The fitrah (divine essence) in all of us.
our primordial human nature that leads us to tolerance
Tolerance is
proof of intelligence and a symbol of excellence. 9
In one famous
Hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is reported to have said, All of
humanity are as equal as the teeth of a comb.” 8 It is
recorded that once, while the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) sat with his companions,
a funeral cortege passed by and he stood up out of respect. A companion
remarked that this was only the funeral of a Jew, implying that that was far
too unimportant for the Prophet’s attention. He challenged this by asking, Was
he then not also a human being?” 8
In the view of
Allah (God) the whole of humanity consists of one single community.8
So what then
goes wrong? In our 21st century world, reports of racism, Islamophobia,
white supremacy, misogyny and bigotry abound. Yet none of us are born hating
each other. My premise is that as we become adolescent and then mature, the
fitrah in us is liable to become buried under our desires, fears, and pressures
by society and peers.
A child starts
out with an open, inquisitive outlook on the world, unbridled curiosity,
insofar as its surroundings allow this attitude to flourish. After at least the
age of 5 or 6, this openness to creation and humanity may dwindle; some
children start to compartmentalize their experiences using value judgments. If
we could all uncover that fitrah in ourselves, we would at once abolish all
negativity towards people and cultures that are in any way different to us. It
is as if we become corrupted by modern life and the clichés and prejudices it
sends our way.
Is it even
realistic for everyone to rediscover their fitrah”? It is sadly the case that
in some instances, a person’s fitrah (eg. a murderer’s) is so buried under
sins, materialistic desires that it is almost uneconomical to get to it. It
would require too much time, effort, even money, to rehabilitate the worst of
criminal offenders?
What many of
us fail to realize though is that this primordial nature, our fitrah, is the
true path of humanity, and the only path which can lead us to felicity.
The human
being, likewise, has a natural and inherent path for the pursuance of life,
through which he may reach his destination, perfection, and felicity. 10
If we were
asked to determine those amongst our family, friends, peers who we consider to
be open and accepting, even loving towards all humanity, it would probably
strike us that these people have certain qualities in common, they are bound to
be resoundingly optimistic, kind and generous people, people who are well on
their way to attaining felicity. In stark contrast to that are those persons
who are intolerant, bigoted, even racist; often we will observe a certain
cynicism and sarcasm in them, a negative disposition to both people and events.
In a recent study 11, it was commented that non-believers may show
higher inflexibility in thinking, at least in secularized cultural contexts
like those in Western Europe; non-believers may be less socialized and less
motivated to imagine, understand, and appreciate others’ perspectives.” So is it also that these non-believers are
further detached from their fitrah?
It is a pity
that man loses the way, puts out the light of thought and natural disposition
(fitrah), shuts his eyes, attaches his heart to so-and-so, and relies on human
and satanic powers instead of trusting God. 5
Most human
beings are caterpillars, not butterflies, so they are driven by fear. They are
driven by the need to survive. Fitrah is the butterflies. A butterfly soars in
the heavens and dances in the sun. 7
Most people
need to be shown how to soar” without being hemmed in by the pessimism and
negativity of their society. So what exactly is this fitrah, if its uncovering
will allow us to eliminate the panacea of intolerance from this world?
The ones who
are close to Allah are like her (a young child). They are pure and don’t have
even a bit of impurity. And they take light with them, trailers and trailers of
light with themselves. 1
What is this
purity, this innocence that children are born with, and how does it relate to
the divine essence? That divine essence, or fitrah, is also referred to as
mankind’s primordial nature”.
The primordial
human nature…reflects the will of God, the Exalted. 10
So each human
being has been endowed with Divine Essence. It is then up to that person to
make it flourish through keeping his mind, his heart and his intentions as pure
as possible.
The natural
human being is he who has retained the Divine primordial nature, whose mind is
unsullied by falsehood and superstition. 10
Every child is
born on the fitrah, and fitrat Allah” is described as something which is
inextricably kneaded into the very substance of their nature. 3 One
instinctive and integral part of this primordial human nature is worship,
worship of one God over everything else. This possibly provides part of the
explanation why those human beings who have retained their fitrah, are also
more tolerant.
Worship of God
demands a total disregard of personal whims and caprice; non-glorification of
any race, garment, language, land, and city; association with God, the ultimate
Power and Perfection. 5
This person
who has retained much of the purity of their primordial human nature, then is
neither taken in by other people’s superficial attachments or accoutrements,
nor does he consider his own self superior to any other person. After all,
worship is only due to Allah. Another part of the primordial nature is the love
of perfection; the heart of the person who has not sullied the fitrah will be
pulled towards it, it is this same pull towards perfection that can overcome
man’s murderous nature and that makes him determined to conquer his defects and
nurture his excellent qualities.
It is the same
essence of fitrah that renders possible the founding of communities and civil
society. Had it not been for this essence, human beings would never be willing
to give up some of [their] interests and tolerate others.4
So to retain the
purity and openness of a child, we certainly need to uncover our fitrah. Yet,
there remains one vital question unanswered: is the fitrah of a non-believer as
accessible as that of a believer? We now know the qualities of a person with
fitrah; we also know that believers exhibit greater tolerance and
open-mindedness.
This then must
be the important outcome, that the human being must progress towards faith (if
he is still lacking) in order to bring out his primordial nature. On the other
hand, a believer will always be that much closer to his fitrah, so close even
that he may not ever have to uncover” it. A society of believers is then the
pathway to a tolerant society.
Bibliography
- http://panahiyan.com/when-a-young-child-interrupts-agha-panahiyans-lecture-eng-sub/
- https://www.al-islam.org/emendation-shiite-creed-shaykh-al-mufid
- https://www.al-islam.org/forty-hadith-an-exposition-second-edition-imam-khomeini
- https://www.al-islam.org/imam-khomeini-ethics-and-politics-sayyid-hasan-islami
- https://www.al-islam.org/radiance-secrets-prayer-muhsin-qaraati
- https://www.al-islam.org/freedom-the-unstated-facts-and-points-ayatullah-misbah-yazdi
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxZoAni-8CE
- https://www.al-islam.org/core-islam-sayyid-fadhil-milani
- https://www.al-islam.org/search/site/exalted%20aphorisms%20and%20pearls%20of%20speech
- https://www.al-islam.org/islam-and-contemporary-man-muhammad-husayn-tabatabai
- https://scinapse.io/papers/2609606699
By Kirsteen James
BA (Oxon) in Philosophy and Modern Languages
Master of Studies (Oxon) in Modern European Literature
Diploma in Law (London)
PGCE (MFL) (Brunel); Teacher of German and French
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