It is narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺsaid: Islam initiated as something strange, and it would revert to its (old position) of being strange, so good tidings for the strangers.
(Sahih Muslim)
Islamicteachings are so akin to human nature but when they were preached, people took them as strange. Also, Islamic preaching started at Makkah, the birthplace of the Holy Messenger but the atmosphere did not prove congenial to its growth and the inhabitants treated the Holy Messenger as a stranger. He had to find a new abode in Madinah – a place where he and Islam both were strangers. But it proved to be very congenial, for it made an amazing progress. The Blessed Messenger became the central figure of Arabia, and won a large number of adherents. Islam became the most powerful religion and began to gain ascendancy even far beyond the frontiers of Arabia.
The second part of the hadith is a prophecy. The Muslims are so engrossed in other pursuits of life that a large majority of them seem to have not even a nodding acquaintance with Islam. Their ideals, their individual and social behaviour, their tastes and tendencies, their manners and habits, their political, economic and social systems are nothing but a blind imitation of un-Islamic values. These values have taken such a firm hold on the minds of the Muslims that Islamic values appear strange to them and those who uphold them are considered strangers.