ISLAMIC SPIRITUALITY

permanent source of spiritual inspiration. In brief, the universe is a manifestation of the attributes of Almighty God. Hence, it is a source of spiritual nourishment for those who want to lead a divine life on earth. There is nothing mysterious about spirituality in Islam. It is rather the direct result of the kind of intellectual development that takes place when a believer ponders over the Creator and His creation: he gains something in the process that may be termed spirituality. The source therefore, of Islamic spirituality is perusal and reflection rather than any sort of mysterious exercise. The Prophet Muhammad said: “God plants wisdom in the heart of one who shows disinclination for the world.” There is life for man, in spirituality: this is indeed the real life for man. Knowledge and Truth There are two kinds of knowledge: knowledge of things and knowledge of truth. So far as 'things' are concerned, they display no attribute which cannot be elucidated by direct argument. But where truths are concerned, it is only indirect argument which can throw any light upon them. Indeed, in the case of scientific truths, the validity of indirect, or inferential argument is a matter of general acceptance. Since religious truths are proved by the logic of similar inferential argument, it may legitimately be argued that they fall into the same intellectual bracket as scientific truths.