Origins

Fitrah and Our Sense of the Sacred

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has said, “Every child is born in his fitrah (the natural belief, or instinct). By way of his parents, he secures his identity, whether a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian.” Or, for that matter, whether a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Shinto, a Confucian, or a Taoist, to name some others.

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has said, “Every child is born in his fitrah (the natural belief, or instinct). By way of his parents, he secures his identity, whether a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian.” Or, for that matter, whether a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Shinto, a Confucian, or a Taoist, to name some others.

Even when one or both parents have swerved from life’s ideal path, their fitrah would not permit them to do the same to their children, for a father who steals would not advise his children to do the same. As such, while we may embrace different ways of living, we cannot suppress, reject, or deny our fitrah that is our human nature, no matter who we are as long as we are called human beings in the true sense of the word. A person who is disobedient to his parents and ignorant of his religion, would somehow, be guided by his fitrah in his conduct of life, even if he had committed things that are unbecoming, as feeling regretful for the unpleasant things we did is surely a sign of our good-natured fitrah.

An essential aspect of our fitrah is our tendency for the sacred. Human beings, since the beginning of history, have always felt that their existence is not complete nor fulfilling if they do not feel a sense of sacredness in them and the things around them. Different societies interpret sacredness differently. Some societies, such as the primitive people, see sacredness in the natural environment that they inhabit. Primitive people depend on the natural environment for food, shelter, and clothing, but they have always felt that certain forces are dwelling and moving in their natural habitat and unless appeased, these forces could disrupt their living condition. Not knowing what these forces are and where they come from, these people feel that there are boundaries in the natural environment upon which they should not intrude, otherwise, these forces would be stirred from their domain of quietude and move in the direction of their human counterparts.

Not only primitive people, but people in all times and places have always perceived the natural environment to be a mysterium tremendum et fascinans - a mysterious presence that seems to astound its human inhabitants, either with its beauty and usefulness, or with its wrath and prowess.

ANCIENT GREEK BELIEFS 

Nature is at once the image of a beautiful lady as well as that of an angry man. The ancient Greeks, for instance, despite their civilizational achievements, thought that the world they lived in was full of gods - male and female. Zeus was the chief god, Poseidon was the god of the seas, and Hades was the god of the underworld. Asteria was the goddess of the stars, and Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, Nature, and birth. The gods and goddesses ruled the world, but they also fought among themselves.

CHINESE ANCESTRAL GUARDIANS

The Chinese, on the other hand, see their world as inhabited by dead ancestors, especially by those who, during their lifetime, held public offices and were regarded as upright personalities. After their demise, they went on to become guardians of the living. They communicate with their living ones through the proper rituals that their living ones administered for them. For the Chinese, human beings are not just ordinary beings. They can turn into sacred beings once they die.

Sensing sacredness evokes in us the regard and respect for the things we see, touch, and feel. But as humans, we have the tendency to stretch our regard for these things beyond what they are, that these things carry a certain divinity we bind ourselves to, or even worship, for that matter. We see in stones and woods, fire and water - their power for our utility, and yet we also see that their power can loom over our psychology to the extent that we regard them as something to be fearful of.

The Chinese think that things, incidents, and even numbers have sacred elements that carry good and bad omen. Just like for some Westerners, ‘13’ is considered an unlucky number, the Chinese sees ‘4’ as an unlucky number because the number in Chinese sounds like death, and therefore, the Chinese would avoid having the number for their car plates, for instance, in case some mishap might happen to them because of the power the number carries.

In some societies, some people are regarded so special because of what they can do for others that after they die, they are not only remembered for what they did; they turn into some semi-divine beings, in the hope that they would continue to loom in the hopes and expectations of those who seek their intervention in times of plights and crises.

CONFUCIUS, THE MODEL PAR EXCELLENCE OF CHINESE CIVILIZATION, HIMSELF SAID, “I DO NOT CREATE. I ONLY TRANSMIT.

WITHOUT SACREDNESS…

Our inability to cope and deal with the many complexities and questions surrounding our human existence was said, by some, as the reason that has turned us in the direction of an outside source for answers. A person who fears that his boat will sink in the face of a wave, for instance, has the courage to believe that his boat will not sink because there is some kind of supernatural or divine intervention coming from somewhere ‘out there’ to appease the wave and make his boat safe. Such is the unique character of the human species that without sacredness, life is unthinkable, and civilization unrealisable.

