As clemency is the acknowledgement of the humanity of the other, this in turn means that original perfection also always lies in the other. It is thus only in acknowledging the other that the humility of the self before the Other is possible, for every other is the image and sign of the Other. This is expressed in the testimony that there is no other but the Other. None of its specific features, i.e. its finitude, can exhaust Alterity, but neither can it have any meaning other than the manifestation of Alterity. And Alterity is sought by reading of the signs in the outer world and the inner self, signs whose opennes is complete, since it is directed towards Perfection. Thus, if Islam is regarded as something that somehow came to Europe at some time in the past, this is a denial of the fact that Islam, as submission to God, is the nature of every individual and every phenomenon, and that there is no sacred Tradition without submission. [...] There follows from this a clearer perspective on the words of the Recitation: "Today I have perfected your debt for you, and I have completed My blessing upon you, and I have approved submission for your debt" (5:3.)