we have made our religion very difficult and complex burdening ourselves with practices that are contrary to Islam.

The Holy Qur’an says: “Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned. “Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error, our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us (Jews and Christians); our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Pardon us and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. You are our Maula (Patron, Supporter and Protector, etc.) and give us victory over the disbelieving people.” (Surah Al-Baqarah: 286)

The above verse underlines the fact that God does not burden people more than they can cope with.

We have been advised to pray to God to make things easy for us. Whenever the Prophet (peace be upon him) had to choose between two options he opted for the easiest one.

The Prophet at times used to fast for a few consecutive days, some of his companions tried to emulate him but he prevented them from doing so saying he got subsistence from God that provided him nourishment.

The Prophet in all his dealings had been very simple and straightforward. He never wanted to complicate things.

During the signing of the Hudaibiya Treaty, a situation arose that threatened to scuttle the agreement.

The Holy Prophet dictated that it was a treaty between Muhammad, the Prophet of Allah, and the Quraish. Suhail B. Amr, an eminent citizen of Makkah, whom the Quraish sent to negotiate the treaty with the Muslims, objected to the preamble on the ground that the Quraish did not acknowledge him as the prophet of God and as such the reference to his prophethood should be omitted. Ali did not agree to omit the relevant words. Thereupon the Holy Prophet omitted these words himself. According to the treaty of Hudaibiya, truce was declared between the Muslims and the Quraish for ten years. The Prophet’s wise move helped materialize the treaty.

Assuming that the treaty amounted to succumbing to the Quraish demands, Muslims were critical of the terms of the treaty. The Holy Prophet assured them that whatever he had done was under the command of God, and that the terms which appeared to be against the interest of the Muslims would turn out in their favor. While on the way back to Madinah, God sent a revelation that the treaty was a victory for the Muslims. The treaty of Hudaibiya indeed set the stage for the expansion of Islam to the Arabian Peninsula.

The Prophet who loved prayer more than anything else used to shorten it when he felt prolonging it would burden others. The Prophet said, “When I start the prayer I intend to prolong it, but on hearing the cries of a child, I cut it short because I know that the cries of the child will incite its mother’s passions.”

We tend to make our religious practices difficult by resorting to difficult methods and burdening ourselves with secondary or marginal issues that are not the essence of our religion.

Some of the religions prescribe shunning normal life and moving away from people — becoming monks who typically live under vows of poverty and celibacy.

Unlike these religions, Islam stresses on living among the people and helping them in their adversity. It advocates a social order where people can live in peace and harmony sharing their problems and solving them with concerted efforts.

The Prophet said: “Anyone who believes in God and the Last Day (of Judgment) should not harm his neighbor. Anyone who believes in God and the Last Day should entertain his guest generously. And anyone who believes in God and the Last Day should say what is good or keep quiet.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 73, No. 47).

We tend to become extremists in our religious practices assuming we will be rewarded immensely for our deeds. But, in reality we are transgressing the limits set by our religion — that advocates moderation in all our day-to-day affairs.