The Sufis hold in high esteem some legendary personalities because they chose to live in austerity.

Is this the correct position to be held by Muslims?

In Islam the issue of asceticism does exist, in Arabic it is called Zuhd, which means in a sense, abstinence. It means abstaining from aesthetics - being satisfied with little and living a simple life. This is something which was taught by the Prophet (ﷺ). He himself in terms of the material things of this world gave up everything he had. All the things he had, he gave away. He did not try to keep anything and he advised us to be like a traveler in this world. This concept is correct. You stop under the shade of a tree for a while and then you carry on. This world, the things of this world are like the shade of that tree, it is temporary. Islam encourages the view that we should not become lost in the material world.

The Prophet (ﷺ) also encouraged us in the way of sadaqah (charity), but at the same time Islam also recognizes human needs and desires. It seeks to keep human needs and desires within certain bounds, controls, and moderation. Thus abstinence is viewed from the point of moderation. Unlike going through the extreme of abstinence, which led the Christians into monasticism - for example, giving up marriage and so forth, these are the extreme of abstinence.

When the extreme of abstinence were put in front of the Prophet (ﷺ), he rejected it. On one occasion a few men visited his wife and asked, trying to get knowledge of the way the Prophet (ﷺ) worshipped Allah. When the wife of the Prophet (ﷺ) explained to them, one of them said that “I will stay up all night in prayer because the Prophet’s (ﷺ) sins were all forgiven by God, and so we need to do more.” Therefore, he said, “I will stay all night in prayer.” The other one said, “I am not getting married.” The third said, “I will fast day and night.” When the Prophet (ﷺ) returned from his journey and was informed by his wife about the incident, he called them. This was what he said to them: “I stay awake and I sleep at night. Part of the night, I wake up and perform the prayer. I married. I fast and I break my fast,” and he added, “Whoever desires a way other than my way, he is not a true follower of mine.” [1]

The Prophet (ﷺ) has provided us with the best way. In Islam, it is the middle path; abstinence in the sense of not becoming a slave to materialism - ‘Abd Dirham, ‘Abd Dinar (the worshiper of the Dollar or the Peso). You don’t go to those extremes, but at the same time, if you do not have wealth, how can you be charitable? To be charitable is one of the noble characteristics of the human spirit. When the human spirit gives of what it has to others, it overcomes the desire to horde wealth and be greedy.

Instead it grows and that is why Zakat means growth - growth of the human spirit. If you do not have anything to give, how can you grow? So Islam does not say do not gain anything. No! Gain from this world, but share so that you can grow. This is the balance that Islam promotes. The concept of abstinence is a part of Islam, however, it is not permissible to be extreme.

Some scholars say this is a sort of reaction to the extreme materialism, which had developed in the later days of the Umayyad and the early Abbasid period of Islamic dynasties. Because so much wealth was coming in, some of the practices of the empires were setting up thrones with diamonds, jewelry, etc. And Muslims were taken by the fashion, pomp and glory; however, those people who were leaning towards abstinence reacted to this materialistic lifestyle. They went to an extreme trying to draw people away, but once you go to an extreme you deviate from the Sunnah of the Prophet (ﷺ).

Reference:

[1] Al-Bukhari, Book 67, Hadith 1; and Muslim, Book 16, Hadith 6