MODERATION OF ISLAM

Moderation literally refers to the Arabic word "wasat." Ibn Faris says that "wasat" means middle. It is a sound construction that indicates justice and fairness. The rightest thing is the center, and it is in the middle. Ibn Manzur says, "the middle of a thing is between its two ends." The middle thing is always the greatest and finest, much as the pasture's middle is preferable to its two ends and the middle of a riding horse to its two ends. So, as you suggest, "moderate" might have an extreme connotation. I sat in the middle of the people, that is in the middle of them. Likewise, when the sun is in the middle, means in the middle of the sky. The middle of the necklace is the essence that is in the middle of it, and it is the best of it. It is literally used to say: He is among his people, i.e. the best of them, and in the Noble Qur'an: “The middle of them said" (Qur'an, 68:28). The middle prayer is termed so because of its superior righteousness to all other prayers. The center or middle of something is also the most appropriate place to be, and the definition of the word "middle" is "anything that lies between good and bad."