There is nothing mysterious about spirituality in Islam. It is rather the direct result of the kind of intellectual development that takes place when a believer ponders over the Creator and His creation: he gains something in the process that may be termed spirituality. The source, therefore, of Islamic spirituality is perusal and reflection rather than any sort of mysterious exercise. That is why the Quran rejects asceticism (monasticism), referring to it as a bida‘a (innovation) in religion, which God did not prescribe for people. (57: 27)