Finally, before coming to the treatment of his teachings proper, there is one thing which has got to be seen in the proper perspective, namely that if Shaykh Abd al-Samad does not appear as a distinctly 'original' thinker it is above all because in traditional doctrine what is of utmost importance is the realisation of the Truth stated in the doctrine; in other words, to know is to be and knowing is being. This character in Muslim thought in general has been considered as a 'strerility'. Further, it has to be stated that from the point of view of spirituality-which in this case is that which alone matters-to be original does not carry the misleading meaning of expressing things different from others which may lead to the infamous act of creating new forms of falsehood under the banner of 'originality', but rather to reach the goal of the spiritual journey and to experience the bliss in the integration effected by divine Grace. Whatever emanates from this spiritual experience is 'original' and not 'secondary' i.e, gathered from horizontal sources. Undeniably, Shaykh 'Abd al-Samad was not the least interested in this form of 'originality'.