[13] Von Kremer, _Culturgeschichtliche Streifzüge_ (my translation p. 47) Comp. Qur´an XXI, 105 with Ps. XXX VII 29; 1-5 with Ps. XXVII. The New Testament. Comp. VII, 48 with Luke XVI. 24; XLVI, 19 with Luke XVI. 25. Then again verse 35 corresponds almost word for word with Mishna Sanh IV. 5; also II. 183 with Mishna Ber. 1.2. Nöldeke, _Sketches from Eastern History_, p. 31.
Mr. Ameer Ali explains Islam as “striving after righteousness,” but Prof. Hirschfeld, in his luminous _Researches into the Composition and Exegesis of the Qur´an_, very correctly points out that Mr. Ameer Ali’s definition only reflects the theoretical and moral side of the question--limited to the initial stage of Islam.[14]
The term Islam, as time went by, included the whole of the theoretical and practical constitution of the faith and as such it is interpreted by Al-Ghazzali in his Ihya-ul-ulum (p. 104, vol. I.) Islam, says he, is an expression for submission and unquestioning obedience, abandonment of insubordination, defiance and opposition. And it is in this light, indeed, that the prophet himself regarded Islam. “The Bedwins say: ‘we believe,’ Speak! you shall not ‘believe’ (only) but say we practice Islam (Aslamna).” (XLIX. 14) In Surah III. 17 (Cf. V. 79) Islam is identified with _din_ (Cf. LXI. 7-9) and the relation between the two synonyms, says Prof. Hirschfeld, is broadly discussed by Al-Shahrastani (Milal, pp. 25 to 27) and is stated to embrace the five duties, _viz._:--Of testifying to the unity of God and the Divine inspiration of Mohamed, the duties of reciting prayers, giving alms, fasting in the _Ramadhan_, and performing the pilgrimage to Mecca. The fundamental basis of Islam is the unity of God; stern, unbending monotheism and this doctrine of the unity of God is proclaimed in the Qur´an, in season and out of season and ever and anon with augmented emphasis. To associate gods with God is the most unpardonable sin and the prophet’s extensive vocabulary of vituperation is never exhausted in attacking those who associate gods with God. In Surah VI (verses 74-79) we have one of the most charming passages testifying to the unity of God:--
And remember when Abraham said to his father, Azar, thou takest those images as God? verily I see that thou and thy people are in manifest error.