Tradition

يَاْتِى عَلَى النّاسِ زَمانٌ لا يَبْقى فِيهِمْ مِنَ الْقُرآنِ اِلاّ رَسْمُهُ وَ مِنَ الاِسْلامِ اِلاّ اِسْمُهُ، مَساجِدُهُم، يَوْمَئِذ عامَرَةٌ مِنَ البِناءِ، خَرابٌ مِنَ الْهُدى

Imam ‘Ali (‘a) is narrated to have said: “A time will come for the people when only lines will remain of the Quran, and only a name will remain of Islam, and the mosques of the Muslims will be beautiful in construction but empty of guidance and salvation.”1

Brief Commentary

It cannot be said if this prediction has been fulfilled or if it relates to a future era but what is certain is that some aspects of it are apparent today within our societies. What is stranger yet is that such Muslims are always complaining of a lack of progress and it is as if they think that only the name of Islam and the written lines of the Quran are enough as a religion. They do not see the Quran as a book of education and human progress, nor do they see Islam as a complete way of life that includes intellectual and scientific development.

• 1. Nahj Al-Balaghah, Words of Wisdom, Number 369.