Real Revolution — Page 77
77 to assume the form of a regular philosophy, with a certain capacity for overawing and confusing the human mind. At the same time circumstances had sprung up which pointed out some subtle ways for realising the oneness of the Divine Being, a proper grasp of which, however, was far more difficult than the elementary conception of the unity of Gɔd. . For instance, idol-worship is to be met with in the world even today; but when the idol-worshippers are questioned on the point, they hasten to repu diate the idea that they worship any idol; they claim that all they do is to concentrate their mind on meditation by means of an object in front to hold their attention. In other words, the shirk is there, but it has been given a new form by a novel explanation. This is the reason why in regard to Abraham it has been repeatedly said: وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكين (:136:12 ; 80:6 ; 21:16 1) that he was not a mushrik, while in regard to Noah no such thing has been said, since in Noah's time shirk was only of a superficial kind, which had not come much into vogue. No very great measure of intellectual attainment was needed to avoid it, the rude forms it was tending to take having been too apparent to take in most people. In the days of Abraham, however, shirk from outward forms of habit and custom, had gone deeper into an atti-