Islam literally means submission. Submission is the essence of Islam. Submission means submission — or surrender — to God. When one discovers the existence of God and makes Him his sole concern, he surrenders before Him in the complete sense of the word. When a person Islamizes his thought, his dealings, his actions, he is a Muslim. This is the true spirit of Islam.
At the same time there is a ‘form’ of Islam. However, there is a difference between the two. Submission to God is the real part of Islam, while the form is a relative part. Let us take the example of salat, or prayer. The essence of prayer is khushu‘ (THE QURAN 23: 2); that is, divine consciousness, while ruku‘ (bowing down) and sajdah (prostration) are the form of prayer. In Islam both the spirit and the form are required, but not on an equal basis. Khushu‘ is the inner part of prayer, while ruku‘ and sajdah are the external part of prayer.
Islam literally means submission; submission to God or surrender to God.
It is a psychological fact that when a person adopts a certain belief with all his heart and mind, it is bound to find external expression. This psychological fact applies to the religion of Islam as well. Basically, Islam consists of an inner spirit, but when this inner spirit is inculcated in a person in all sincerity, it is also bound to find expression in his external behaviour. Without spirit there is no value of form; and if there is spirit but no form, then it is not Islam; rather, it is something else. For example, there is a verse in the Quran about charity. It says:
Those who give to others what has been bestowed upon them with their hearts trembling at the thought that they must return to their Lord. (THE QURAN 23: 60)
This is the Quranic definition of Islamic charity. If there is charity without the fear of God, then it is not Islamic charity. Charity is Islamic in nature only when the giver possesses the spirit defined in the above verse. So is the case of all Islamic practices.
This principle applies to all the commandments of Islam. When one declares his Islam, he recites the kalima, but this kalima must entail the realization of God. The recitation of the kalima without realization of God is nothing but lip-service.
When a person adopts a certain belief with all his heart and mind, it is bound to find external expression.
In short, both the spirit and the form are required in Islam. However, spirit is the real part of Islam while the form is a relative part of Islam. The inner spirit is absolute. No erosion in the inner spirit is acceptable. Islam gives some concession in form, but there is no concession in spirit. For example, during ablutions in cold weather, Islam allows you to touch your socks instead of washing the feet. However, there is no concession in the spirit of ablutions, which is aimed at purification of the soul.
