picture in my mind

This may seem confusing, but I love it. One of the most necessary things to understand about our religion, I feel.

Islam is a practical religion. It deals with human beings as they are, not as they should be. I mean, there's always the should-be there, but it deals with them as they are, and then makes that as they are, as it should be, given they are like that. That's what Islam does. It takes human beings as they are, not as they should be -- but it makes the as-they-are as-it-should-be, given that they're like that. 

- Shaykh Hamza, The Rights and Responsibilities of Marriage