فِطْرَةَ Fitrah

فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا فِطْرَةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا لا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لا يَعْلَمُونَ

“So set your thy face upright to the pure religion: the nature (Fitrah) made by God in which He has created (fatara) all mankind; there is no altering of God’s creation; that is the straight religion, but most people do not know.”

The verb Fatara means to create, to make and so the noun Fitrah comes from that meaning of that which we were created with. (From the same root we also get Eid ul Fitr which will be next week inshallah. This is because Fatara also means to cleave and to break and by extension to break fast, so it is the Eid of breaking fast.)

If we look at that verse we see no mention of Islam, nor believers nor Muslims. It mentions the pure way - Haneef & the innate nature of man.

According to Islam, human beings are born with an innate inclination towards what is right and good. This is what we call our Fitra,  فطرة . It is described in various ways as; our natural disposition, instinct, conscience or insight.

It can be compared to the Christian idea of ‘Sensus divinitatis’ (“the sense of divinity”). Or the Quaker concept of ‘the Inner Light,’ which states that in every human soul there is a certain element of God's own Spirit or divine energy.

This again is similar to the Quran when it says: ونفخت فيه من روحي “And I breathed into him of My spirit.”

Our Fitrah can also be thought of as an inner moral compass - Furqaan - that helps us distinguish between right and wrong - good and evil as the hadith says: الإثم ما حاك في نفسك “wrongdoing is that which wavers in your soul”

Sometimes when the Qur’an talks of نفس soul/nafs or قلب heart/qalb or صدر chest/sadr it is alluding to our inner light, our conscience - our Fitrah. For example another hadith says:

استفت قلبك, والبر ما اطمأنت إليه النفس, واطمأن إليه القلب, والإثم ما حاك في القلب, وتردد في الصدر, وإن أفتاك الناس وأفتوك

'Consult your heart for righteousness is that about which the soul النفس feels at ease and the heart القلب feels tranquil. And wrongdoing is that which wavers in the soul and causes uneasiness in the breast الصدر, even though people have repeatedly given their legal opinion [in its favour].'

In this way we can see that we have within us the tools we need to make our way through this world. God created us with our Fitrah - an inner light or conscience - as well as our rational mind and intelligence.

It is the gifts God has created and endowed each human being with, that are our first and most essential source for guidance.

Yes, God also sent prophets & revelation, but they must always be read and understood through - our Fitrah, our inner moral compass, our heart & mind - as the hadith says: “Even if people have repeatedly given their legal opinion” you must always consult your own inner conscience and inner light. For you alone are responsible for your actions.

This fitrah or conscience is however not like Google Maps. It won’t give you a precise or detailed walkthrough of life. It requires one to struggle with difficult choices and questions that don’t always have clear-cut answers. It means making mistakes and tripping up - picking oneself up and going again.

That is the nature of the human condition that God created us with. But if we do our best to listen to our Fitra, along with the many other resources God has given us such as our mind, reason and the wisdom of the wise throughout the ages - then we will not go wrong and God is always with us on our journey - when we fall and when we get up - when we cry and when we laugh.

I will end with the wonderful Du’a of Saint Frances of Assisi:

"Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

Where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console,

To be understood as to understand,

To be loved as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life."