--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I became very interested in the Islamic…" description: "\"I became very interested in the Islamic question, and thought I would try to understand it from the roots, ask very simple questions and somehow make a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/v-s-naipaul-3828_discovery_i-became-very-interested-in-the-islamic_917059.png" --- # I became very interested in the Islamic question, and… ![“I became very interested in the Islamic question, and thought I would try to understand it from the roots, ask very simple questions and somehow make a narrative of that discovery.” quote by V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/v-s-naipaul-3828_discovery_i-became-very-interested-in-the-islamic_917059.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/v-s-naipaul-3828_discovery_i-became-very-interested-in-the-islamic_917059.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/v-s-naipaul-3828_discovery_i-became-very-interested-in-the-islamic_917059.png) > “I became very interested in the Islamic question, and thought I would try to understand it from the roots, ask very simple questions and somehow make a narrative of that discovery.” [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He seeks to grasp Islam by starting from its foundations, asking basic questions, and building a personal narrative of discovery. **In simple terms:** Understanding Islam through simple, foundational inquiry. Key Takeaway Begin with basics and build personal insight. Themes exploration faith learning identity Mood inquisitive thoughtful Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - self‑study - interfaith dialogue - academic research Key Concepts religious inquiry personal narrative intellectual curiosity Questions to Reflect On - What basic questions reveal deeper truths? - How can one balance simplicity with depth? A Different Perspective Complexity of Islam may be oversimplified by a purely simple approach. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Islam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islam/) [Islamic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islamic/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) ## Related quotes > [Dig deep into your heart, where the answer spreads its roots in your being, and ask yourself solemnly, Must I write?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/dig-deep-into-your-heart-where-the-answer-spreads-its-roots-in-your/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [If you need to fudge the facts a little bit to make your narrative work, there is nothing anyone can do to stop you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/if-you-need-to-fudge-the-facts-a-little-bit-to-make-your-narrative/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [Any narrative, whether it's fiction or not, you have to approach it as though it really happened to you. I think that's the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/any-narrative-whether-it-s-fiction-or-not-you-have-to-approach-it-as/) [Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/) > [I, as a person, make anything a narrative experience because I experience things linearly. The biggest question for me, is will I go through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saschka-unseld/i-as-a-person-make-anything-a-narrative-experience-because-i/) [Saschka Unseld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saschka-unseld/) > [“I read the stories I've been told in my own way and make a narrative of them. Narrative is a chain of links, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-read-the-stories-i-ve-been-told-in-my-own-way-and-make-a-narrative/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [People make their own narrative, the media makes their own narrative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ingram-ii/people-make-their-own-narrative-the-media-makes-their-own-narrative/) [Mark Ingram II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ingram-ii/) > [My purpose is to make my narrative as truthful as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-armstrong-custer/my-purpose-is-to-make-my-narrative-as-truthful-as-possible/) [George Armstrong Custer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-armstrong-custer/) > [The point is that the reader's journey through our site is a narrative experience. Our job is to make the narrative satisfying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bernstein/the-point-is-that-the-reader-s-journey-through-our-site-is-a/) [Mark Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bernstein/) > [Galvanized people can do careless things. It is in the extreme and emotion-laden moments that distance and coolness are most required. I am tempted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/galvanized-people-can-do-careless-things-it-is-in-the-extreme-and/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [A lot of what I do is try to watch tape and understand how guys come out of breaks - what their footwork looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-kuechly/a-lot-of-what-i-do-is-try-to-watch-tape-and-understand-how-guys-come/) [Luke Kuechly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-kuechly/) > [I've had to make time to really explore all the amazing things that are out and try to understand the history of how fashion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-jackson/i-ve-had-to-make-time-to-really-explore-all-the-amazing-things-that/) [Christopher Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-jackson/) > [For a songwriter, you don't really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. And you try to understand them and take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/for-a-songwriter-you-don-t-really-go-to-songwriting-school-you-learn/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [We are different. We are equal in every way but our voices are important to each other and our need to want to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-ullmann/we-are-different-we-are-equal-in-every-way-but-our-voices-are/) [Liv Ullmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-ullmann/) > [My writing process is very feedback-based. When I do stand-up, I listen to the audience. I try to understand what's connecting, what's not connecting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/my-writing-process-is-very-feedback-based-when-i-do-stand-up-i-listen/) [Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/) > [I don't have any particular method, my approach is very simple. I try to understand the emotional graph of the character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pratik-gandhi/i-don-t-have-any-particular-method-my-approach-is-very-simple-i-try/) [Pratik Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pratik-gandhi/) ## More by V. S. Naipaul > [In Trinidad, where as new arrivals we were a disadvantaged community, that excluding idea was a kind of protection; it enabled us - for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/in-trinidad-where-as-new-arrivals-we-were-a-disadvantaged-community/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [Many writers tend to write summing-up books at the end of their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/many-writers-tend-to-write-summing-up-books-at-the-end-of-their-lives/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [My life is short. I can't listen to banality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/my-life-is-short-i-can-t-listen-to-banality/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [If you decide to move to another country and to live within its laws you don't express your disregard for the essence of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/if-you-decide-to-move-to-another-country-and-to-live-within-its-laws/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [I don't feel I can speak with authority for many other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-don-t-feel-i-can-speak-with-authority-for-many-other-people/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [To this day, if you ask me how I became a writer, I cannot give you an answer. To this day, if you ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/to-this-day-if-you-ask-me-how-i-became-a-writer-i-cannot-give-you-an/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [The world is always in movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/the-world-is-always-in-movement/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [At school I had only admirers; I had no friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/at-school-i-had-only-admirers-i-had-no-friends/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [I'm very content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-m-very-content/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [In our island myth this was the prescribed end of marriages like mine: the wife goes off with someone from the Cercle Sportif, outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/in-our-island-myth-this-was-the-prescribed-end-of-marriages-like-mine/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [In the beginning, before the arrival of the white men, I had considered myself neutral. I had wanted neither side to win, neither the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/in-the-beginning-before-the-arrival-of-the-white-men-i-had-considered/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [I'm my own writer. My material means I'm entirely separate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-m-my-own-writer-my-material-means-i-m-entirely-separate/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [The only lies for which we are truly punished are those we tell ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/the-only-lies-for-which-we-are-truly-punished-are-those-we-tell/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [I have always moved by intuition alone. I have no system, literary or political. I have no guiding political idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-have-always-moved-by-intuition-alone-i-have-no-system-literary-or/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [Where jargon turns living issues into abstractions, and where jargon ends by competing with jargon, people don't have causes. They only have enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/where-jargon-turns-living-issues-into-abstractions-and-where-jargon/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) [Explore all 121 V. S. Naipaul quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) ## More Discovery quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Throughout my work, I have assumed that the standard model is correct, and hence, the Higgs boson should be found. Although this is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashoke-sen/throughout-my-work-i-have-assumed-that-the-standard-model-is-correct/) [Ashoke Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashoke-sen/) > [There is usually no dreamer so unworldly as the anthologist. He wanders in a vast garden, lost in wonder, unable to decide often between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-usually-no-dreamer-so-unworldly-as-the-anthologist-he/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers-and-discoveries-that-will-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [ That has been another interesting discovery: that basically a city \[Lagos\] could recover from a really deep, deep, deep pit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/that-has-been-another-interesting-discovery-that-basically-a-city/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-every-invention-was-considered/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [When we look at the love of Christ, we make a wonderful discovery. Love is more a decision than an emotion! Christ-like love applauds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/when-we-look-at-the-love-of-christ-we-make-a-wonderful-discovery-love/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One > [The European talks of progress because by the aid of a few scientific discoveries he has established a society which has mistaken comfort for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-european-talks-of-progress-because-by-the-aid-of-a-few-scientific/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of-our-own-ignorance/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) [Browse all 3,125 Discovery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I became very interested in the Islamic question, and thought I would try to understand it from the roots, ask very simple questions and somehow make a narrative of that discovery.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "V. S. Naipaul" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-became-very-interested-in-the-islamic-question-and-thought-i-would/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Discovery" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-became-very-interested-in-the-islamic-question-and-thought-i-would/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/v-s-naipaul-3828_discovery_i-became-very-interested-in-the-islamic_917059.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/v-s-naipaul-3828_discovery_i-became-very-interested-in-the-islamic_917059.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/v-s-naipaul-3828_discovery_i-became-very-interested-in-the-islamic_917059.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I became very interested in the Islamic question, and thought I would try to understand it from the roots…” — V. S. Naipaul", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "V. S. Naipaul", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I became very interested in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-became-very-interested-in-the-islamic-question-and-thought-i-would/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-became-very-interested-in-the-islamic-question-and-thought-i-would/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```