Islam Rediscovered
14. Spirituality in Islam
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Existing at the level of materialism is like
descending into animality. Materialism is, in other
words, a form of shallowness. The real man is one
who discovers the secret of living on the elevated
plane of spirituality. If in materialism there is the
pleasure of laughter, in spirituality there is the
pleasure of pain. If materialism is to live a life of
limitations, spirituality is to live in limitlessness.
THE UNIVERSE—A SOURCE OF DIVINE
INSPIRATION
The universe has been fashioned by God in a way
that it may become a source of spiritual inspiration
for man. According to the Qur’an, it is the quality of
tawassum
(15:75) that enables one to find inspiration
in the universe. What is
tawassum
? It is the ability to
understand the signs of nature. That is, to observe
the phenomena of the universe in order to draw
lessons from them and receive spiritual
nourishment from physical events.
Tawassum
is, in a sense, a matter of conversion, on a
parallel with grass entering the body of the cow and
through a natural process being transformed into
milk. Similarly, the truly religious person is like a
