Nations are born in the hearts of poets; they prosper and die in the hands of politicians. - Muhammad Iqbal

I have already indicated to you the meaning of the word religion, as applied to Islam. The truth is that Islam is not a Church. It is a State conceived as a contractual organism long before Rousseau ever thought of such a thing, and animated by an ethical ideal which regards man not as an earth-rooted creature, defined by this or that portion of the earth, but as a spiritual being understood in terms of a social mechanism, and possessing rights and duties as a living factor in that mechanism.

Shah Alamgir, that high and mighty king, Pride and renown of Gurgan Timur’s line,
In whom Islam attained a loftier fame
And wider honour graced the Prophet’s Law,
He the last arrow to our quiver left
In the affray of Faith with Unbelief ;
When that the impious seed of heresy,
By Akbar nourished, sprang and sprouted fresh In Dara’s soul, the candle of the heart Was dimmed in every breast, no more secure
Against corruption our Community
Continued ; then God chose from India
That humble-minded warrior, Alamgir,
Religion to revive, faith to renew.
The lightning of his sword set all ablaze
The harvest of impiety ; faith’s torch
Once more its radiance o’er our counsels shed.

Ends and purposes, whether they exist as conscious or subconscious tendencies, form the warp and woof of our conscious experience.