Islam Rediscovered
24. A Case of Discovery*
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marvellous power of winning its way into the
consciences of men.” (pp. 17-18)
The third reason why I have accepted Islam is, that
it is so thoroughly practical. Its ethical code is based
on the actual needs of human nature, and not on
some imaginary or exaggerated standard of virtue
which is unattainable. The standard set up by other
religions, for example, by Buddhism and
Christianity might, in a certain sense, be called
loftier or more transcendental; but is it possible to
realise it in actual life? The test by which an ethical
code is to be judged is not its poetical beauty, but its
practical utility, by its complete adaptation to the
needs and requirements of our human nature as it
is. As Emerson has beautifully put it: “Sirius may be
loftier than the Sun, but it does not ripen my
grapes!” We may admire Quixotic perfections in
novels and romances, but they are utterly useless in
the struggles of our everyday life. We may admire,
for example, the poetic excellence of the precept:
“When thy brother smites thee on thy right cheek,
turn to him the left also,” but does any Christian,
good, bad or indifferent, ever practise it? Take again
the doctrines of celibacy and marriage. Both
