If we look at it this way...

If we look at it this way, the himself, Ali and Abu Dharr are among the distinguished men of Islam, not the scholars of Islam. Thus, I believe that the most urgent task before us is to speak of what afllicts us, to speak about it exactly, study it scientifically and come to know it. All the sufferings of those who tried to reform their society in Islamic countries, proved to be either futile or with little result. The reason was that while operating, they did not know what needed to be done.

It is certain that until we know what we want, we will not know what to do. Therefore, our first task is to know our religion and school of thought but, unfortunately, after centuries connecting this religion, we are just now beginning to come to know it. As I said in last night's lecture, there are different ways of coming to know Islam. One of them is knowing God and comparing that knowledge with the concept held in respect to other deities.

Or, we can come to know the Qur'an and compare it with other books. We can study the personality of the Prophet of Islam and compare it with other personalities who as reformers have existed throughout the long history of humanity. Or, we can come to know the distinct and distinguished individuals of that faith and compare them to ones in other faiths. It is the duty of today's intellectuals to know Islam as a school which revives humanity, that is, both the individual and society.

The mission of Islam is to direct the future of humanity. Intellectuals must see this as an irreplaceable duty. They need to take a good look at this religion and its outstanding personalities from the angle of whatever their particular field of study happens to be. As Islam has many different dimensions and manifestations, everyone can find new and detailed areas which relate to his or her special subject.

As my study was the sociology of religion, I tried to compile a kind of sociology of religion on the basis of Islam using the terms inferred and acquired from the content of the Qur'an. In the course of my study, I came up with new problems which I had never even imagined. For example, as a result of studying Islam and the Qur'an, I discovered scientific suggestions of history and sociology which reflect the Prophet's customs.