When one thinks of the term “Islam” as used in the English
language to denote the whole tradition, one must think
not only of islām , but also of īmān and i .h sān . The teachings
of Islam have levels of meaning, and the religion consists of
a hierarchy that, destined to become the religion of a large
portion of humanity, had to accommodate the spiritual and
intellectual needs of the simplest peasant and the most astute
philosopher, the warrior and the lover, the jurist and the
mystic. Islam achieved this goal by making the teachings of
religion accessible on various levels from the most outward
to the most inward. But it preserved unity by insisting that
all of the members of its community share in the Sacred
Law and the central doctrine of al-taw .h īd summarized in
“ Lā ilāha illa’Llāh .” Their degree of penetration into the
meaning of Unity depended and continues to depend on the
intensity of their faith and the beauty of their soul. But in
submission to the One (al-islām) , all Muslims stand in the same manner
before God in a single community governed by the bonds of
brotherhood and sisterhood as well as amity. Paradoxically,
the multiple inner dimensions of the religion do not destroy
this unity, but in fact only strengthen it, because these inner
and higher modes of participation in the religion bring worshipers
ever closer to the One. Unity is thereby strengthened,
even in the more outward aspects of human life that all Muslims
share, whatever their degree of participation might be
in the understanding and practice of Islam.
