Assalamu alaikum
Q-Sd-D
Al qasu fil amr: to be moderate in some matter.
Qsada fulanun fi mashihi: he adopted a moderate stance in his speed.
Safaran qaasidan: moderate in journey
Al qasdu, at-taqseed : to cut something in the middle or to break something into two
Iqtasada fi amrihi: he was solid and moderate or did not get distracted this way or that:
Al qasd : for the way to be straight and clear (Tajul Uroose)
It is stated in the Qur’an in 16:9 “alal laahi qasdus sabeel” meaning, to make the truth clear, evident or the straight path is Allah’s responsibility. if ala here is taken to mean the same as ila in this ayat, then it would mean that the path to Allah is the middle path: not this way or that.
Al iqtisaad is of different kinds. When two ends are negative and the middle path is to be adopted. The Quran says, as waqsid fi masheek: 31:19; adopt moderation in your walk or in your affairs: because neither speed nor slowness is good in walk. Similarly at one end is wastefulness and at the other end is miserliness: both these extremities are bad: the good way is between the two: i.e. neither to be a big spender nor be miserly: this iqtisaad i.e. moderation is laudable:
Look examples of one end is good and the other end not, like justice and injustice, or haqq (truth) and baatil (falsehood). Here only one end is good, not the other end: only he is laudable who adopts the path haqq (truth), not one who moves in between Haq and baatil. Similarly justice and injustice. However, there is another group who keep a path in between, an example is found in surah Faatir where it has been said faminhum zaalimul linafsihi wa minhum maqtasidun wa minhum saabiqun bilkhairaat 35:32, meaning, there are among them some who wrong their own souls; some who follow a middle course; and some who are, by Allah's leave, foremost in good deeds (see also 5:66). This last among the three is the best obviously. The first group is obviously wrong. But between them, there is a group which does proceed both virtuous deeds or evil. This group will be better than the oppressive group but below the third: but its modus operandi will not be laudable, according to Qur’anic criterion.
Islam is the way of the Haqq, not the middle path between Haqq and baatil: and the moderate qaum is one which adopts the way of Haqq, not which moves in between Haqq and baatil: see heading waw, siin, tha for the meaning of wast:
أُمَّةً وَسَطًا
Waw, siin, tha
Al-wast: the middle part of anything: the point which is equidistant from both sides: wusutush shams: for the sun to be in the middle of the sky: Muheet says that al-wasat and al-wast is the middle point which is equidistant from all sides: Since the mean point is the best point i.e. with regard to exaggeration etc therefore this word is used to mean the best: waasitul qilaadah: the middle part of a necklace which is usually the best part: alwaseet: intermediary who intervenes between two opponents: The Qur’an says about the horses in battle: fawasatna bihi jam’aa: 100:5 they enter the ranks of the enemies.
The Qur’an says about the Muslim Ummat (the nation of the Muslims): wa kazaalika ja’alnaakum ummatan wasatan litakunu shuda’a alan naas: 2:143 thus we have made you a central or wast ummat or nation: which is duty bound to oversee the deeds of all mankind: for a qaum to be able to do this the qaum must be international and equidistant from every qaum: i.e. neither leaning towards any particular people nor estranged from another so that everyone is equal in its eyes: just as the centre is at an equal distance from every point in the circle it is obvious then that this position can be attained only by a nation which never moves away an inch from justice and adl : only such a qaum can oversee the deeds of mankind: thus ummatan wast means a qaum which enjoys a central position internationally which oversees the deeds of all nations internationally and resolves all international disputes with full justice : the Qur’an had fixed this place for the qaum of the momineen: It is noteworthy that the Qur’an had suggested this system for the resolution of international conflicts a time when the world was even unaware of the concept of the internationalism.
Regards,
Optimist