The Creation Plan of God
Discovery of Islam
~ 23 ~
Islam, but society on the whole was found
drastically lacking in the features of the early
Islam.
This is what is meant by Islam becoming “a
stranger,” as in the above-quoted prediction of the
Prophet. In latter times this difference has become
so marked that the Islam of the early days has come
to appear strange to the Muslims of today. Some
basic reasons for this transformation are outlined
below:
SEPARATION OF SPIRIT AND FORM
The first reason for this difference lies in the
separation of the spirit from the form. In later
generations the form remains intact but the spirit is
lost, rather like a fruit with its skin intact but
altogether devoid of pulp.
For instance, in the first phase
iman
(faith) meant
realization of God, while in later times
iman
becomes synonymous with the recitation of the
creed of Islam (
kalimah
). In the early phase
ibadah
(worship) meant
khushu,
(spiritual devotion) but in
later times it becomes synonymous with a set of