In the face of this uniqueness about the human attachment for the sacred, the connection between the human yearning for sacredness and the source of this sacredness, in the view of Islam is, instead of ascribing a memory or a gratitude to things that live and die, the memory and gratitude should be directed at the source by which these things emerge from and return to. This source is God. When Prophet Muhammad (SAW) passed away, some of the Companions (RA) could not accept this news and started to behave erratically. Abu Bakr (RA), the Prophet’s closest Companion as well as the first Caliph of Islam, had to calm these people down. Abu Bakr (RA) told them, “If you worship Muhammad, know that Muhammad is dead. But if you worship God, know that God is alive.”

All religious traditions and even philosophical schools spoke about how our human desires can cloud the human intellect – no matter how intelligent a person may be, his human desires can cause him to behave irrationally and erratically. Human beings, although they may serve as models for human behaviour, cannot by themselves, be the source of the models. The source of the models has to come from somewhere.

CONFUCIUS SPOKE OF THE WAY

Confucius, the model par excellence of Chinese civilization, himself said, “I do not create. I only transmit.” What Confucius transmits is the Way, and the Way is the Way of Heaven. The Dao-De Jing (Tao-Te Ching), a foundation thought of Taoism and Chinese civilization, which says, “Humans model upon earth, earth models upon heaven, heaven models upon the Way, and the Way models upon What has existed from time immemorial.”

BRAHMAN IS THE REASON

Hinduism speaks of Brahman, the reason for all existence. However, Brahman cannot be described as to what it is; yet, it is at the same time everywhere and nowhere, everything and nothing. A Hindu who looks at a tree not only sees a tree, but sees also Brahman by which the existence of the tree becomes possible.

THE GREEK THINKERS

Even Plato and Aristotle, two very important Greek thinkers whose thoughts have impacted both Western and Islamic civilizations, came to the conclusion that behind everything that exists, there is a source behind their existence. Plato calls this source the Form, and everything that exists in this world is a carbon-copy of a form that is carried into their physical existence. Aristotle thinks that things move from the particular to the general, from things that we sense to things that we think, and from materiality to intellectuality. For many ancient Greek thinkers, material things are impure whereas non-material things, such as thought, are pure. Therefore the life of a human being is to move from impurity to purity, from material concerns of life to spiritual concerns of life, from satisfaction of sensual desires to satisfaction in knowledge.In short, all religious traditions and philosophical schools of thought hold the same view that things of Nature, as well as human beings, cannot be the ground of reality. The ground of reality must be one not immersed by impurity. And what would this be? For Muslims, it is God, it is Allah (SWT).

In this regard, inviting to Islam is to engage with others on our fitrah, about what our good-natured soul is about, and how we can inspire it to become a meaningful aspect of our humanity, for the other whom we engage with, and more so for us who engage with the other. Inviting to Islam, while it appears to be about reaching out to others, is really a venture and journey of self discovery so that in finding others, I find me, and in finding me, I find my fitrah, and in finding my fitrah, I find God and my meaning as a human being.

Islam as a Religion

As the basic meaning of religion religare is “to bind together”, Islam is likewise comprehensive and all inclusive. This means that nothing falls outside the parameters and borders of Islam as a religion. As each religion is a holistic identity and entity by itself with its own community, Islam embraces all aspects of life including those that are considered to be outside the domain of religion by some communities, such as the so-called worldly matters. Islam as an institutionalised and structured belief system does not just deal with matters of life and death or origins and identities or directions and destinies, Islam provides a comprehensive system of thought that governs, supports and develops the intellectual, spiritual and daily matters of living in a diverse world.

