Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, said that the moderation of Islam and its ease and mercy towards people become clear in the philosophy of command and prohibition of its legislation. He explained that the rulings of the Sharia obligations revolve between commands and prohibitions. His Eminence said that the formulas of commands and prohibitions, contained in the Noble Qur’an and the definitive Sunnah, are not of the same degree. Rather, the degrees of demand varied between obliging Muslims to do something or not to do it, or not to oblige them at all although the demand’s linguistic form may be the same in both cases.

During the fourteenth episode of his Ramadan program, Grand Imam At-Tayyeb Talk, which has been broadcast for the fifth year, he made it clear that the religious obligations are divided into four sections. The first is obligatory and imperative, and it is referred to as wājib (obligatory) such as prayer. The second is mustaḩab (commendable); it is requested not in the sense of obligation, but as something desirable, such as recording and writing debts. The third is prohibition by way of definiteness; this is referred to as ḥarām (prohibited or forbidden), acts of this kind are deemed wrong by the Sharia; drinking alcohols is an example. The fourth is makrūh (disliked); it is recommended that this type be left rather than be done. Its ruling is that the one who abandons it is rewarded, and the one who does it is not punished. His Eminence emphasized that not every command or prohibition mentioned in the Qur’an and the Sunnah is doomed as either obligatory or prohibited.

The Grand Imam emphasized that a great deal of the anarchy of contemporary fatwas is due to mixing the commendable up with the obligatory, and the disliked up with the forbidden. The inference that something is obligatory rather than commendable merely by the occurrence of an order to do it, and the prohibition of the disliked merely by the occurrence of an order not to do it is against the logic of Sharia. The intrusion of this crooked jurisprudence into our social life, especially family life is dangerous; and so is the resulting chaos of marriage and divorce, such the promotion of the claim that the default case of marriage is polygamy, and that violating it is contradictory to the Sunnah.

The Grand Imam asked the following question: Is every command mentioned in the Noble Qur’an or the purified Sunnah obligatory for a Muslim? He indicated that the scholars answered this question in the negative. He explained that the command may refer to something obligatory, but it may also refer to something that is neither obligatory nor commendable; it may merely mean that it is permissible to do something or not to do it. His Eminence added that scholars of fundamentals of religion have counted 25 meanings denoted by commands other than the meaning of obligation. His Eminence emphasized that explaining the philosophy of restriction in the concept of the command, its formulas and connotations narrows to a great extent the circle of obligations in the practical and social life of a Muslim, and secures for him freedom of movement in an endless circle of reward and permissibility.

The Grand Imam noted that this view reveals the inner harmony between the Qur’an and the universe, and that they are two sides of one and the same reality. The Qur’an is like an audible universe, and the universe is like a visual Qur’an that is meditated on. His Eminence indicated that the tendency to multiply religious obligations and branch them out into minor ones, and to propose too many obligatory and supererogatory acts of worship undermines the virtue of mental contemplation encouraged by the Qur’an. The Qur’an relies on this virtue for discovering facts and knowledge of existing beings as they are. This activity is known as Divine Wisdom; the Qur’an mentioned it, praised it and commended those who seek it, as stated in His saying, Exalted be He: “He grants Wisdom to whomever He wills. Whoever is granted wisdom has actually been granted much benefit. No one constantly takes heed except those endowed with intellect” (Qur’an, 2: 269).

Grand Imam At-Tayyeb Talk has been broadcast for the fifth year on Egyptian and Arab channels. The program was launched in Ramadan 2016. This year, 2021, the program explains the characteristics of the Islamic religion, the moderation of Islam and its manifestations, the rules of legal obligations, the ease of Sharia, the sources of legislation, and refutations of fallacies about the Prophet's Sunnah and heritage.