Synopsis The theme of this book is evident from its title. Its purpose is to present Islam as it is, drawing on its original sources rather than judging it by the later day interpretations and commentaries or the practices of present day Muslims in different parts of the world.  A distinction is made between Islam as presented by the Prophet Muhammad and his companions, information about which is available to us in the Quran and the sunnah and Islam as represented by later Muslim generations-both in theory and practice. This is what we call the scientific approach.