The Meaning of Islam

Islam as a religion is described as din which means a complete system of thought and life. The root word of din also denotes the idea of being in “debt”. Putting them as a whole, the word al-din points toward the idea of indebtedness of the human beings to God, their Creator and Sustainer. This indebtedness produces a state of inborn bondage to God, which Muslims calls Allah, and thus a natural inclination in the human beings to reach out to God connecting them back to God. When this feeling is translated into actions, the willingness to submit to a Transcendental authority takes place. Submission is a meaning of the word Islam which comes from the root meaning of “peace” and “security”, pointing us towards ideas and concepts of willingness, acceptance, obedience, surrender and resignation to Allah the Almighty Creator. Both these words dīn and islām complement and enhance each other, namely the submission of a human being to God as an expression of indebtedness and bondage which necessitates obedience and trust in Him. Obedience to the Creator is expressed in various forms such as through the rites and rituals, compliance with the do’s and don’ts, proper conduct and behaviour, performing responsibilities and respecting rights of all and sundry, doing all that is good and worthy as reflected in the lifestyle and the ethical conduct of Muslims, the followers of Islam. The word Muslim, which denotes the follower of islām means “the one who submits”. Therefore a Muslim is he who surrenders or submits to Allah  and the best among the Muslims are the Messengers and Prophets who are in themselves role-models to the various communities that they were sent to, culminating with the last Prophet and Messenger Muḥammad peace be upon all of them.

As a proper noun al-islām, it is the religion of Allah sent to human beings in the form of revelation through His Messenger and Prophet Muḥammad peace and blessings be upon him via the Archangel Jibril. As a religion, Islam is not based upon the personality of the founder but on Allah Himself. The Prophet is the channel through whom human beings received a message pertaining to the nature of the Absolute and subsequently the relative, a message that contains the doctrine and the method on how to live a life that will inevitably cease. 

Tawhid - The Testimony of Faith

The most fundamental concept in Islam is the concept of tawḥid. This concept is encapsulated in the testimony of faith which every Muslims will say at least 9 times a day; “I bear witness that there is not God but Allah and I bear witness that the Prophet Muhammad is His messenger”. The repetition reminds the Muslims of the importance and centrality of Allah and the Prophet in their thoughts and lives. It binds the billions of Muslims all around, regardless of race, economic status, power and intelligence to a unified message. This testimony creates a religious community or ummah that places the sovereignty of Allah and taking the Prophet as the pinnacle role-model. A person joins the community of Muslim by pronouncing this testimony of faith. It comprises of two parts where the first half testify to the absolute monotheism of the Divine and the second establishes the principle of actions for a Muslim.

Absolute monotheism is central in Islam. Muslims belief in one God who is also the creator God and therefore the all supreme with no association to His divinity at all. He is the God of everyone and everything. Everything and everybody come from Him, belong to Him and will return back to Him. This absolute monotheism gives Islam its universalistic and inclusivist stature. Islam is universal because it possesses the dynamics which can and are indeed necessary to accommodate changes and developments that occur along with time and space. Islam is inclusive because it embodies within its structure the mechanism to accommodate everybody and everything, human as well as other non-living things. Simultaneously, absolute monotheism shows the unique identity of Islam which makes it exclusive as well. Islam has its own identity, characteristics and elements revealed by Allah to the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him, transmitted through the whole line of generations of Muslims where, at every generation uses their self-knowledge and intelligence to bring the immutable wisdom of the early version of Islam at the revelatory moment to our current moment.

The second half of the testimony indicates the bringing of completion of all the other revelations given to the previous prophets starting with the first Prophet Adam to the last Prophet Muhammad peace be upon all of them. Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him being the last and the final prophet is therefore the seal of the prophets that had come throughout the historical lives of human beings on Earth. A Muslim believes that the message of Unity/tawhid began from Prophet Adam peace and blessings upon him. He was a monotheist from the very beginning. Human beings did not evolve gradually from polytheism to monotheism. On the contrary, from time-to-time human beings deviated through religious decadence from the original monotheism of the first man into polytheism, and has to be reminded periodically of the original doctrine of Unity/tawḥid. These reminders come from Heaven through the prophets who by means of successive revelations, renew the religious and spiritual life of human beings on earth by reminding them the doctrine of unity and living by this doctrine. Although that Islamic conception of history is one of a series of cycles of prophets where each cycle followed by a gradual decay leading to a new cycle or phase, it does not imply that this cycle will go on indefinitely. Islam believes that the history of the present humanity has a beginning and an end marked by eschatological events described by the Quran and Prophetic sayings /Ḥadith.