The Concept of Tawassuṭ and Religious Moderation in the Perspective of the Qur’an and Hadith: Principles of Balance, Justice, and the Rejection of Extremism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69900/ag.v6i1.522Keywords:
Tawassuth, Religious Moderation, Qur’an, HadithAbstract
This study aims to examine the concept of tawassuth and religious moderation based on Islamic doctrinal sources and to analyze their relevance to the dynamics of Muslim life in the contemporary era. Using the library research method, this study finds that religious moderation represents an integral theological and ethical framework in Islam, as well as a solution to various modern religious issues such as intolerance, social polarization, and misunderstandings of religious doctrine. The findings affirm that tawassuth is not merely a moral value, but a foundational religious principle that is inclusive, adaptive, and supportive of the creation of a harmonious and civilized social order. Tawassuth, or the attitude of moderation, constitutes a principal teaching in Islam that emphasizes balance, justice, and the avoidance of extremism in religious practice. From the perspective of the Qur’an and Hadith, religious moderation is understood as the ideal identity of the Muslim community, as reflected in the concept of ummatan wasathan in Qur’an Surah al-Baqarah [2]:143. This concept teaches the importance of practicing religion proportionally neither excessively (ifrâṭ) nor negligently (tafrîṭ) while upholding values of public good, tolerance, and social responsibility. The Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) further emphasizes the importance of simplicity, prudence in religious practice, and the prohibition of radicalism and fanaticism that may undermine social harmony
References
Amin, S, I Abinnashih, and R C Dewi. “Utilizing CBT Based E-Learning to Enhance the Quality of Education at MTs N 2 Purbalingga.” AL GHAZALI: Journal of Islamic Education and Thought, 2025. https://jurnal.staialjamibjm.ac.id/index.php/AL_GHAZALI/article/view/450.
Appel, M. “Transportation and Need for Affect in Narrative Persuasion: A Mediated Moderation Model.” Media Psychology 13, no. 2 (2010): 101–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213261003799847.
Aryee, S. “Transformational Leadership, Innovative Behavior, and Task Performance: Test of Mediation and Moderation Processes.” Human Performance 25, no. 1 (2012): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2011.631648.
Bierman, K. “Executive Functions and School Readiness Intervention: Impact, Moderation, and Mediation in the Head Start REDI Program.” Development and Psychopathology 20, no. 3 (2008): 821–43. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579408000394.
Blair, I V. “Imagining Stereotypes Away: The Moderation of Implicit Stereotypes through Mental Imagery.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 81, no. 5 (2001): 828–41. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.81.5.828.
Cao, D. “Understanding Consumers’ Social Media Engagement Behaviour: An Examination of the Moderation Effect of Social Media Context.” Journal of Business Research 122 (2021): 835–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.06.025.
Cavatorta, F. “Moderation through Exclusion? The Journey of the Tunisian Ennahda from Fundamentalist to Conservative Party.” Democratization 20, no. 5 (2013): 857–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2013.801255.
Chancellor, S. “Thyghgapp: Instagram Content Moderation and Lexical Variation in Pro-Eating Disorder Communities.” Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work CSCW 27 (2016): 1201–13. https://doi.org/10.1145/2818048.2819963.
Gillespie, T. “Custodians of the Internet: Platforms, Content Moderation, and the Hidden Decisions That Shape Social Media.” Custodians of the Internet Platforms Content Moderation and the Hidden Decisions That Shape Social Media, 2018, 1–288. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85051469782&origin=inward.
Handayani, F, M H Basari, and ... “Implementation of Boarding School Learning in Building Religious Character at SMA Daarul Qur’an Bandung.” AL GHAZALI: Journal of Islamic Education and Thought, 2025. https://jurnal.staialjamibjm.ac.id/index.php/AL_GHAZALI/article/view/472.
Hayes, A F. “Regression-Based Statistical Mediation and Moderation Analysis in Clinical Research: Observations, Recommendations, and Implementation.” Behaviour Research and Therapy 98 (2017): 39–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2016.11.001.
Heo, M. “Depressive Mood and Obesity in US Adults: Comparison and Moderation by Sex, Age, and Race.” International Journal of Obesity 30, no. 3 (2006): 513–19. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803122.
Jhaver, S. “Online Harassment and Content Moderation: The Case of Blocklists.” ACM Transactions on Computer Human Interaction 25, no. 2 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1145/3185593.
Knouff, C. “Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-γ Calls for Activation in Moderation: Lessons from Genetics and Pharmacology.” Endocrine Reviews 25, no. 6 (2004): 899–918. https://doi.org/10.1210/er.2003-0036.
Lee, A. “Empowering Leadership: A Meta-Analytic Examination of Incremental Contribution, Mediation, and Moderation.” Journal of Organizational Behavior 39, no. 3 (2018): 306–25. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2220.
Montoya, A K. “Moderation Analysis in Two-Instance Repeated Measures Designs: Probing Methods and Multiple Moderator Models.” Behavior Research Methods 51, no. 1 (2019): 61–82. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-018-1088-6.
Mukhlis, M. “The Effectiveness of the Lok-R Model in Enhancing Academic Achievement in the Islamic Religious Education Study Program.” AL GHAZALI: Journal of Islamic Education and Thought, 2025. https://jurnal.staialjamibjm.ac.id/index.php/AL_GHAZALI/article/view/417.
Rivai, F A, and N Rahmawati. “Workshop, Assistance, and Capacity Building in the Development of Teaching Materials Based on 21st-Century Learning.” AL GHAZALI: Journal of Islamic Education and Thought, 2025. https://jurnal.staialjamibjm.ac.id/index.php/AL_GHAZALI/article/view/470.
Roberts, S T. “Behind the Screen: Content Moderation in the Shadows of Social Media.” Behind the Screen Content Moderation in the Shadows of Social Media, 2019, 1–266. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85125972688&origin=inward.
Rusydi, A, A Khalidi, and Z Najirah. “The Effect of Colored Headscarf Punishment on Improving the Speaking Skills (Maharah Kalām) of Female Students at Ihyā Ulumuddīn Nur Sufi’iyah Amuntai Islamic Boarding School.” AL GHAZALI: Journal of Islamic Education and Thought, 2025. https://jurnal.staialjamibjm.ac.id/index.php/AL_GHAZALI/article/view/435.
Sardeshmukh, S R. “Integrating Moderation and Mediation: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.” Organizational Research Methods 20, no. 4 (2017): 721–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428115621609.
Shanock, L R. “Polynomial Regression with Response Surface Analysis: A Powerful Approach for Examining Moderation and Overcoming Limitations of Difference Scores.” Journal of Business and Psychology 25, no. 4 (2010): 543–54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-010-9183-4.
Syifa, A, and N Hasanah. “The Thoughts of Shaykh Abdus Shamad Al-Palimbani in Hidayatus Salikin on the Concept of Tazkiyatun Nafs.” AL GHAZALI: Journal of Education and …, 2025. https://jurnal.staialjamibjm.ac.id/index.php/AL_GHAZALI/article/view/424.
Tanuri, T. “Exploring the Roles and Challenges of the Sandwich Generation in the Context of Islamic Education and Family Ethics.” AL GHAZALI: Journal of Education and Thought…, 2025. https://jurnal.staialjamibjm.ac.id/index.php/AL_GHAZALI/article/view/451.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Hary Nurdi, Mahyuddin Barni, Abdul Basir, Ali Muammar
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
