Islam As It Is
The Universality of Islam
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and another. This belief kindled a universal spirit
which caused people to regard all countries as their
own, and to think of every nation as a member of a
great world family. Before the coming of Islam, the
Arabs had been a race apart, living in seclusion
from the rest of the world. But once they had
embraced Islam, they were led to mix with other
nations and to become their companions and
partners on life’s journey.
Under the influence of Islam, Arab tribalism, with
its straining after short-term gains, and its reverence
for some and scorn for others, gave way to the kind
of internationalism which had respect for the whole
of humanity. The Arabs had their vision so
broadened by Islam that they crossed land and sea
to give full expression to their new concept of
fraternal living. No mountain was too high for them
to climb. No ocean was too deep for them to cross.
The Arabs now made advances in every field. In
navigation, for instance, they produced men of the
calibre of Ahmad ibn Majid. He it was who guided
the famous explorer, Vasco da Gama, on his voyage
across the oceans at the end of the 15th century to
